One
of the more interesting books on racism can be found in a book that examines
racism in book publishing’s children literature industry. Author Philip Noel penned a book that
critiques the history and current state of children’s books. It shows us forcefully
what needs to be done to root our racism in our kids’ books.
Was
the Cat in the Hat Black? The
Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature and The Need for Diverse Books
really provokes, educates, and challenges us.
The Oxford University Press book claims that we can’t ignore the problem
any longer, saying:
If people who create
children’s culture fail to engage in such self-examination, they risk
continuing to transmit the misery of racism to a new generation… Racism in American
children’s literature and culture has not receded into the past because America
has yet to reckon with how central racist oppression is to American history and
identity.”
He
has the statistics to back this up.
First, let’s look at the book industry that produces our books. Depending on the survey, American publishing
is between 79 and 89 percent white. He
writes: “The publishing industry’s
Whiteness either prevents it firm seeing its institutional biases. The
well-intentioned, good-hearted people in publishing are no match for the
entrenched implicit policies and practices that govern the workplace.”
Nel
cites another study from 2011, where over 600 YA books published that year were
looked at to see how often non-whites were featured on the book covers. Only 1.2% showed a black character. Over 90% of the covers featured a white character.
Another
study, this one by Cooperative Children’s Book Center, tracks books by and
about people of color in The United States.
Of the 3400 books it received in 2015, only 199 were by black authors
and just 269 were about black people.
It’s a slight improvement from 2002, the first year it tracked such
things, when 69 of 3169 were penned by African Americans.
The
question of diversity in children’s books has been raised before. In 1965, All-White World of Children’s Books
was released. More than a half-century
later we still wonder why non-white characters are so scarce in children’s
books.
“Children’s
literature needs to drastically increase not just the presence of people of
color,” writes Nel, “but the variety of their lived experiences. It’s why children’s publishing needs more
editors of color who recognize diverse stories as publishable.”
Nel
provides 20 steps to create an environment for anti-racist children’s
literature to flourish. “To dismantle
our children’s literature apartheid, we must change the ways we produce,
promote, read, and teach literature for young people,” he writes.
Here are some of his strategies:
1.
Commit
to buying diverse books and titles by non-white authors.
2.
Recognize
that personal racism is often unconscious, and that systemic racism is
typically invisible.
3.
Publish
diverse books.
4.
Support
a US Anti-Racist Education Act because “racism is a national emergency that
threatens democracy.”
5.
Support
groups like the Council on International Books for Children, diversityinYA.com, nameorg.org, readingwhilewhite.blogspot.com, and weneeddiversebooks.org.
6.
Be
a resistant, skeptical reader – and encourage others to read critically.
The book
makes some powerful points about racism with the book industry and its impact
on children’s books but I believe it goes too far to make a claim that Dr.
Seuss wrote with prejudice or that Cat in
the Hat was somehow a stereotypical figure.
Nel’s assertions corrupt Dr. Seuss and anyone who loves his stories will
want to dismiss Nel’s attacks.
He
also examines whether books should be scrubbed clean of racist references such
as editions of Huckleberry Finn without the n-word used. Some children’s classics are under threat
because today’s examination of the past causes some to revise and alter textual
elements. Does it serve society best to
leave the books in their original form so as to spur a dialogue about it – or
is it best to remove or edit controversial or offensive text and just act as if
nothing was ever wrong? It’s debatable.
Below
are select excerpts from a book that’s sure to make you think and challenge how
you feel about children’s literature:
Institutional Racism
“We
often fail to see structural racism because of the widespread belief that only
actively racist behavior counts as truly racist. Nearly everyone recognizes that calling an
African American the n-word is racist, but far fewer people will concede that
an award-winning author who has to self-publish her stories about African
American children also may be experiencing institutional racism. “
Mainstream Presses Should Embrace
Diversity
“The
fact that writers of color nevertheless have to seek independent presses or
self-publish is a measure of the considerable distance between mainstream
children’s publishing and the multicultural society in which we live. That authors and artists of color need to
seek indies or to self-publish illustrates both the persistence of Jim Crow in
corporate publishing and the crucial role that non-mainstream publishers have
played in supporting diverse voices in children’s books.”
Diverse Books Are Needed
“Racism
is resilient, wily, and adaptable.
Combat it in one form, and it mutates, finding expression in a new
one. This is why we are still asking
where the books for children of color are – though we are asking this question
in different ways than we were fifty years ago.
Thanks to the activists who have come before us, there are now many more
books for young people of African descent, Asian heritage, Latino/a
backgrounds, and indigenous cultures.
However, since the percentage of non-White characters, we ask for more -
we need diverse books.”
Publishing Industry Is Too White
“The
Whiteness of children’s publishing Whitens what kinds of stories get told, and
consequently what kinds of stories we are inclined to imagine. According to Publishers Weekly’s 2015 survey, 89 percent of people employed in
the industry identify as White or Caucasian.
Only 5 percent identify as Asian, 3 percent as Hispanic, and 1 percent
as African American. Lee & Low’s 2015 survey yielded comparable
results: 79 percent of those working in
publishing identified as White or Caucasian, 7 percent as Asian/Native
Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, 6 percent as Hispanic/Latino/Mexican and 4
percent as African American. Those
numbers do not represent the population at large, nor do the books published
each year (fig. 5.1). In 2014 only 11
percent of children’s books published that year were about people of color –
and the number by people of color was
only 8 percent. Furthermore, look more closely
at the 11 percent or the 8 percent, and you’ll notice something else: realism, historical novels, and nonfiction
are, by far, the most frequent genre categories.”
The World Of Children’s Literature That’s
Needed
“It’s
up to all of us to change the status quo, allowing children of all races to see
themselves in a panorama of literary experiences. If we all work toward such a change, then
that takes some of the pressure off writers and artists of color. Instead of having to spend so much time as
activists, they can devote more time to being artists. Instead of having to find the space to
publish, market, and sell their own books, they can rely upon a publisher to
help get their books out into the world.
If we create this change, then instead of having to forcibly integrate
themselves into narratives that exclude them, non-White children will learn
that they are welcome in all genres.
They will take for granted that they can defeat the evil wizard, invent
the technology that saves the planet, or lead the rebellion against the
dystopian regime. Because of course they
can do these things – their stories will have been telling them so for all of
their lives. This is the world of
children’s literature that we must create.”
Nurturing A New Generation
“As
we enter a period of backlash against equal rights, I still believe that children’s
literature and culture are among the best places to imagine a better future. Books tell children they belong (or don’t
belong) not only to a broader community of readers, but also in their
neighborhoods, their schools, and their country. Apps and eBooks also tell children who
matters enough to be represented, and who does not. Popular films, too, challenge stereotypes, or
reinforce them, or do a bit of both. All
culture tells us who is deserving of our care, and who is not. Via diverse books and their advocates, we can
and must nurture a new generation that is less susceptible to bigotry and the
many wounds it inflicts.”
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Brian
Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and
not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email
him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in
the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and
raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs
