Why You Should Read African-American Literature Year-Round Black History Month is important for many reasons. It’s important because of how widespread and systematic racism is, even in 2018, and it’s important simply because black history is American history. A fantastic way to celebrate the month is to read books written by African-American authors, though the novels don’t need to leave your to-be-read (TBR) list when March comes around. Many African-American penned stories have just as much literary merit as their canonical counterparts, but often go overlooked due to the systemic tendency to downplay the academic or artistic value of cultural commodities produced by minority figures. By choosing to read African-American literature year-round, readers are fighting the underrepresentation of black people in literature. In children’s literature, less than 8 percent of books published in 2015 were written by or about African-American people, according to a study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Angie Thomas Sharon Draper Jason Reynolds
The Crisis in Black Education: Crafting Mirrors Where Kids Can See Themselves | Edutopia Sharif El-Mekki is the principal of Mastery Charter-Shoemaker Campus, a predominantly African American 7th- to 12th-grade school that was recognized by President Barack Obama as an exemplary turnaround school. El-Mekki has been immersed in the challenge of improving black education since he was an elementary student at a Philadelphia Freedom School in the early 1970s. El-Mekki was also a Principal Ambassador Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education under Arne Duncan, and he is the founder of Black Male Educators for Social Justice, a fellowship dedicated to supporting and recruiting more African American men into the teaching profession—a critical component, El-Mekki believes, in creating more equitable schools. We spoke with El-Mekki about his educational background, his priorities as a school leader, and how he plans to inspire more African American males to become teachers. EDUTOPIA: Can you paint a picture of your childhood and when you first became aware of race as an issue?
theconversation If you think back to your childhood, what sticks with you? For many people, it’s those cosy times when they were cuddled up with a parent or grandparent, being read a story. But bedtime stories aren’t just lovely endings to the day or a way to induce sleep, they are also a safe way to experience and discuss all sorts of feelings and situations. So even when children think they’re just being told about an adorable bunny’s adventures, they are actually learning about the world around them. We know that children’s books can act like both mirrors and windows on the world. Research on prejudice shows that coming in contact with people who are different – so-called “others” – helps to reduce stereotypes. But while it may be ideal for children to actually meet people from different backgrounds in person, if that isn’t possible, books can serve as a first introduction to an outside world. Representing the world Role models But books aren’t just about “others”.
21 YA Books To Read For Black History Month In the early morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob marched across the train tracks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and into its predominantly Black Greenwood District—a thriving, affluent neighborhood known as America’s Black Wall Street. They brought with them firearms, gasoline, and explosives. In a few short hours, they’d razed thirty-five square blocks to the ground, leaving hundreds dead. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in US history. But how did it come to pass? These are the questions that award-winning author Brandy Colbert seeks to answer in this unflinching nonfiction account of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The Tulsa Race Massacre has long failed to fit into the story Americans like to tell themselves about the history of their country. Buy Black Birds in the Sky now! 8. West African folklore-inspired fantasy with a slow burn romance? But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Buy A Song of Wraiths and Ruin now! 9. 10. 11. Today Tomorrow 12. 13.
African-American Literature | Collections | Lit2Go ETC William Wells Brown William Wells Brown was a prominent abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian. Born into slavery in the Southern United States, Brown escaped to the North, where he worked for abolitionist causes and was a prolific writer. Brown was a pioneer in several different literary genres, including travel writing, fiction, and drama, and wrote what is considered to be the first novel by an African American. An almost exact contemporary of Frederick Douglass, Wells Brown was overshadowed by Douglass and the two feuded publicly. Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass was an American abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. W. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was the first African American to graduate with a Ph.D. from Harvard. Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jubilee Singers Elizabeth Keckley After several years in St. Booker T.
1000 Black Girl Books Resource Guide – GrassROOTS Community Foundation This resource guide was created in direct response to the multiple requests made by educators, parents and students. Like Marley Dias, so many of you have asked for books with black girls as the main characters. And because of you, we have received thousands of books. Here we are sharing with you the first 700 book titles. We have not yet catalogued all the books. This resource includes words of welcome from Marley Dias, Creator of the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign. As the President and Co-Founder of GrassROOTS Community Foundation, I have added a few words and call to action to the guide. We have reviewed the titles and descriptions of books to ensure that they fit the criterion of having a black girl as the main characters. Each month we will update the list and continue to serve as an information repository for Black Girl Books. If you know of a black girl book, not listed here, please send us a copy so we can add it to our collection. Financial donations are always welcomed.
#ownvoices • Corinne Duyvis Q: I know #ownvoices started in the kidlit world, but can I use it to recommend adult novels? Go for it. Q: What about comic books? Q: Is this about race? Whoaaa remember what I said about not wanting to moderate or regulate it? Let’s highlight some of those words, though: “Author,” as in the actual author has this identity, not their spouse, child, sibling, student, neighbor, friend, etc. “Identity,” as in at least somewhat specific. And “a” marginalized identity, not “all.” Beyond that? Q: Right, but you gave wildly different examples. Sorry, I’ve said pretty much all I feel comfortable saying. And that’s exactly why I don’t think it’s my place to make that call. Q: If my character and I share one type of identity, but the character is also marginalized in ways that I’m not, wouldn’t it be misleading to call it #ownvoices? Depends on how you frame it, IMO. • Awesome Book features a Chinese-American trans girl! See the difference between the first one and the other two? Absolutely not.
Nine African Children’s Books by Africans — World Literature for Kids Month This brief tour of African children’s literature is part of a month-long series on Bookwitty celebrating world literature for children as part of WorldKidLit Month, on twitter at #WorldKidLit. African children’s literature—by African authors—is among the most underrepresented in UK and US bookshops. The excellent world-literature advocacy organization “Outside in World,” which offers information about a wealth of world children’s literature from six of the seven continents, has only five titles from all of Africa. Of these, four are from South Africa. One, a folktale called True Friends, is a Groundwood Books title from Tanzania. Earlier this year, superstar Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie said we don’t have enough children’s literature that tells African stories. Translations of African literature are about as rare as dragon’s teeth, and can be just as hard to find.