First they went after Jalal. But I’m not black. So I didn’t stand up for him.

Then they went after Mariana. I was born in this country – So I didn’t stand up for her.

A picture book inspired by the iconic poem First They Came for the Socialists written by Pastor Martin Niemoeller in opposition to the oppression from the Nazi regime, I Didn’t Stand Up looks at common circumstances of oppression that children encounter through the eyes of the bystander – until he or she becomes a victim.

Backmatter includes a history of the original poem and Pastor Martin Niemoeller.