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Re: Caldecott at 75: Diversity (or lack their of)
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From: Claudia Pearson <pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 15:06:08 -0400 (EDT)
As with any endeavor to addr ess an imbalance in represe ntation, there are multiple lev els in the selection process which must be considered. Others have pointed out that the identity of those selecting award winners may play a role in the ir ability to a ppreciate diverse cultural elements of the works they cons ider. More relevant may be the size and demographics of the "pool" from which selections are made, which raises questions about the manner in which this pool is identified and e valuated.
I
n the conte xt of employment discriminatio n , people have long realized that "word-of -mouth" hiring practices tend to perpetuate racial imbal ance in wor kforce . A s I understand it (and p lease correct me if I am w rong) , "word-of -mouth" and publisher promotion still play a significant role in the process by which award winning books come to the co mmittees' attention and move forward in the selection processes. This raise s two questions: First and foremost, how are books identified for serious c onsideration? Are enough diverse sources getting enough attention when they recommend books , or does the system itse lf create barriers to the consideration of a diverse range of texts ? A re "multicultur al" books being given only li m it ed attention because the selection committees know the C SK award provide a well known but separate award process sp ecifically for them? S ep arate but equal was thro w n out long ago , and from conversations I have had with some CSK winners, the publi shing companies do not market these boo k s the same way they do the Caldecott and Newbery books.
These are the kinds of issues the ALA may be a b le to address, but the publishing houses are perhaps an unwitting " partner" in the ostensible perpetuation of bias in the selection process : u nless a bo ok is published, it can not be considered for an a ward, an d even if publish ed, unless the book receives en ough att ention in the market , it may not come to the attentio n of the committee. These are things which are controlled primarily by the publishing houses. Are enough quality books by a diverse group of authors and il lustrator s bein g published ? No. The statistics make that very clear. Why not? Ask a publishe r and they will tell you that sales for "multicu ltural " books are lower than sales for books with white protagonist s. But is this a self-perpe tuating process similar to the claim that "blacks can't succeed at technica l jobs, " or "black s aren't smart enough t o do the higher level jobs, the t ests prove that " - at least until the tests are examined and the linguistic and cultural bi ases in them are exposed. Employers attempting to address a racial imbal ance or wanting to ensure a culturally diverse work force are typically faced with a need to both initiate a process which el iminates bias in the qualifying sta ges and enhances t he pool from which p eople are interviewed. They also make an effort to address what may o ften b e unper ceived biases in their decision making proce sses. I am sure the committees who make decisions about what books are sele cted for award s are very sensitive to the possib ility of their cultural biases influencing t heir perceptions and make every effort to address those co ncerns, but agree th at it helps to have a diverse group ma king the decisions .
En hancing the "pool" of books consid ered presents a more complicated situation. Publishers are in the business to make money, and there is a perception, whether valid or not, that "multicultural " books have a limited audience. Grace Li n did a wonderful job of exploring the double edge d nature of becoming a "multi-cultural" author: It may open a door to a pub lisher who feels a need to add a "multicu ltural" book to their list, but it can also limit the oppo rtunity to ma rket the next book, and the book after that, especially if the author is labeled a "multicultural" auth or.
Like the black applicant who shows up for a job interview and "fails" a test which is dep endent on access to specific educational background, work experience, and/ or cul tural knowledge which only whites ha ve access to , assumptions about l imitations in the audience for and marketability of "mult icultural " books have apparently resulted in their being&n bsp; provided only limited representation on the publication lists of ma jor publishing houses.
Someone in the publishing business needs to address how an d why "multicultural" t exts and au thors/illustrators ar e treated differently in the acquisition and marketing pro cesses , and whether the different tr eatme nt they receive tends to create a self-p erpetuati ng limitation on the comme rcial success of " multicultural" books . Do main stream p ublishers ev er consider a deb ut book b y a "multicultural" author a "commercial" property, or are t he marketing numbers an d stra tegies narrowly focused on making t he book a success as a " school" text which can be used to teach the value of diversity? How was Millicent Min perceived at first? Why did the people who realized this was a "commercial" pr operty want to make her "white" when they decided to convert the text to film? Ditto Ursula LeGuin's wizard , who is por trayed as white when the texts clearly indicate he was a p erson of color.
A
s long as books by "multicultural" authors and illustrators are not treated the sa me way in the book ac quisition and marketing processes, they will continue to have only limited audiences and will not receive the attention and support necessary to ensure their proper representation in the award nomination processes.
I need to get off my soap box now. I have a multicultural book or two I need to go revis e. Of course I don't know if they will ever sell since I am white and therefore publishers will probably assume I would have difficulty selling a "multicultural" book to a minor ity audience. I look forward to the day when a b ook is con sidered "multicultur al" becaus e it appeals to a multicultural audience like Snowy Day and Grace Lin's books a nd others too numerous to mention here , and not bec ause it was written by a minority author who is expected to se ll the book p rimarily to pe ople of th e same minority.
my 2 cents.
Claudia
Claudia Pearson coRA SCBWI Southern Breeze Georgia - Alabama - Florida Panhandle pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net
Received on Thu 16 May 2013 03:06:08 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 15:06:08 -0400 (EDT)
As with any endeavor to addr ess an imbalance in represe ntation, there are multiple lev els in the selection process which must be considered. Others have pointed out that the identity of those selecting award winners may play a role in the ir ability to a ppreciate diverse cultural elements of the works they cons ider. More relevant may be the size and demographics of the "pool" from which selections are made, which raises questions about the manner in which this pool is identified and e valuated.
I
n the conte xt of employment discriminatio n , people have long realized that "word-of -mouth" hiring practices tend to perpetuate racial imbal ance in wor kforce . A s I understand it (and p lease correct me if I am w rong) , "word-of -mouth" and publisher promotion still play a significant role in the process by which award winning books come to the co mmittees' attention and move forward in the selection processes. This raise s two questions: First and foremost, how are books identified for serious c onsideration? Are enough diverse sources getting enough attention when they recommend books , or does the system itse lf create barriers to the consideration of a diverse range of texts ? A re "multicultur al" books being given only li m it ed attention because the selection committees know the C SK award provide a well known but separate award process sp ecifically for them? S ep arate but equal was thro w n out long ago , and from conversations I have had with some CSK winners, the publi shing companies do not market these boo k s the same way they do the Caldecott and Newbery books.
These are the kinds of issues the ALA may be a b le to address, but the publishing houses are perhaps an unwitting " partner" in the ostensible perpetuation of bias in the selection process : u nless a bo ok is published, it can not be considered for an a ward, an d even if publish ed, unless the book receives en ough att ention in the market , it may not come to the attentio n of the committee. These are things which are controlled primarily by the publishing houses. Are enough quality books by a diverse group of authors and il lustrator s bein g published ? No. The statistics make that very clear. Why not? Ask a publishe r and they will tell you that sales for "multicu ltural " books are lower than sales for books with white protagonist s. But is this a self-perpe tuating process similar to the claim that "blacks can't succeed at technica l jobs, " or "black s aren't smart enough t o do the higher level jobs, the t ests prove that " - at least until the tests are examined and the linguistic and cultural bi ases in them are exposed. Employers attempting to address a racial imbal ance or wanting to ensure a culturally diverse work force are typically faced with a need to both initiate a process which el iminates bias in the qualifying sta ges and enhances t he pool from which p eople are interviewed. They also make an effort to address what may o ften b e unper ceived biases in their decision making proce sses. I am sure the committees who make decisions about what books are sele cted for award s are very sensitive to the possib ility of their cultural biases influencing t heir perceptions and make every effort to address those co ncerns, but agree th at it helps to have a diverse group ma king the decisions .
En hancing the "pool" of books consid ered presents a more complicated situation. Publishers are in the business to make money, and there is a perception, whether valid or not, that "multicultural " books have a limited audience. Grace Li n did a wonderful job of exploring the double edge d nature of becoming a "multi-cultural" author: It may open a door to a pub lisher who feels a need to add a "multicu ltural" book to their list, but it can also limit the oppo rtunity to ma rket the next book, and the book after that, especially if the author is labeled a "multicultural" auth or.
Like the black applicant who shows up for a job interview and "fails" a test which is dep endent on access to specific educational background, work experience, and/ or cul tural knowledge which only whites ha ve access to , assumptions about l imitations in the audience for and marketability of "mult icultural " books have apparently resulted in their being&n bsp; provided only limited representation on the publication lists of ma jor publishing houses.
Someone in the publishing business needs to address how an d why "multicultural" t exts and au thors/illustrators ar e treated differently in the acquisition and marketing pro cesses , and whether the different tr eatme nt they receive tends to create a self-p erpetuati ng limitation on the comme rcial success of " multicultural" books . Do main stream p ublishers ev er consider a deb ut book b y a "multicultural" author a "commercial" property, or are t he marketing numbers an d stra tegies narrowly focused on making t he book a success as a " school" text which can be used to teach the value of diversity? How was Millicent Min perceived at first? Why did the people who realized this was a "commercial" pr operty want to make her "white" when they decided to convert the text to film? Ditto Ursula LeGuin's wizard , who is por trayed as white when the texts clearly indicate he was a p erson of color.
A
s long as books by "multicultural" authors and illustrators are not treated the sa me way in the book ac quisition and marketing processes, they will continue to have only limited audiences and will not receive the attention and support necessary to ensure their proper representation in the award nomination processes.
I need to get off my soap box now. I have a multicultural book or two I need to go revis e. Of course I don't know if they will ever sell since I am white and therefore publishers will probably assume I would have difficulty selling a "multicultural" book to a minor ity audience. I look forward to the day when a b ook is con sidered "multicultur al" becaus e it appeals to a multicultural audience like Snowy Day and Grace Lin's books a nd others too numerous to mention here , and not bec ause it was written by a minority author who is expected to se ll the book p rimarily to pe ople of th e same minority.
my 2 cents.
Claudia
Claudia Pearson coRA SCBWI Southern Breeze Georgia - Alabama - Florida Panhandle pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net
Received on Thu 16 May 2013 03:06:08 PM CDT
