Black History, Sequential Art, and the Power of Representation – AAIHS *This post is part of our blog series on The World of the Black Panther. This series, edited by Julian Chambliss and Walter Greason, examines the Black Panther and the narrative world linked to the character in comics, animation, and film. Adequate—and accurate—representation of one’s culture is critical to any racial group’s collective self-esteem. Because we live in a visual society, images of people, events, religion, and places are often perceived as truth. Mainstream narratives in the media continue to portray Black people as void of a past—and future—they can call their own. The aesthetic of Black Panther and Wakanda, which audiences fell in love with, was mainly due to the imagination of Black comic book writer Christopher Priest and the run of Reginald Hudlin. The Black Panther film exemplifies the power of sequential art as a literary and visual medium. Outside of documentaries, most popular culture has failed to depict the African people or continent in a nuanced way.
Why You Should Read African-American Literature Year-Round Black History Month is important for many reasons. It’s important because of how widespread and systematic racism is, even in 2018, and it’s important simply because black history is American history. A fantastic way to celebrate the month is to read books written by African-American authors, though the novels don’t need to leave your to-be-read (TBR) list when March comes around. Many African-American penned stories have just as much literary merit as their canonical counterparts, but often go overlooked due to the systemic tendency to downplay the academic or artistic value of cultural commodities produced by minority figures. By choosing to read African-American literature year-round, readers are fighting the underrepresentation of black people in literature. Such poor representation should alarm readers of all races, as inequality of authorship only leads to one-sided storytelling and therefore an inability for readers to see themselves in the stories they love. Angie Thomas
The Ongoing Problem of Race in Y.A. Aronson points out that nonfiction is a genre within Y.A., and that there is a certain amount of mixed-race writing reflected in the category. There are also reported books about immigrant teenagers, for example. Those books tend to come before the novelized versions. But, he says, "The cycles are bound to go faster now, because we’re in a faster world." It's also possible that some things have gotten worse before they've gotten better, in adult as well as Y.A. markets. As Myers said, "Back in the '70s I could name offhand ten black male writers writing adult fiction. In last week's Y.A. for Grownups, we talked about what "Young Adult" means. YALSA finds another of the chief values of young adult literature in its capacity to offer readers an opportunity to see themselves reflected in its pages. As Aronson said, "in Y.A., you’re trying to speak directly to the reader, for the reader to feel that jolt, that impact, that’s me."
De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children: Skippyjon Jones: Transforming a Racist Stereotype into an Industry Mexican American When I was a child, Isaac Bashevis Singer was my favorite storyteller, and he remains so today. Born in Poland at the turn of the 20th century, Singer always wrote and published in Yiddish—because he thought that when all the Jewish souls came back, they’d probably like something good to read—and later edited his stories into English versions. Some of my favorite of his children’s stories took place in the fictional stetl he called “Chelm,” in which all of the Chelmites, but especially the elders, were fools. His use of Yiddish—which I understood pretty well because it was the language my maternal grandma, my aunts and my mother spoke when they didn’t want me or my younger sister to understand what they were saying—was rhythmic, with a cadence that was easy to replicate. Singer’s Chelm stories showed children how not to solve problems by demonstrating Chelmite problem solving. Skippyjon Jones did not appear in a vacuum. In 1953, “Speedy Gonzalez” came along. “¿Por qué?
What's in a Name? A Back-to-School Literacy Unit During the first few weeks of school, I always find it challenging to come up with a meaningful unit of study so that my students can feel as though they are accomplishing something beyond learning a bunch of routines. There’s the obvious imperative to build our classroom community. On top of that, the empty bulletin boards in the classroom are glaring at us, demanding student work so our classroom can begin to look “lived in.” Last year, I had wonderful results using a name unit as our first shared literacy experience. Read on to find out what my students did. Our names are an important part of our identity, and during the first few days of school, we are naturally focused on matching the names with the faces in our class. Beginning With Thematic Read-Alouds Several thematically linked read-alouds sparked discussions among my students about the importance of names, cultural diversity, tolerance, and self-acceptance. Picture Books About Names: Let's Research! The Writing Process
African-American Literature | Collections | Lit2Go ETC William Wells Brown William Wells Brown was a prominent abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian. Born into slavery in the Southern United States, Brown escaped to the North, where he worked for abolitionist causes and was a prolific writer. Brown was a pioneer in several different literary genres, including travel writing, fiction, and drama, and wrote what is considered to be the first novel by an African American. An almost exact contemporary of Frederick Douglass, Wells Brown was overshadowed by Douglass and the two feuded publicly. Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass was an American abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. W. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was the first African American to graduate with a Ph.D. from Harvard. Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jubilee Singers Elizabeth Keckley After several years in St. Booker T.
Book List Children's Books by and About People of Color Documented by the Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Questions about this information? Contact CCBC Director Kathleen T. Horning) Last updated: March 19, 2019 History In 1985, then-CCBC Director Ginny Moore Kruse was serving as a member of the Coretta Scott King Award Committee, and we were appalled to learn that, of the approximately 2,500 trade books that were published in 1985, only 18 were created by African Americans, and thus eligible for the Coretta Scott King Award. Beginning in 1994 we began also keeping track of the numbers of books we were receiving by Asian/Pacific and Asian/Pacific American, First/Native Nation and Latinx book creators as well. The charts documenting our annual statistics can be found below. What We Receive The CCBC receives most, but not all, of the trade books published annually in the United States by large corporate publishers. We do not include reprints of previously issued books in our count.
oyate - Resources Deconstructing the Myths of "The First Thanksgiving" by Judy Dow (Abenaki) Revised 06/12/06 Buy your own copy of Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective here! What is it about the story of "The First Thanksgiving" that makes it essential to be taught in virtually every grade from preschool through high school? What is it about the story that is so seductive? Is it because as Americans we have a deep need to believe that the soil we live on and the country on which it is based was founded on integrity and cooperation? We offer these myths and facts to assist students, parents and teachers in thinking critically about this holiday, and deconstructing what we have been taught about the history of this continent and the world. Myth #1: "The First Thanksgiving" occurred in 1621. Fact: No one knows when the "first" thanksgiving occurred. Myth #2: The people who came across the ocean on the Mayflower were called Pilgrims. Fact: The Plymouth settlers did not refer to themselves as "Pilgrims." Notes
2018 Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers | Young Adult Library Services Association This year’s final list consists of 30 titles selected from 108 nominations. The Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list identifies titles aimed at encouraging reading among teens who dislike to read for any reason. The members of the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Blogging Team are: Dana Hutchins, Coordinator, Jackson Middle School Library, San Antonio, TX; Kay Hones, Civic Center Secondary & Downtown Continuation High School, San Francisco, CA; Lisa Krok, Akron-Summit County Public Library, Akron, OH; Jodi Kruse, R. A. Long High School, Longview, WA; Laura Lehner, Hudson Library & Historical Society, Hudson, Ohio; Karen Lemmons, Detroit School of Arts Media Center, Detroit, MI; Jessica Ormonde, Pacifica Libraries, Pacifica, CA; Carrie Richmond, Racine Public Library, Racine, WI; Allie Stevens, Calhoun County Library, Hampton, AR; Jenny Zbrizher, Morris County Library, Whippany, NJ. * denotes a Top Ten Title Alexander, Kwame. Alexander, Kwame. Furstinger, Nancy. Giles, Lamar.
1000 Black Girl Books Resource Guide – GrassROOTS Community Foundation This resource guide was created in direct response to the multiple requests made by educators, parents and students. Like Marley Dias, so many of you have asked for books with black girls as the main characters. And because of you, we have received thousands of books. Here we are sharing with you the first 700 book titles. This resource includes words of welcome from Marley Dias, Creator of the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign. As the President and Co-Founder of GrassROOTS Community Foundation, I have added a few words and call to action to the guide. We have reviewed the titles and descriptions of books to ensure that they fit the criterion of having a black girl as the main characters. Each month we will update the list and continue to serve as an information repository for Black Girl Books. If you know of a black girl book, not listed here, please send us a copy so we can add it to our collection. GrassROOTS Community Foundation 59 Main Street Suite 323 West Orange, NJ 07052 Thank you.
American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): Gerald McDermott's ARROW TO THE SUN Gerald McDermott’s Arrow to the Sun won the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1978. Awarded annually by the American Library Association, the Caldecott Medal is given to the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the during the preceding year. My guess is that most public and elementary school libraries order at least one copy of every book that has won the Caldecott. Many of these books are also made available in video and audio format. Due to their visibility and award-winning status, teachers use them extensively. For example, I did an internet search using “Arrow to the Sun”+K12. Its popularity and acclaim aside, Arrow to the Sun has many problems. I think most teachers, prepping to use this book, would know that kivas are not scary places, but more like a church or temple. What if the teacher does not know anything about kivas, and therefore, doesn’t question McDermott’s presentation? They, too, are harmed, but in a different way.
The Reading Without Walls Challenge – Gene Luen Yang So this crazy thing happened this past January. The Library of Congress, Children’s Book Council, and Every Child A Reader appointed me the fifth National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature! Every National Ambassador picks a platform. Mine is Reading Without Walls. As National Ambassador, I issue you a challenge! 1. 2. 3. If you really want to go for the gold star, read a book that fits all three criteria!