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. By choosing to read African-American literature year-round, readers are fighting the underrepresentation of black people in literature. Such poor representation should alarm readers of all races, as inequality of authorship only leads to one-sided storytelling and therefore an inability for readers to see themselves in the stories they love. Angie Thomas Angie Thomas is a young adult author. After witnessing the event, she is forced to stand up for what is right and fight for justice. Sharon Draper Sharon Draper is a distinguished African-American writer and educator. Jason Reynolds Toni Morrison Roxane Gay
Black History, Sequential Art, and the Power of Representation – AAIHS *This post is part of our blog series on The World of the Black Panther. This series, edited by Julian Chambliss and Walter Greason, examines the Black Panther and the narrative world linked to the character in comics, animation, and film. Adequate—and accurate—representation of one’s culture is critical to any racial group’s collective self-esteem. Because we live in a visual society, images of people, events, religion, and places are often perceived as truth. These depictions, whether they are accurate or inaccurate, tend to define one’s reality—regardless of statistical truth. For people of African descent, it is essential that we become wise stewards of our own collective representation. Mainstream narratives in the media continue to portray Black people as void of a past—and future—they can call their own. The Black Panther film exemplifies the power of sequential art as a literary and visual medium. Copyright © AAIHS.
The Ongoing Problem of Race in Y.A. Aronson points out that nonfiction is a genre within Y.A., and that there is a certain amount of mixed-race writing reflected in the category. There are also reported books about immigrant teenagers, for example. Those books tend to come before the novelized versions. But, he says, "The cycles are bound to go faster now, because we’re in a faster world." It's also possible that some things have gotten worse before they've gotten better, in adult as well as Y.A. markets. In last week's Y.A. for Grownups, we talked about what "Young Adult" means. YALSA finds another of the chief values of young adult literature in its capacity to offer readers an opportunity to see themselves reflected in its pages. As Aronson said, "in Y.A., you’re trying to speak directly to the reader, for the reader to feel that jolt, that impact, that’s me."
Toni Morrison 1996 Interview with Oprah Monica Brown - Children's Book Author Jason Reynolds Reading a Section of Ghost 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. 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 Jubilee Singers of Fisk University were a group of African American singers in the 1870s. The singers were a fundraising effort for Fisk University, a historically black university in Nashville, Tennessee, although one that was not initially approved by the university itself. Elizabeth Keckley After several years in St. Booker T. Phillis Wheatley by W.
Children's Books by and About People of Color Documented by the Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Questions about this information? Contact CCBC Director Kathleen T. Horning) Last updated: March 19, 2019 History In 1985, then-CCBC Director Ginny Moore Kruse was serving as a member of the Coretta Scott King Award Committee, and we were appalled to learn that, of the approximately 2,500 trade books that were published in 1985, only 18 were created by African Americans, and thus eligible for the Coretta Scott King Award. Beginning in 1994 we began also keeping track of the numbers of books we were receiving by Asian/Pacific and Asian/Pacific American, First/Native Nation and Latinx book creators as well. The charts documenting our annual statistics can be found below. What We Receive The CCBC receives most, but not all, of the trade books published annually in the United States by large corporate publishers. We do not include reprints of previously issued books in our count.
10 African-American Authors Everyone Should Read The majestic Maya Angelou, whom I met years ago at San Francisco’s Glide Memorial Church, once remarked, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Sadly, this agony was once common to millions of African-Americans, whose stories often went untold or unheard, let alone published and read by the world. Nevertheless, many inspiring and irreplaceable voices heroically surfaced over the years. They belong in the canon of great American authors not solely because of their race, but because they deftly address the perennial concerns of all humanity. It’s Black History Month, in case you forgot. A special shout-out to my friends at Questia, the online research tool for students. To punctuate their support of Black History Month, Questia is offering a reference work about each author below completely free for a month. The Ten Most-Read African-American Authors: 1. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Let me know what you think in the Comments area below.
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. As a small organization with only two full-time staff, our resources are limited. 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. Financial donations are always welcomed. Thank you.
Jason Reynolds #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.