About
Begun by Kary Chen ’23 as a project to support and expand the Pittsfield Public Schools curriculum, Coloring American Heroes educates children about diverse heroes often overlooked in their learning. American children are exposed to faces and images that often do not represent their communities constricting their image of a hero to a handful of well-known, mostly white figures.
Through the coloring book, children come into contact with heroes who may or may not look and act like them, who defy stereotypes, and who may inspire them to blaze paths that they otherwise might never consider. A child who goes through a Coloring American Heroes book doesn’t just learn—they immerse themselves with a diverse cast of unfamiliar faces and figures, thus developing a deeper respect towards all races, genders, orientations and dimensions.
Entirely open access, Coloring American Heroes is available here to anyone with a printer. Using the QR code and link on the back of each book, one can learn about the heroes they’ve been coloring.
Clicking on the links below, please feel free to download and print the coloring books, browse through lists of other heroes students have researched, propose a hero to be included in a future edition. You are also welcome to upload a sketch of a hero or an entire page you’ve created using the guidelines we provide here!
2023 Updated (English) 2021 Edition (English/Spanish)
Propose a Hero and Upload an Image
How to Create Your Own Hero Sketch to Upload
Browse through examples below for further inspiration!
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Bayard Rustin 
Ricardo Flores Magón 
Tom B.K. Goldtooth* 
Yuri Kochiyama**
*Image by Neeta Lind. Cropped and distributed under CC BY 2.0.
**Image by dignidadrebelde. Cropped and distributed under CC BY 2.0.
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Christine Jorgensen 
Laverne Cox 
Rebecca F. Kuang* 
Jean-Michel Basquiat**
*Image by byronv2. Cropped and distributed under CC BY-NC 2.0. Profanity in the linked article.
**Image by the Galerie Bruno Bischofberger. Cropped and distributed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Wataru Misaka 
Chris Mosier* 
Lia Thomas** 
Justin Williams***
*Image by Collision Conference 2018. Cropped and distributed under CC BY 2.0.
**Image by Iszac Henig. Cropped and distributed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
***Image by Pat A. Robinson. Cropped and distributed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Ida B. Wells 
Audre Lorde* 
William Apess 
Cornel West**
*Image by K. Kendall. Cropped and distributed under CC 2.0.
**Image by Gage Skidmore. Cropped and distributed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Martine Rothblatt* 
Allyson Felix 
Sheila Johnson**
*Image by Andre Chung. Cropped and distributed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
**Image by David Shankbone. Cropped and distributed under CC BY 3.0.
