About the Author

Lucretia is a wife, mom of three, and a TEDx and Q Ideas speaker (Charlotte, NC, 2017). As a former college professor, she designed the popular ‘beginners’ course and study guide, What LIES Between Us: Fostering First Steps Toward Racial Healing. She is the creator and director of the Brownicity.com...

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things we love
& you will too!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. This is SO rich!!! You have the words our world needs!!! Praying your book explodes with sales & acted on in every home. Blessings upon blessings.

  2. This is wonderful! The simple concept of different hues to address our sameness and uniqueness and all the while remembering that we ALL God’s children. Thank you.

    • Madeline, you’re welcome!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  3. Thank You so much for this! My multi-cultural babies were littles in the first two decades of this century and I would have LOVED to have this blog to look to. So Thank God for you. It means a lot to us that this generation has you for support. I will be telling my kids (who have littles now) to look you up. ❤️

  4. Love this!! Want my girls to grow up seeing, loving, affirming, and embracing every shade of people!

    • KK!
      Amen!!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  5. This is wonderful!! My daughter, who is bi-racial, used to wonder why she was a different color than most of her classmates (she now totally and wholeheartedly embraces her beautiful golden brown skin!!) I love, love, love your explanation for ‘hues of brown’- melanin is brown and how the amount of melanin we have depends on where our distant ancestors lived in proximity to the equator. That’s all it is, the color of our melanin!!!! Thank you!

    • Ann! You’re welcome!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  6. Hello Everyone,

    Today is the last day of February (2/28/22). It’s Monday and many people are thinking about Lent and Easter and also Mardi Gras and Spring Break.

    I am a daughter, a wife, and mother of three beautiful daughters with different hues. Valerie (Cinnamon), Victoria (Mahogany), and Vanessa (Amber). All beautiful and intelligent young ladies who know the Love of Christ. When they were growing up, I don’t recall a lot of questions about tones of their skin but many questions about the difference in each daughter’s hair texture. I just didn’t think it was a negative thing but inquisitive minds ask many questions. But guess what, all mothers don’t have the academic answers that yield confidence and strength of character. My girls made it through puberty, teenage life, High School and College. Let’s give God the Praise, Honor and Glory for His Gifts of Children to us.

    Thank You Lord for Your Grace and Mercy. I can’t make it from day to day without Your Wisdom and Guidance and the Truth taught by the Holy Spirit who points us back to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

    Glory to the name of Jesus !

    Brenda

    Enjoy your day

    • Brenda!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!! In our family of five, we are 5 different hues of brown as well, with 5 different hair textures!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  7. Thank you for this. We have some different hues in our family and this is a great way of looking at it.

  8. This book sounds like a “keeper”. I’m always trying to learn new ways to interact with people. And I’m working to change my mind and heart about how to embrace others. Thank you, Lucretia!

    • Hi Irene!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement and your learning journey!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  9. When my daughter was tiny, she commented to me about a little boy she saw: “Mommy, he is chocolate.” When I asked her what she was, she replied, “Vanilla.” My heart melted.

    • Too cute!!!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  10. Wow! What a powerful testimonial. Hues of You will be a wonderful addition to every classroom. As Assistant Director at Christ Church School, we’ll be exciting about adding a copy of this to our library (whether we win a copy or not!!) Thank you for sharing your story and offering this terrific resource!!

    • Hi Virginia!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!! Hues of You makes a great addition to Week Zero of the school year. If you or your classroom teachers want to order in bulk, Main Street Books provides a bulk order discount. Main Street Books is listed as one of the retailers on the Hues of You website (brownicity.com/hue-of-you)

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  11. This book looks fantastic! It would be such a valuable item for me to have for myself/my family and I’m sure I would also find it to be immeasurably helpful for me as a teacher with my Kindergarten classroom! I don’t always know how to navigate sensitive topics or conversations, so I’m eager to learn how to do. I just had a conversation with a friend at a coffee shop yesterday about this exact thing! I’m glad to see fabulous resources are available for adults and kids!

    • Krista!
      Thank you for reading.
      Hues of You makes a great addition to Week Zero of the school year. If you or your classroom teachers want to order in bulk, Main Street Books provides a bulk order discount. Main Street Books is listed as one of the retailers on the Hues of You website (brownicity.com/hue-of-you). Also, subscribe to Brownicity, where I will be adding more teaching tutorials for teachers and parents.

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  12. As always you are so wise in your thoughts and mindset. I come from a diverse family as well. My father was Welsh/English and my mother was from a Spanish/Mexican heritage. My brother being born in 1932 was exposed to a bias against people of differing race and/or nationality. We grew up in a small farming community where Hispanic people were farm workers and did not mix with anyone other than their family or co workers.
    One day my brother and one of his many friends, after working and bucking bales for a local farmer, decided to spend some of their money and go to see a movie. The theater was devised into a section for whites and a section for Hispanics. My brother sat in the white section and the other kid said they should sit in the other. My brother said it was ok. The manager came over and told them they would have to move so they got up and the other kid sat in the other section while my brother sat in the aisle on the floor. The manager then asked him what he was doing. My brother replied, “well, I’m half and half so,”. The manger then in a very irritated voice told him to sit wherever and be quiet. We have always laughed at this story because it shows the complete insanity of how and why people do and think.
    I’m so grateful that our creator loves all of our colors and is proud to be our father. We are not who others tell us we are. We are who God says we are. He calls us his beloved and we belong to the whosoever clan. Just read John 3:16 again and contemplate what it says. There is no distinction at all. It just says ‘whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

    • Hi Loretta!
      I love that your brother was able to respond with humor — and that humor diffused the situation!! History tells us that often times humane actions were met with violence.

      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

      • Amen!!! Fear is our enemy. But with God all things are possible. We must remember that with Christ we are a majority!!!

  13. So excited to hear about this!! We will be adding this to our Children’s library. My 7 year old is learning about history, and he is curious about different races and what he is considered, we remind him that everyone is made in God’s image. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and stories.

    • Hi Maria!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  14. Thank you Lucretia. I could feel your excitement as you shared with us, what your daughter shared with you, what her teacher talked about in class. l’d love the opportunity to share your book with my grandchildren. We have a wild bunch of blonde and blue eyes and Hawaiian brown skin and brown eyes. Our beautiful combined family are getting to the age that they notice they look different. Some look like Mom and Dad and gma and some look like papa. They look like friends in Hawaii but not like friends at school. They look like cousins in Ca, but not like cousins in Wash.
    They already know God loves them, so to have their questions answered based on faith is a plus.
    Thank you and Good luck with the release of your book

    BLESSINGS \0/

    • Janet!!
      You are my people!!! I love that you acknowledge the diversity of your various social contexts. As you know, it is so important that we know how to navigate each of them well.

      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

    • I agree!! My community has found our approach so helpful.
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  15. Look forward to reading her new book! I teach children and would like to help them embrace their own hue.

    • Hi Dee!
      Thank you for reading.
      Hues of You makes a great addition to Week Zero of the school year. If you or any classroom teachers want to order in bulk, Main Street Books provides a bulk order discount. Main Street Books is listed as one of the retailers on the Hues of You website (brownicity.com/hue-of-you). Also, subscribe to Brownicity, where I will be adding more teaching tutorials for teachers and parents.

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  16. Lucretia,

    I too have read and enjoyed ‘Hues of You’. I thank you for listening to and following God’s direction. The book is very informative- for all ages. This is a much needed tool in our society and in educating all mankind. I just ordered a copy for a niece (Faye) and I will be ordering more for gifting. May God continue to bless and keep you and your family with their various delicious hues.

    PS- tell Loretta, I just love the term the ‘whosoever clan’. I am definitely a part of this clan. God bless.

    • Hi Wendy!
      You’re welcome. I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  17. This activity book sounds great! My 7-year-old grandson is bi-racial. His father chose not to be in his life. His mom is now married to a wonderful man, and he now has a 2-year-old toe-headed little brother. My daughter does worry at times about how she will explain his heritage when he’s old enough to realize he’s not like his brother. I think this book would be a big help to her.

    • Hi Cynthia!
      Thank you for reading. I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!
      What does ‘toe-headed’ mean? Encourage your daughter to normalize diversity within humanity so that both boys know that belong! Please encourage her to subscribe to my organizations newsletter (Brownicity.com) so she can know when I am offering learning opportunities for parents and teachers.

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  18. A little child will lead… I love how you built on your daughters take home message… beautiful approach!!

    • Hi Kris!
      I agree!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  19. Lucretia,

    Your daughter’s teacher was brilliant in coming up with shades of brown to explain the various skin colors. It gave the children something to think about. Asking God to help us end racial diversity & learn to love each other as God’s unique creation. Praying your book does well. May it start conversations around tables & gets some confusion cleared up.

    Blessings 🙂

    • Hi Beth!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!
      God did not create race/ism, man did. And we have to know who we really are and be confident in our understanding to be able to deconstruct how we’ve been racialized.

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  20. Thank you for bringing forth this message and giving voice to the beauty and worth of all creation. It is so empowering to have tools and language to have conversations that support peace and love.

    • Catherine!
      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  21. I wish this had been out when my children were younger! I would still love to get it because you handle the subject with compassion and knowledge and I feel even as an adult I can learn from it. Thank you for writing it!

    • Shannon,
      You’re welcome! Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  22. This is a beautiful way to explain to children how they are uniquely made by God.

    • Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  23. We have just started your activity book as a family. Our youngest, who is adopted from Ethiopia, has struggled with her skin color being different from the rest of the family. BUT with your first activity, naming each of our skin color with positive, affirming names, she has taken such pride in picking hers as well as noticing our differences and helping each of us pick our names. It has been so enjoyable for our whole family. I can’t wait for all of us to continue to learn and grow to love just how God made us. Thank you!!

    • Amy,
      THIS warms my heart!!! It’s so important that families — especially multi-ethnic families center belonging that transcends ethnic and racial distinctions. And we need to build the foundation before ‘racist’ things happen. Thank you so much for sharing.

      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  24. I wish this had existed when Elijah was younger! Thanks so much for writing it and for all the work you do!

    • Tricia!
      You’re welcome!

      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  25. I just received my copy in the mail!! The artwork is beautiful.
    I especially like the “words to know” on pages 6 and 7 and explanations of our different skin colors.
    We can do so much better than saying our skin is either red and yellow, black and white!
    Let me see how many colors I can make with my crayon colors of the world!
    Thank you.
    Joanna Leonard

    • Hi Joanna!
      On the Hues of You website, we offer a downloadable with over 100 names for brown hues! Go to Brownicity.com > Hues of You.

      Thank you for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

    • Hi Deb!
      Thank you purchasing and for reading.
      I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!!

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB

  26. I’m a “newbie” in terms of going beyond colorblindness. However, I love the way Lucretia talks about “Shades of Brown.” I know that we are all one human race, and I think of the way that God made so many individual flowers. No one is exactly the same as any other, yet there are so many beautiful varieties. God bless us all. I know I have made so many mistakes, and yet I do want to honor every person as some made by God.

    • Hi Clara.
      I appreciate your sentiment and I honor your learning journey!

      Thank you for reading.

      Let’s continue to lean in to our beautiful truth:
      We are one humanity.

      Shalom
      LCB