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Re: next round of research and numbers
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From: Norma Jean Sawicki <nsawicki_at_nyc.rr.com>
Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 00:15:39 -0500
Augusta Baker, whom I knew well, was one of those most beloved and widely respected librarians in this country…and she would have been appalled at some of the comments made during this last month. Virginia Hamilton went to college with the late Janet Schulman, an extraordinary white woman who went on to become one of the best children's book publishers in the country. As a young woman, Janet did the match making between Virginia, and her then boss…the extraordinary white publisher, Susan Hirschman…the rest is history. This was the sixties/early seventies…gifted black writers and illustrators were sought after by white publishers, and their work was much celebrated by reviewers and librarians in this country. The list of black writers and illustrators discovered and nurtured by white publishers then and now is very very very long…..Norma Jean
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:41 PM, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas wrote:
> (Rosanne, after my notes about racism and capitalism, this is a meta response to the entire conversation, not just to you.)
>
> On Mar 3, 2014, at 9:18 PM, Rosanne Parry <rosanneparry_at_comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> Racism may come into play but capitalism is ultimately to blame.
>
> I've been thinking a lot about capitalism, as Marxism is next up in my doctoral seminar on literary theory. Neither capitalism nor racism are conditions endemic to our species. Neither racism nor capitalism in their current forms existed c. 1500. I doubt either system will be recognizable by 2100. For all our (necessary) sound and fury about both, both systems are fraying at the ends. And indeed, I think it's best to think and talk about systems, instead of individual people writing on CCBC-Net or publishers who feel singled out. Systems restrict and constraint individuals, anyway. That's what they're designed for… cogs in a well-oiled machine.
>
> Capitalism is the reason for some of the diversity gap in children's publishing, but it certainly can't account for all of it. Frankly, even racism is just one reason among many. The same parents who supposedly are refusing to purchase multicultural books for their children are tuning into shows with Black protagonists like SCANDAL and SLEEPY HOLLOW in droves. Neither ABC nor FOX are losing any money on either show. And somehow, I just don't believe adults are less racist and more enlightened than children are. Correlation isn't causation. But something odd is happening in this moment of change -- kairos, perhaps? ("In the fullness of time…")
>
> The reasons for the diversity gap in children's publishing are complex. If I've gotten nothing else out of the conversation, it was that. Many people are doing sustained work in many fields to figure out why we have the publishing landscape that we have. In order to have productive discussions about it and work toward change, I wish that we'd move beyond how we feel. Although hurt feelings can be unpleasant, I strongly believe that most of us have the best of intentions. When I resubscribed last weekend, I tried to tell myself that no matter how hurt I felt by the words of some of the people in the children's literature community, ultimately, it's not about me. It's about using the life that I've been given to make the world a better place.
>
> It wasn't best intentions that ensured that when I was growing up in the 1980s, authors like Walter Dean Myers and Virginia Hamilton were in print and available for me to read. It was the work of advocates like Augusta Baker and Nancy Larrick. I'm sure they faced criticism, too. I'm sure some feelings were hurt. No one ever said this would be easy. But I think it's worth it.
>
> Whatever the intent and feelings of adults, this landscape has real consequences not just for children of color, but for all children. We can wish it away. (I wish things were different, too.) We can explain it away. (Explanations are where I think in the end, we'll just have to agree to disagree.)
>
> But in the end, the world we have is the world we have. It is what it is, and it needs to change.
>
> Ebony
>
> --
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Received on Mon 03 Mar 2014 11:16:03 PM CST
Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 00:15:39 -0500
Augusta Baker, whom I knew well, was one of those most beloved and widely respected librarians in this country…and she would have been appalled at some of the comments made during this last month. Virginia Hamilton went to college with the late Janet Schulman, an extraordinary white woman who went on to become one of the best children's book publishers in the country. As a young woman, Janet did the match making between Virginia, and her then boss…the extraordinary white publisher, Susan Hirschman…the rest is history. This was the sixties/early seventies…gifted black writers and illustrators were sought after by white publishers, and their work was much celebrated by reviewers and librarians in this country. The list of black writers and illustrators discovered and nurtured by white publishers then and now is very very very long…..Norma Jean
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:41 PM, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas wrote:
> (Rosanne, after my notes about racism and capitalism, this is a meta response to the entire conversation, not just to you.)
>
> On Mar 3, 2014, at 9:18 PM, Rosanne Parry <rosanneparry_at_comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> Racism may come into play but capitalism is ultimately to blame.
>
> I've been thinking a lot about capitalism, as Marxism is next up in my doctoral seminar on literary theory. Neither capitalism nor racism are conditions endemic to our species. Neither racism nor capitalism in their current forms existed c. 1500. I doubt either system will be recognizable by 2100. For all our (necessary) sound and fury about both, both systems are fraying at the ends. And indeed, I think it's best to think and talk about systems, instead of individual people writing on CCBC-Net or publishers who feel singled out. Systems restrict and constraint individuals, anyway. That's what they're designed for… cogs in a well-oiled machine.
>
> Capitalism is the reason for some of the diversity gap in children's publishing, but it certainly can't account for all of it. Frankly, even racism is just one reason among many. The same parents who supposedly are refusing to purchase multicultural books for their children are tuning into shows with Black protagonists like SCANDAL and SLEEPY HOLLOW in droves. Neither ABC nor FOX are losing any money on either show. And somehow, I just don't believe adults are less racist and more enlightened than children are. Correlation isn't causation. But something odd is happening in this moment of change -- kairos, perhaps? ("In the fullness of time…")
>
> The reasons for the diversity gap in children's publishing are complex. If I've gotten nothing else out of the conversation, it was that. Many people are doing sustained work in many fields to figure out why we have the publishing landscape that we have. In order to have productive discussions about it and work toward change, I wish that we'd move beyond how we feel. Although hurt feelings can be unpleasant, I strongly believe that most of us have the best of intentions. When I resubscribed last weekend, I tried to tell myself that no matter how hurt I felt by the words of some of the people in the children's literature community, ultimately, it's not about me. It's about using the life that I've been given to make the world a better place.
>
> It wasn't best intentions that ensured that when I was growing up in the 1980s, authors like Walter Dean Myers and Virginia Hamilton were in print and available for me to read. It was the work of advocates like Augusta Baker and Nancy Larrick. I'm sure they faced criticism, too. I'm sure some feelings were hurt. No one ever said this would be easy. But I think it's worth it.
>
> Whatever the intent and feelings of adults, this landscape has real consequences not just for children of color, but for all children. We can wish it away. (I wish things were different, too.) We can explain it away. (Explanations are where I think in the end, we'll just have to agree to disagree.)
>
> But in the end, the world we have is the world we have. It is what it is, and it needs to change.
>
> Ebony
>
> --
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Received on Mon 03 Mar 2014 11:16:03 PM CST
