In I Can Do Anything, educator and author Nyla Calloway offers more than a beautiful children's story—she reveals a theory of teaching. Through the quiet labor of a Black mother's love, the book illustrates how dignity, possibility, and resilience are first cultivated at home. It reminds us that before children believe in themselves, someone must first believe for them—and that may be the first and most important lesson any child ever learns.

Why are Black men so rare in America’s classrooms? Because schools have long been places that taught them they didn’t belong—and now they ca