We Are the Builders!: An Activist Storytime with Deepa Iyer

Charis welcomes Deepa Iyer, social justice activist and writer, as she debuts her new children's picture book, We Are The Builders!, in Atlanta. Told in warm, inviting rhyme with vivid illustrations by Romina Galotta, this picture book is a gentle introduction to finding your place and changing your community. Deepa will read We Are The Builders! and then engage our audience of young people (and their caregivers) in activities intended to help them map their own skills and roles for social change. Recommended for ages 3-7 (and older!). Learn more at www.deepaiyer.com.
Told in warm, inviting rhyme, this gentle introduction to community organizing and finding your place in a movement is perfect for young readers of All Are Welcome and What Do You Do With an Idea?.
Welcome to our Community Day!
Ready to find your role to play?
It’s Community Day in a close-knit, diverse neighborhood, and everybody is pitching in to help one another. All the kids want to know where they fit in. Could they be builders, restoring old furniture for new neighbors? Caregivers, nurturing friends who are sad or lonely? Frontline responders, preparing for emergencies?
What they discover is that there’s a place for every person, no matter their skills or interests-and that collaboration is what makes their community strong.
About the Author
Deepa Iyer is a strategist, lawyer, and racial justice advocate who created the social change ecosystem map-a way to identify the different roles needed to bring about change in the world. During the wave of social change movements in 2020, her map went viral, and since then, individuals and organizations all over the world have used it to help them organize for many different causes. We Are the Builders! is Iyer’s picture book debut.
About the Community Partner Organizations
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, is the first and largest nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities in Georgia and the Southeast. Founded in 2010 as the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center (AALAC), our organization became part of the national Asian Americans Advancing Advancing Justice affiliation in 2014.
Raksha, meaning protection, is a local GA non profit serving the South Asian community since 1995. Raksha’s mission is to promote a stronger and healthier South Asian community through confidential support services, education, and advocacy.
The Democracy Lab South, or Demo Lab South, is a movement incubation hub that builds power, strategy, and infrastructure with and for QTGNC and BIPOC-led, community-based projects and organizations throughout the South.
Project South is a social justice organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. Our mission is to cultivate strong social movements in the South powerful enough to contend with some of the most pressing and complicated social, economic, and political problems we face today. The Legal & Advocacy department of Project South connects movement lawyers with grassroots organizations and campaigns focusing on dismantling state repression and protecting immigrants’ rights and Muslim communities. Our work is also focused on connecting with and supporting social justice movements in the Global South.
The event is free and open to all people, but we encourage and appreciate a donation of $5-20 in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Donate via our website: www.chariscircle.org/donate or in person the day of the event.