Courtesy of Cbabi Bayoc
On the cover of Penguin Random House’s new picture book Goodnight Racism, a father tenderly tucks his young child into bed under the glowing light of a full moon. The stylized hands, faces, and colorful patterns in the image are the recognizable work of St. Louis artist Cbabi Bayoc.
In 2019, Bayoc was contacted by the publishing company to create the illustrations for Goodnight Racism. The book, released on June 14, was written by Founding Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. Kendi specializes in education around antiracism and has authored five #1 New York Times bestselling books. His collaboration with Bayoc is a simple yet striking children’s book intended to “[deliver] important messages about antiracism, justice, and equality in an easy-to-read format that empowers readers both big and small,” according to Kendi’s website.
When Bayoc saw that Kendi had authored the story and that Penguin Random House was publishing the book, his decision to join the project was a “no-brainer,” he says.
Courtesy of Cbabi Bayoc
The timeline was tight. Bayoc had only two months to transform his initial digital sketches into fully realized page spreads. Unlike mural painting, which he’s been focusing on for the past few years, picture book illustration requires Bayoc to create images from a limited number of words.
“It's a very strange and weird and hard process for me to grasp,” Bayoc says. “But I feel great on the other end of it once I do it.”
Goodnight Racism explores themes of identity and self-acceptance. Bayoc says he pondered “thousands of images” and brainstormed constantly with the book’s graphics team to ensure that he captured the essence of Kendi’s text. As an artist who focuses on family, fatherhood, and the childhood experience, Bayoc appreciates the book’s message of unity and acceptance.
“I would say that [Goodnight Racism] is presenting to children that, no matter your cultural background, or how you worship, we all deserve to not just go to sleep, but also to wake up and live in a world that's peaceful and accepting of who we are,” Bayoc says.
In the future, Bayoc would love to write and illustrate his own books. But, for now, he says he hopes that Goodnight Racism can serve as a tool for parents and their children to imagine a better world.
“I think there's so many people doing such good work out here,” Bayoc says. “I just hope that I was able to add my small part.”
