Lyrics: Sarah Pirtle’s beautiful song is a wonderful way to initiate discussions on diversity.  The song manages to be simultaneously poetic and sophisticated, as well as concrete and direct.  Activities for using this song, as well as dozens of others, can be found in Sarah Pirtle’s invaluable book "Linking Up!", available from Educators for Social Responsibility (www.esrnational.org).

(Chorus:)
We are made of the colors of earth.
Each color is different, each color is true.
We are made of the colors of earth.
I love the colors that made you.

When I look in the eyes of my friends,
I can see topaz, I can see sky.
The green and the gray of the sea rolling by
And the dazzling brown river in the morning.

(Chorus)

When I look at the hands of my friends,
I can see chestnut, I can see corn,
The color of wheat and a dappled brown fawn
And the sun-kissed black trees in the morning.

(Chorus)

Tell me the names of the colors of earth:
The purple of eggplant, the orange of peach
The green and the black of the stones on the beach,
And the sun on the mountain in the morning.

(Chorus)
(repeat last line)