Frequently Asked Questions
About Our Company
1. What does C.O.-O.P. in your company name stand for?
C.O.-O.P. is an acronym for Caring, Optimistic, Open-minded People.
2. Do you require payment up front?
Yes, unless you have an established long-term relationship with us as an existing customer. We take Visa, MasterCard and money orders. Call us for Visa/Mastercard or mail your money order to The Culture C.O.-O.P., P.O. Box 463, Davis, CA. 95616. Call (530 792-1334), fax (530-753-8511), or email (orders@CultureCo-Op.com) with any questions.
3. What other organizations have we worked with?
We work with educators and educational institutions, non-profits, businesses, community organizations and social service agencies from all over the country. We provide services for children as well as adults. We have worked with and/or have participated in conferences held by a wide variety of organizations. We engage communities in a variety of ways around multiple topics as it persists to systemic change, equity, inclusion, literacy and equality education for all.
4. Why is your paradigm for transforming individuals, communities, systems, and beyond so important?
Research is clear that we must approach things systemically if we want to make truly sustainable change. Bandaid approaches have not improved equity efforts in our community. We want individuals to strategically be able to make better policies, visioning, interventions, and impact by being informed on how historical foundations and inequitable practices have affected the negative things we are seeing in our communities today. The paradigm lays the foundation for comprehensive understanding, visioning, and impactful interventions.
1. What age group is appropriate for “Grandpa, Is Everything Black Bad?”
Sandy Holman has used the book in classrooms ranging from kindergarten through college. When she reads the book to younger readers (pre-kindergarten to 2nd grade), she often reads the first half word-for-word and then paraphrases key parts of the second half. This book has also been used in college courses addressing diversity and reading skills.
2. I am a teacher. How can I use “Grandpa, Is Everything Black Bad?” in my classroom?
Have children ask their parents about their heritage and then have the children share something simple about their heritage with the class.
Talk about how children can learn a lot from seniors like Montsho does from his grandfather in the story.
Invite a senior citizen to come speak to your class and share some local history.
Ask children about how the main character, Montsho, felt throughout the story.
Ask if they ever felt like Montsho does in the story.
Show your students a map of Africa and/or the world and have them each choose a country or continent about which they can write. Have older students finish the statement, “The part of the story I liked best was…”
Have younger students draw a picture that illustrates their favorite part of the story.
Have your students make drums out of old coffee cans. They can decorate them with African prints, pictures of Africa from magazines, etc.
Play a tape of a drum (or play a drum yourself) while reading the drum sequence of the story.
Show children a video tape about Africa or some other part of the world.
May multi-cultural music from other parts of the world.
Share with children how all countries have some sort of musical traditions.
Have students read the story and create a skit based on the story for the class.
Have students make up their own story to get them familiar with the process of making a book.
Be creative and do whatever your imagination dictates.
Explore what dynamics in our systems, communities, and world are contributing to what young people like Montsho are feeling.
3. Is the Grandpa in the book fashioned after the author’s own grandfather?
Yes. The artist was asked to draw the Grandfather character so that it looked a good deal like the author’s real Grandfather. We think she did a marvelous job!
4. What is the origin of the name, “Montsho”?
“Montsho” is Swahili for “black.”
5. Do you have other titles?
Yes. We have additional titles available or in the works. Sandy considers her books educational, puristic, and bibliotherapy for the soul appropriate for youth and adults.
About The “We All Have A Heritage” Campaign
1. Why isn’t my country’s flag in the We All Have A Heritage book?
Although we would have liked to put every country's flag in this book, there simply isn't enough space on the page to show the various flags. We tried to pick a flag from a country in each of the continents. We hope readers will connect with the spirit of the "flags" picture in that the intent is to represent all by showing many. The We All Have Heritage book is an integral part of the campaign. We encourage you to click on the link below.
About Our Books
About '“Grandpa, Is Everything Black Bad?”
Please ask about our new titles that have already been released and/or are still in production.
About Our Logo
1. What do the words “Many Colors, One Race” mean?
These words are meant to acknowledge that while we might all look different, we are really all part of one common group, the human race. In fact, we do not acknowledge the concept of race as it has been invented and used, primarily by scholars of industrialized nations, to classify and further divide people.
2. Why are the faces facing east?
East is the direction of the sunrise, representing the beginning of a new day. We learned this from the ancient Egyptians. In Ancient Egypt, one of the earliest known human civilizations, all the temples were constructed on the Eastern bank of the Nile river because it is in the direction of the sunrise, and all the burial sites were constructed on the Western bank.
3. Why are the faces coming out of the continent of Africa?
Anthropological and scientific research supports the theory that Africa is the beginning of all human civilization. The fact that all human beings began in Africa and migrated outwards from there is the prevailing current thought drawn from known archaeological evidence. For example, Africa is the only continent in which all major humanoid skeletal remains have been found, the earliest from about 2.5 million years or slightly longer ago.
4. May I use your logo on some of my own materials?
No. Like all logos, ours is intended to represent and be associated with the high quality products and services our customers have come to expect from The Culture C.O.-O.P. It is our registered trademark. If you are interested in obtaining some materials with our logo on it, please contact us.
If you have any other questions, ideas, or comments, feel free to email us at info@CultureCoOp.com or call us at (530) 792-1334.