2.25: The Power of Representation with Mijha Godfrey from Jambo Book Club

First Name Basis Podcast

Jasmine Bradshaw

How To, Parenting, Education, Kids & Family

5 • 629 Ratings

🗓️ 10 August 2020

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Representation is critical for all children in all spaces. Children can’t be what they can’t see, so they all need to see and experience people of many different backgrounds leading happy and successful lives.

This week on the podcast I have the opportunity to interview Mijha Godfrey, the founder of Jambo Books. Mijha is a former affordable housing developer, lawyer and founder of Jambo Books. Jambo, which means both “hello” and “welcome” in Swahili, is a book subscription service for children aged 0-13 where all the books feature lead characters who are children of color. The stories in Jambo Books focus on the beauty of childhood, the joys of friendship and family, the thrill of new adventures, the wonderful tapestry that is the life of a Child of Color.

Mijha is passionate about helping parents raise children who won’t need to be taught how to tolerate people who are different from themselves because they will expect and enjoy healthy inclusion. Jambo Book Club members will recognize the same humanity in those who may not share their experiences that they see in those who do.

During the interview we discuss:

The origin story behind the Jambo Book Club
The power of representation for all children
The importance of reading books about Children of Color that do not focus on race/social justice and just depict children leading everyday lives
The balance between teaching children about the realities of racism while also giving them opportunities to experience joy and just be kids

Articles, Studies & Podcasts Referenced in the Episode

Jambo Book Club

Jambo Books on Instagram

Jambo Books on Twitter

Song Credit: “Away” by Geographer and “Beach Disco” by Dougie Wood

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to the First Name Basis podcast, Season 2, Episode 25, The Power of Representation,
0:07.5	with Mija Godfrey from the Jumbo Book Club.
0:16.8	Welcome to First Name Basis, a community of parents committed to making the transformation,
0:22.9	from good intentions to confident action.
0:25.6	Join us each week as we cover critical topics and answer the questions you've never felt comfortable asking.
0:31.3	We'll use the lessons we learn to teach our children about race, religion, and culture.
0:36.1	I'm your host, Jasmine Bradshaw.
0:50.9	Hello, First Name Basis, fam. I am so glad you are here. I am so excited to share this interview
0:58.1	with you today. I got to interview Meja Godfrey. She is the founder of Jombo Books. And let me tell you,
1:05.6	she is amazing. First of all, she's just my soul sister, but she is so incredibly impressive. She used to be a lawyer
1:13.5	and an affordable housing developer, and then she went on to found Jombo books. So Jombo means both hello
1:21.2	and welcome in Swahili, and the Jombo Book Club is a book subscription service. But the amazing thing is that it's for
1:28.8	children from zero, from birth all the way to age 13. And all of the books that come right to
1:36.2	your door in the Jambo Book Club, they feature lead characters who are children of color.
1:42.2	So one of my favorite things about Jombo books is that they're not necessarily
1:46.8	about social justice or racism. These books focus on the beauty of childhood, the joys of friendship
1:54.9	and family, the thrill of new adventures, and the wonderful tapestry that is the life of a child of color. And we have talked
2:03.1	a little bit on the podcast before about how critical it is that we see children of color doing
2:08.2	totally normal things, having a great time, going to the market with their parents, just living
2:13.4	their lives. So that's what Mija is trying to do with the Jombo Book Club. She really wants to
2:19.9	help parents raise children who won't need to be taught how to tolerate people who are different
2:25.5	from themselves because they'll expect and enjoy healthy inclusion. I knew I had to invite her
	...

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