3/17/2024 0 Comments Black book shelf children authorsThrough the white gaze, Gibson’s nature is violent and out of control – it’s something to be overcome, or rather, to be tamped and adjusted (by a man, of course.) The entire book reads like a letter of gratitude to this dude – it’s centered on Gibson’s mentor, rather than Gibson herself. Gibson’s troublesome behavior isn’t erased – but it’s placed in context of her behavior as a child. Gibson isn’t a one-dimensional, running stereotype, she’s a woman who grows up and matures over a lifetime. Harrison focuses on Gibson’s accomplishments. If you don’t know why this is a problem – I suggest you google ‘ how the Angry Black Woman stereotype silences women.‘Ĭompare Stauffacher’s portrayal to Vashti Harrison’s biography of Gibson in Little Leaders, (Harrison is a Black woman). Sue Stauffacher (a white author) feeds into the narrative of Gibson as a loud, angry Black girl in Nothing But Trouble. To illustrate this – Let’s compare how athlete Althea Gibson is portrayed by a white author, with her treatment by a Black author. When a white author appropriates the identity of women of color, it’s easy to feed into subtle racism and stereotypes without realizing it. Authors who write from lived experience can create problematic books – but these stories are more likely to humanize protagonists of color with dimension, agency, and cultural insight than authors without lived experience. People of color are neither monolithic nor infallible – we grow up in the same racist society White folks do. Believe Black women. After a lifetime of living in this skin, they are the experts on their experience. No matter how uncomfortable it gets, no matter how much you want to shout “NOT ME! I’M NOT THE PROBLEM!” – Hush. Even when they force us to confront the horrors of slavery, the prison industrial complex, and the ways we are complicit in their oppression. When women of color & Indigenous women tell us how we’re erasing them from the dominant narrative – listen to them. Racism is so embedded in kidlit that we don’t see when authors perpetuate stereotypes and reinforce white supremacist narratives. When White folks appropriate the identities of Black characters I’m human.Īlso: In an earlier version of this post, I accidentally appropriated the term ‘femme.’ Whoops – sorry! Learn why that’s not okay in the end of this post. This is bound to be an imperfect (and incomplete) list. I’ve done my best to boost the voices of Black women, but feel free to comment below if/when I screw up. As a non-Black woman of color, raised in the US, I’m bound to miss some things. If you’re into supporting libraries (please do!) more than consumerism, you can also support my work directly:ĭonate or shop using an affiliate link via| Paypal | Venmo | Ko-fi | Buy a t-shirt | Buy a bookĭisclosure: I’m not Black. Check out the full affiliate disclosure along with my statement of accountability. Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Raising Luminaries is free and accessible for readers who can’t afford a paywall. This post is no longer updated – to find the latest #OwnVoices books written by Black women & femmes, check out our frequently updated list on Bookshop. Zadie Smith offers an incisive, surprising introduction, limning the burdens the author placed on herself and us all, stepping out of her comfort zone while tirelessly advocating for “the African American culture out of which and toward which Morrison writes.In this post: Gorgeous, captivating, and endearing children’s picture books written and illustrated by Black women & nonbinary* authors & illustrators. When the girls reunite as women, they seek out the truth about what, exactly, went down so many years earlier. But the literary queen has a gambit up her sleeve: One girl is white and the other Black, and Morrison jumbles their racial identities through a series of moves that undermine historical hierarchies and simple binaries. Bonaventure, they’re hapless pawns near the bottom of the social pecking order, just above Maggie, the mute, disabled kitchen aide. As 8-year-olds, Twyla and Roberta are “dumped” for four months into a home for runaway and orphan girls as Twyla notes, “my mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick.” Within St. First published in 1983, the Nobel laureate’s only short story is a formal experiment that both stokes and defies our expectations, a chess game she’s destined to win.
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