Diverse Authors
Should books be selected based on the author's skin color or the quality of their book?
According to middle school librarian Sarah McElrath, high school librarian Dana Ryder and Director of Instructional Services Mary Jane Evink, Grand Haven along with schools across the country have a goal of adding more books by diverse authors to their school libraries.
When school personnel refer to diversity, they are typically referring to ethnic minorities and members of the LGBTQ community, but administrators will tell you that diversity can refer to any underrepresented or marginalized group of people. Administrators working towards this goal explain that underrepresented children need to see reflections of themselves in books, and white children need to read books about underrepresented children to help them gain better understanding into the lives of people that have different backgrounds. They might refer to this concept of Windows, Mirrors and Sliding Glass Doors. In addition, they will explain, authors with matching unrepresented skin color are more qualified to write books about underrepresented children because they can draw from their own experiences making their stories more authentic.
Most Americans find it desirable to offer books to children from which they will learn and grow in a positive manner. When diversity consists of studying the differences among people and celebrating those differences, those initiatives are supported by the masses. However, when prejudice and discrimination take root and the quality of books offered to our children suffer in the name of diversity something has gone horribly wrong.
Schools are placing too much emphasis on the main character’s and author’s skin color and not enough attention on what is actually in the books they are selecting. That is actually discrimination and a very poor way to select books. Most of us learned “Not to judge a book by it’s cover?”, well isn’t “Judging a book solely based on the characteristics of the author” just as bad?
Although there are talented authors from minority backgrounds, here are some examples of books available to children in the Grand Haven school libraries that were obtained with the goal of diversity in mind. Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh. This book is a well-written coming of age story. It centers on a first-generation girl of African descent. Unfortunately, this book contains a scene of pedophilia rape, and another of seven-year-old girls touching each other inappropriately.
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson is another coming of age story written by an award-winning minority author. Melody was a child born to teenage parents Aubrey and Iris. In the story, Iris leaves her child to pursue a college education. Instead of focusing on the difficulties of collage and success after years of hard work, the author details Iris’s lesbian encounters, drug use and rejection of her baby’s father. The book contains vulgar language, promotes teen drug and alcohol use, and normalizes multiple sexual partners. It contains descriptions of sexual encounters including, straight, lesbian and phone sex. In addition, it contains references to sexual fetishes, incest, and child sex (age 11). Although teen parents deserve to have role models in books, this example offers teen parents little to emulate.
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D Jackson is yet another example of a book written by a minority author and obtained by GHAPS to offer choices to our underrepresented students. In this book Claudia searches for her best friend Monday who has disappeared. Through the story she learns that Monday was severely abused and ultimately murdered by her mother. She was then stuffed into a freezer by her sister. The book uses vulgar language throughout, and contains several scenes of teen sex and drinking.
School administrators have stated that very few children have checked out the book Monday’s Not Coming, and the ones that have are minorities that need to see reflections of themselves in books. Is this how school administrators think minorities live?
How does a book like this help to improve the life of a minority child? How are we serving our minority children? Describing a hopelessly abusive childhood, filled with drinking and sex, that ends in death leaves an abused child nothing to look forward to??.?. There is no way that this story of extreme abuse is reflective of a typical minority family.
When the characteristic of sexual orientation is substituted for the characteristic of race, the issues with quality of books offered are identical within the Grand Haven Area Public School Libraries. Instead of referring to the books Every Body Looking, Red at the Bone, and Monday’s Not Coming, examples would include titles such as Beyond Magenta, Simon and the Homo Sapien Agenda, Queer: A Graphic History, and One Many Guy. The issue is exactly the same. GHAPS libraries are being filled with books selected solely based on the characteristics of their main characters and authors and not on the merits of the work.
The definition of discrimination is, “providing a person with an unfair advantage due to a characteristic”. What Grand Haven is doing in the name of diversity is actually discrimination. Why are we prejudging authors, and selecting materials based solely on skin color and not on merit? In addition, because the books are being selected based on author characteristics, they do not necessarily match the high-quality standards which would better serve our children. We have choices as a community. Why not scrutinize the offerings and work to find stories that will help children to be successful in their future endeavors?