Today is National Equal Pay Day. On average, women need to work until March 24, 2021 to earn as much as a man earned by the end of last year. So today, we’re reading Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines, and it’s all because of Drunk History.
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Every year on this day I think of the hilarious Drunk History episode about Maya Lin, the architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Jennie Pierson, a fabulous comic, tells the story of Ross Perot’s reaction to finding out Maya Lin’s design was chosen (by a committee in a blind contest), saying “This is a woman? And she’s Asian? She’s a young Asian woman?… I’m not gonna give you any money! You better pick someone else!”
And so, on Equal Pay Day, we are reading Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines by Jeanne Walker Harvey and illustrated by Dow Phumiruk. This is a beautiful book! The words and story are simple enough for a preschooler but packed with opportunities to talk about immigration, family, art, equality and equity, and making an impact even when you’re young. Maya Lin’s story is also important as we talk about the tragic events in Atlanta where women of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage were targeted. This is a great read for inspiring kids, and a must read for the culture we find ourselves in.
Also… today may be Equal Pay Day for me, but for Black women, Equal Pay Day is in August. For Native American women, September. For Latinas, October. We can do better than this.
Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines is available on Amazon and Bookshop.
Looking for other timely books recommendations? See more of our family’s Recent Reads!