Suppose they held a conference and nobody came? Cancellation due to whiteness. The Loft Literary Center https://www.loft.org/ in Minneapolis cancelled its upcoming conference on writing for children and young adults due to whiteout conditions. Complaints from the public and shrinking attendance levels prompted the cancellation, with only one person of color scheduled to speak. According to the Loft Literary Center, more than 10 POC were invited to speak, but none were able to attend or interested in attending. The part that strikes me is the fact that such a small pool of brown presenters was invited. More than 10? Out of the entire children's literature industry that's how many people they could find to approach about presenting? According to the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, out of 3,200 children's books published in 2016:
Responses to the cancellation shocked me. People seemed to think acknowledging authors of color is an attempt to be politically correct and is reverse racism. Is this really how people in the Midwest feel about POC in the children's literature community? The comments felt Trumpish and hateful. They exemplified feelings of white fragility and the strong dislike that Caucasians have of being labeled "white." The commenters clearly felt that their white race is the default and to be labeled as white was an affront. They see themselves as raceless, just "people," no need for any labeling. "Political correctness gone amuck. This kind of stuff makes me crazy and a bit angry." says lynneploetz in the comments for the article announcing the cancellation. "Just the difference in men vs women's writing is a huge diversity! I did read a book recently written by a man, from a woman's perspective too, that I found very interesting and thought he did very well in getting the woman's point of view down." Marathon2004 thinks diversity means having a man write from a woman's point of view. No need to involve POC or even women to get diversity, apparently. "Imagine if the same diversity nonsense was applied to the NBA." says DeeJayMN. Another commenter proudly points out that the Loft Literary Center's mission statement mentions nothing about diversity. "Diversity itself has become an exclusionary concept that "whites" aren't allowed to belong to. "The problem is crucial because of the whiteness of children’s literature in general," said Shannon Gibney, who apparently doesn't realize how racist this statement is. Too bad the Star Tribune believes this kind of discourse is acceptable. If someone were to complain about the "blackness" of something, they would rightly be deemed a racist. Why is it OK when leveled against white people? What exactly is "whiteness" and why is it taken as axiomatic that it's bad?" Carciofi is furious that white people are excluded from diversity and furious that whiteness is even a term used to describe white people. 271 comments, white people praising each other for speaking out against diversity. One commenter argues that diversity is more than race, that we are all different from each other in "so many ways." Needing diversity to include people who aren't white "really seems so stupid to me." he says. Reading these comments is making me wince, I'm trying to comfort myself by thinking that this is just a small pocket of people in the Midwest that have nothing to do with my world, but in light of last weekend's white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and the political climate of our nation, I have to acknowledge that this is real and this is how white people feel. The dismissive tone and the repetitive use of words like "silly" and the victimized tones that the comments carry leave me feeling absolutely drained and exhausted. We are drowning in a sea of hate. For next month's post and moving forward, please send me questions and topics that you would like to discuss that involve libraries, books, diversity, and the children's literature community. fifiabuillustration@gmail.com
Fifi Abu spends her days surrounded by books that have already been created and the rest of her time writing and illustrating books yet to be born. She looks forward to a day when all children can see themselves reflected in the books they read. Ms. Abu holds a master's degree in children's literature and a master's degree in library science, is an active member of SCBWI, a Children's Book Academy graduate, and is represented by Linda Epstein at the Emerald City Literary Agency. She is pleased to announce that she has been elected to the 2019 Caldecott Committee. www.fifiabu.com
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Can Ms. Frizzle be black? Changing the race of beloved characters. A former coworker of mine reacted negatively to my shared post on social media. She is Caucasian and young enough to have grown up reading The Magic School Bus books and watching the television series. She expressed her displeasure at this casting decision (failing to notice that it is not actually a casting decision, just hopeful people on the internet). "Sorry, but why can't they just cast someone white with frizzy red hair?" She went on to say that race-changing isn't necessary, she doesn't "get it," and that it ruins iconic characters. Tell me how you *really* feel, sweetheart. I wasn't sure how to reply, so I just used the "wow" emoji. Her response was angry and defensive, saying that POC only get cast when a project is trying to be "edgy." She went on to name a movie that was "ruined" for her when a South Asian man was cast alongside all white actors. At a loss for words, I decided not to reply. In recent years, white people have openly and bitterly complained when a POC was cast in a role that they felt belonged to a Caucasian actor. We have also seen in recent years roles that specifically call for a POC being awarded to a white actor. It feels like a throwback to the 1960s when Native Americans and Asians, in particular, were frequently portrayed by Caucasians in dark makeup and dramatic eyeliner. The incredibly popular Broadway musical Hamilton is the rare exception, ironically, because the characters in the play are based on actual Caucasian people, real people. Ms. Frizzle is not real, as much as I wish she was. The anguished cries of white people who are somehow injured when fictional characters are portrayed by brown actors remind me of the publishing industry's call for diverse books and the criticism of these diverse books receive from some members of the white children's lit community when these books win major awards. The recent discussion in the comments section of the Horn Book Magazine's Read Roger blog after Javaka Steptoe's Caldecott acceptance speech (http://www.hbook.com/2017/06/blogs/read-roger/im-rubber-and-youre-glue/) reveals one woman's anger over the fact that Mr. Steptoe won the medal. "So, Javaka won the award because he is John Steptoe's son. The Newbery, Caldecott, CSK and Belpre committees must share notes. No objectivism left - just brainwashed librarians." - Agnes Smythe "Objectivism is a noun which also means "the tendency to lay stress on what is external to, or independent of, the mind." Thus I have used it correctly. The pattern of ALA award committees in the past several years is obvious in its selections of winners/honors: Promote diversity for diversity's sake. Today I received from final issue ever of the Horn Book - very bittersweet. I can no longer subscribe to a magazine that promotes a narrow-minded political philosophy. It was a real treat for me to purchase the HB on newsstands and later by mail. I own back issues dating to the forties. All good things must end someday😥" - Agnes Smythe "NO! I am not suggesting they should consult! My whole point is, the Awards committees have lost their objectivity- they are choosing the same diversity-themed books for diversity's sake, and not based on technical merit or artistry. This is why I dropped my 25-year ALA membership and my Horn Book subscription (and because of the Trump bashing). The awards have lost meaning." - Agnes Smythe "No worries, everyone. I have plenty of genuine Horn Book back issues to read and enjoy. So sad that books are no longer being judged on their technical merits alone - the awards have lost all meaning now." - Agnes Smythe Oh, Agnes! You are in so much pain. I'm not sure who you are, or if Agnes is even your actual name, but the level of injury that you are claiming to feel is pretty heavy here. To walk away from the Horn Book and from ALA because you somehow feel slighted by the fact that a POC won the Caldecott Medal? For some people, allowing anyone who isn't white to take up space in what they perceive to be a world that they are entitled to is unthinkable. It just can't happen. And it doesn't matter if that person is a real and incredibly talented artist who created a brilliant book and is selected for recognition by a team of highly esteemed industry professionals or if that person is a an incredibly talented actor who was gleefully selected by anonymous people on the internet to replace a fictional white woman in a project that doesn't actually exist. For next month's post and moving forward, please send me questions and topics that you would like to discuss that involve libraries, books, diversity, and the children's literature community. fifiabuillustration@gmail.com
Fifi Abu spends her days surrounded by books that have already been created and the rest of her time writing and illustrating books yet to be born. She looks forward to a day when all children can see themselves reflected in the books they read. Ms. Abu holds a master's degree in children's literature and a master's degree in library science, is an active member of SCBWI, a Children's Book Academy graduate, and is represented by Linda Epstein at the Emerald City Literary Agency. She is pleased to announce that she has been elected to the 2019 Caldecott Committee. www.fifiabu.com Ask a Librarian with Fifi AbuAt the April 8th Color of Children's Literature Conference in New York, Cynthia Leitich Smith spoke about her experiences breaking into the writing world as a native author over 20 years ago. The general attitude in publishing was "We already have one." in response to the thought of signing a Native American author. One was enough. Perhaps one was almost too many. And that one author was generally male. There is a quota, apparently, on POC taking seats at the white publishing table. Hearing other authors and illustrators of color speak on April 8th made it clear that despite all of the lip service about diversity, the old rules are still in place. And there is something that feels very calculated and staged going on as the call from publishers for submissions from POC occurs. I've seen agents make graceless cattle calls on social media "Hey, does anyone know any Muslim illustrators?" Widely casting their net while loudly broadcasting the fact that despite the constant inboxing of queries and connections to everyone in the entire publishing industry, no one knows an actual Muslim. Admitting to the world that publishing is such an exclusively caucasian world that no one in it can even make a referral. Because of external pressure, publishers are attempting to make a gesture toward diversity. But due to the exclusionary nature of the industry, the people who have been invisible are not people that publishers have relationships with. I had a recent experience with an art director who was interested in discussing my Muslim-themed work. He was trying to place me in an imprint that deals exclusively with POC. That was the only place he could see me having value. The only place I belong. I politely listened to everything that he had to say, but inside I was shouting "I can do other things! I can draw cats going dancing! I've got a dog who bakes cakes! I've got a book about mothers!" It was clear that I was only being considered because the publisher would be able to check a box. I was useful for one type of book and one imprint, but not as a general author/illustrator. I would prefer to be be seen as a whole person, not as a two-dimensional marketing ploy. I love the idea of diverse books being created by a wide range of diverse people. But even more, I love the idea of the white publishing world seeing POC as a valuable part of the general talent pool. For next month's post and moving forward, please send me questions and topics that you would like to discuss that involve libraries, books, diversity, and the children's literature community. fifiabuillustration@gmail.com Fifi Abu spends her days surrounded by books that have already been created and the rest of her time writing and illustrating books yet to be born. She looks forward to a day when all children can see themselves reflected in the books they read. Ms. Abu holds a master's degree in children's literature and a master's degree in library science, is an active member of SCBWI and a Children's Book Academy graduate. She is pleased to announce that she has been elected to the 2019 Caldecott Committee. www.fifiabu.com Ask a Librarian with Fifi Abu I was disappointed to read an essay posted online recently by a white male author/illustrator about how to handle the demands of "We Need Diverse Books" without losing any business. That's right. His essay about his experience with including diversity in his books is about how to do it properly so as to not lose any business to authors and illustrators who are people of color. "Sue me for being selfish." he actually writes at one point. He is quite proud of himself for having "worked in" some Spanish, a wheelchair, and a girl wearing a hijab. Then he blames WNDB for requiring that he do so. When his agent urges him to cool it on awkwardly checking off boxes in his work to indicate diversity, he "was pretty pissed off." He creates a list of books made by people who are not the same race as the characters in the book they made in order to argue his case with his agent. Sadly for him, his agent lets him know that each of the books on his list was actually made by a POC the same race as the characters depicted in the book. Oops. Instead of admitting that his agent is right, he reaches out to a friend in the industry who tells him that his inclusion is coming off as a bit forced and inauthentic. This upsets him. But then he realizes that the most important thing is getting published, so he decides to whiten up his characters. "Plain old" is the term he uses to indicate whiteness, the natural default for characters. He seems angry at WNDB for tricking him into thinking that he needs to include brown people in his work. He then writes about talking to two POC in the industry who stress that the industry desperately needs more POC on the creative side as well as the editorial side. He then states that he would prefer to make the books himself, rather than have POC make them, because he wants to make the money. That's when "Sue me for being selfish." comes in. This essay is so incredibly inappropriate and completely off the mark. He never mentions the reason why WNDB exists, only his desire to find workarounds so that he will not lose any business to authors and illustrators of color. His sense of entitlement has him thinking that not only should he get book contracts for projects depicting white people, he deserves to get the contracts for books depicting brown people too. His annoyance at being told that he wasn't doing it well is evident, and instead of taking the advice being given to him, he chooses to argue because he can't possibly imagine that he is wrong. I've heard similar things from Caucasian people in my critique group, proudly showing one page of brown people in their portfolio to satisfy the call from WNDB. I've seen well-executed inclusive books made by white people and very clunky inclusive books made by white people. What never seems to cross anyone's mind is that maybe it's time for white folks to stay in their own lane and let POC tell their own stories. For next month's post and moving forward, please send me questions and topics that you would like to discuss that involve libraries, books, diversity, and the children's literature community. fifiabuillustration@gmail.com Fifi Abu spends her days surrounded by books that have already been created and the rest of her time writing and illustrating books yet to be born. She looks forward to a day when all children can see themselves reflected in the books they read. Ms. Abu holds a master's degree in children's literature and a master's degree in library science, is an active member of SCBWI and a Children's Book Academy graduate. www.fifiabu.com When a deeply loved book is highly problematic: the Tintin syndrome I purchased Herge's Tintin in the Congo for my library's graphic novel collection a few years ago when it was available in the U.S. after many many years out of print. Originally published in black and white as a weekly serial in 1930 and 1931 and then in color in 1946, this volume was not published in English until 2005. Tintin in the Congo is widely recognized as being racist and offensive, with hideous illustrations of colonized Congolese people and insulting depictions of them. So why would I want to add a book to my collection that I found to be distasteful? As a completionist, I knew that there would be public interest in this book. Researchers and grad students and curious individuals, as well as general fans of the Tintin books would have the opportunity to get their hands on something that prior to this re-print had been very difficult to come by. After the decision to purchase the book, the question was where to put it in the collection. Should it be a reference book for in-house use only? Adult graphic novels? A special collection? Or in with the other Tintin books in the children's circulating collection? I chose to have the book in with the other Tintin books because I felt that people would be looking there, so it seemed natural. I also am not a gate-keeper type of librarian, trying to control access to information and materials. I like freedom and I like empowering patrons. I braced myself for objections from the public, for challenges and requests to have Tintin in the Congo removed from the library. The first an only comment came from a member of my staff who was very upset when she saw three copies of the book arrive on a cart of new materials. She thought that I had purchased it by mistake, not knowing what it was. I assured her that the books were purchased deliberately and explained that they had been out of print for many years. We discussed censorship and the buzz that the re-release of this title was creating. I could tell that she doubted my professional capabilities. Children (mostly boys, mostly caucasian) in the wealthy suburb of Boston where I was the Youth Services Supervisor squealed with excitement upon seeing the book. They would flop down on their bellies next to the graphic novels per usual, and begin to hungrily read. No reaction to the racist images, ever. No comments from from the children or their parents. No complaints from anyone in our 42-library network. Only constant circulation of the books as they were requested by patrons in my library and the 41 others. When I think of the types of comments and complaints I have gotten from parents during my career, I cannot believe that Tintin in the Congo did not foster at least one conversation. I had a mother get upset that a middle grade book had a raccoon on the cover, because her fifth grader was afraid of raccoons. I had a mother complain that the female superheroes in our graphic novel collection were wearing clothing that was too tight and therefore inappropriate. I had a mother complain that her fourth grade son had selected the book Superfudge on a school visit to the library because she felt that it would be too challenging for him to read and would upset him. But over Tintin --- not a peep. In library school, we are trained in topics of censorship, of legality, of how to address formal challenges from patrons. We are not trained in how to react when not a single person blinks in response to historical material that is controversial and deeply offensive. I kept my feelings to myself, as it is not my professional role to engage in unsolicited conversations about race and what is offensive to me and what is not. Almost all of the libraries in the network opted not to purchase the re-released edition of Tintin in the Congo. One library has it in their closed stacks, not for circulation; another has it in adult graphic, not children's. Three other libraries have it in French (so not something they purchased as part of the re-release), and one of those three libraries does not circulate the book, but keeps it for library use only. How do you feel about historical books with offensive content? Is it censorship to avoid them completely? Or to limit access? For next month's post and moving forward, please send me questions and topics that you would like to discuss that involve libraries, books, diversity, and the children's literature community. fifiabuillustration@gmail.com Fifi Abu spends her days surrounded by books that have already been created and the rest of her time writing and illustrating books yet to be born. She looks forward to a day when all children can see themselves reflected in the books they read. Ms. Abu holds a master's degree in children's literature and a master's degree in library science, is an active member of SCBWI and a Children's Book Academy graduate. www.fifiabu.com |
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