Wait, How is Your Character White if You are Black? -writing outside of one's culture

In a perfect world, each culture would have its own literature translated for all to read. We would be able to “walk in each other’s shoes” through their stories and writing styles. Everyone would be open-minded enough to gain something, anything out of these stories. However, this is not a perfect world.


So, the question has been raised: can someone write outside their own culture?

Many would say yes, and many would say no; it is quite the divided topic. Those against it say that there is no possible way for someone outside the culture to truly understand what it means to be a ‘part.’ They may study it and learn its history, but they will never feel the culture as a lifestyle because they will never be a true member of it. Those for the idea have different takes on the subject. Henry Louis Gates Jr. says “no human culture is inaccessible to someone who makes an effort to understand, to learn, to inhabit another world.”


It is this quote that made me think past the realm of the ‘perfect world’ scenario I proposed and into reality. There will never be a culturally authentic writer for some cultures. Should these cultures just, disappear then? Or should we make an effort to learn as much as we can and use these highly complex neurons of ours to try and place ourselves in the closest situation we can?


I would also like to add this sentiment. If we are limited to

writing only about our own cultures, where does creative writing come in? Where is fantasy? How am I supposed to write a fanfiction shipping a Klingon character with a Romulan in a heart-felt love story across two warring peoples? I promise you, I am neither Romulan nor Klingon. However, I know an extensive amount about both character’s cultures enough to actually teach a class on the subject.


 Along these lines, should we limit teachers to only teach their own cultures? My cultural anthropology class in undergrad was not taught by someone who was a member of any of the tribes that we studied. Does this mean that we cannot learn from him and his knowledge? Does the fact that he is not a member of this culture mean that he can never understand it?


Which brings us back to the beginning. Personally, I believe people

can write outside their cultures. Yes, I would prefer to read a biography of a black child growing up in the 60’s, but that does not mean that I cannot learn from a Latina woman writing a story of a black child growing up in the 60’s, or a white man writing. If I am unable to learn about the race in the story, the least I can learn is how the author views that race. 

It is why we, as humans, have the ability to think critically. It is why we need to review author’s background while judging authenticity. Did he just watch a show on the history channel and think he knows every black plight? Or did he do extensive research on the subject, talk to people who lived at the time, and still admits to not knowing everything? 


If we were to say that only cultures can write about themselves, well I think that is just lazy of us.

A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children--Quick Review

Before reading anything given to me for classes, I enjoy doing a bit of background research on the article, its author, its purpose, and

reviews from other blogs and online peoples. “A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children” is a compilation of reviews of children’s literature edited by Doris Seale and Beverly Slapin which is nothing but entertainingly brutal. Don’t get me wrong, everything they say really needs to be said. “A Broken Flute” offers essays, critical reviews and commentary on many books about American Indians for children and teenagers. But A Broken Flute also asks us to understand the pain and the anger that the appropriation and misrepresentation of Native history, culture and values by non-Native writers has caused. (Library Sparks) Like most of these types of books, it really does a great job making me feel guilty for being white.


A Broken Flute will be a valuable resource for community and educational organizations, and a key reference for public and school libraries, and Native American collections. Readers will turn to this volume repeatedly, especially because of the multiple indexes, for help with book evaluation and to broaden their understanding of the community in which they work and live. (Sir Read Alot Book Review)


In class, we are to read “Open Letter to a Non-Indian Teacher,” an opening to the reference book sadly written by An Indian Mother and only referenced by the editors as “whoever wrote it.” I would love a background for the letter while reading it. Did the teacher already make the mother upset or is she coming into this school year already assuming the teacher will be a bigot toward her child? I have taught several kids of different cultures, including native cultures, and I did not act the way in which she is describing. Instead of “rescuing” them, I admired their cultured state, mainly because I really do not have one.

I guess this letter has affected me in a way that it was not supposed to.

Yes, each kid is an individual that needs to be treated as such. Each kid has a right to learn how to read and develop intellectual skills. However, the public school system is not able to FULLY meet with all the standards this mother is laying out. If a teacher has 30+ young children in her care and one gets up to go to the bathroom by himself without telling her, it is against the rules, even if it is that way at his home.

A tiny bit about me, I was allowed to drink wine at an earlier age because of culture. However, I knew not to do it at school, or anywhere else but home. The sad truth is, these overworked teachers cannot accommodate every single individual’s lifestyle into their day. That does not mean to demean or lessen the culture of these students. But if this mother wants her kid to go to a US public school, her child will have to acclimate a bit and create his own, blended culture in the process. He can respect his old culture, speak its language, respect his values, and still ask to go to the bathroom and follow along with a set curriculum even if he does not feel like it that day (like a good amount of school children). Feel free to argue with me! I would love a hearty discussion on the subject.

The Importance of Prejudicial Material in the Library

I have always enjoyed the summer classes offered both in undergrad and graduate school because they have always allowed for more interesting electives. One of my current classes is called "Valuing Diversity: International and Intercultural Resources for Youth" taught by Julie Winkelstein PhD. 

Though I have only been to two classes so far, my mind has been spurred with what it is to have diversity within a children's library and the effects of these books upon the community as a whole. For instance: did you ever stop to look at the pictures in the children's books to see the small details? Are the girls playing with "girl toys" while the boys playing with "boy toys"? Is the mother the one sweeping in the background? These are all things she is teaching us to notice and understand that, while small, these pictures will affect the children's point of view because they are constantly taking in information.

After laying out the criteria for picking diverse and nonprejudicial books for the library, we discussed whether the same criteria should be given to adult literature and to past literature. The class divided a bit on the existence of overtly prejudicial material even being available to children and students given their easy mold-ability. I would like to note: the following is MY opinion only! Though I can find several people higher on the scholarship ladder who agree with me, I will limit the following opinions to my own. *I would also welcome any opinions and comments*

Prejudicial materials should remain in the library. They should be as easily found as other books and should be read just as often. In fact, I would love these prejudicial materials to be involved in classrooms, especially history. We all know the materials I am talking about: Little Black Sambo, Adventures of Tin Tin, Five Chinese Brothers, heck, even Dick and Jane is overtly sexist. One of my favorite childhood series was Babar which I understand now to be very, very racist, just like they were at the time.

But, that is the point, isn't it? These books, no matter how overtly racist, sexist, prejudicial they may be, have definitely taught us something about the time period they were written in. For those of you who do not know, I was a history major in undergrad, and we analyzed many, many photographs, paintings, and pictures to tell us about the time period. These were usually propaganda posters that we used to see how one culture viewed another, but aren't all children's books just small propaganda? They are used to teach children what the author wants taught. If the author, publisher, librarian, and parent agree with the propaganda, then it is read to the child in order to be digested and learned, no matter if we of the future disagree. 

To take out such important historical learning tools would be detrimental to society as a whole.

On the one hand, children reading Huckleberry Finn do not have to read the N-word all the time; on the other hand, they will never know that it was common vernacular of the south at the time, nor will they ever understand how much that word can hurt. By deleting the word, they are diminishing its historical value, even if that value causes pain. Let me put it in a different way....

"The Nazi Propaganda may hurt the feelings of the Jews in which they are portraying. Because of this, we will delete any and all instances of historical Nazi propaganda and make it seem like it never happened." No. This cannot happen. Just because we are embarrassed about past prejudices does not mean we can just make them disappear. We need to remember them and we need to learn from them. Yes, society did harm to individuals by teaching their children that a group of people are less than, even if it is subtle. However, to delete that from history would be detrimental to societies growth.

As my teacher, Dr. Winklestein, said in class, the important thing to do is to balance out your library. Yes, have books that may need to be read with parents and have discussions after (which I understand is a no-go for a good amount of families in America) and also have the books that show little Johnny playing dolls with little Nancy. Have a picture book where it is near impossible to tell the race of the child. Because that is the way our society is. One day, people will be studying our children's books and telling our society's story. What do you want that story to be? 

Black Girls Don't Date Vampires

As I was reading through my Tumblr, I came across an article by the Huffington Post called “America Lacks Multicultural Literature.” Feel free to read it yourself; it is an interesting read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tejas-desai/america-lacks-multicultur_b_5311322.html. 

Though I agree that most of the protagonists and characters in American literature are white, I can off the top of my head think of some multicultural characters, especially in adult fiction which I will discuss in a later blog post.

 Thinking younger, however, I have a more difficult time. Like a good amount of adults and teens (mainly female), I go through teen paranormal novels like candy. Amanda Hocking, Meg Cabot, Lauren Kate, Jessica Sorenson, and other authors are my dealers; their paranormal romances, my crack cocaine. I can usually go through one on a busy weekend or in a night if there is nothing else to do. Needless to say, my guilty pleasure has taken me through many, many young adult novels…....….not one of which had an African American protagonist.

When these high school protagonists are described, they are usually long-haired brunettes that are awkwardly lanky, most of them with notably “honey” eyes. Honey eyes are an extremely overused cliché that should never, ever be used. However, none of these girls, the fixations of the paranormal hottie who loves them beyond time and space, have any color.

I could never begin to tell you why this is, just that I have noticed it. Black girls don’t date vampires, werewolves, angels, what-have-you. Neither do any other minorities, such as Native Americans or Asians. Some may be Latina, but only in looks. I am near begging for a good paranormal romance in which the protagonist is not a white female from an upper-middle class family who usually has both of her parents in the picture. 

For a genre that allows for so much diversity in their paranormal character: Vampire, werewolf, shifters, angels, ghosts, time travelers, elves, mermaids, selkies, etc, I just wish they did the same for the human character.

So, my question is, do you agree with me that there is a lack of racial diversity? Can you think of any true teenage paranormal romances with a Black/Native/Asian/Latina/Other race? Please feel free to post in the comments and I would love to read them!

Desai, T. (2014, May 12). America Lacks Multicultural Literature. The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tejas-desai/america-lacks-multicultur_b_5311322.html

Pictures:

 Sorensen, J. (2011). The Fallen Star. United States: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

 Cabot, M. (2011). Abandon. New York: Point.