Hello Meltingpot Community,
I have a simple question for you? How colorful is your bookshelf? If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you know how much I love to read and you know how much I love to read diverse books. Heck, 2020 is the year I launched my diverse reading challenge. Personally, I define diverse books as books that are written by authors of color or authors from different ethnic backgrounds from my own. (If the author isn’t of color, but the protagonists are, that’s cool for me too (as long as the work isn’t exploitative or poorly researched). )In addition to the simple pleasure I take from reading diverse books, I believe reading in color is important anti-racism work.
Windows and Mirrors
The truth is, I like to read books that serve as mirrors that reflect my own Black culture or windows into cultures that I know little or nothing about. Because I was born, raised and educated in a society where whiteness and European history were centered and celebrated, I read in color now because I have so much catching up to do. As a child, I devoured stories about little white girls doing extraordinary things – and regular things too like getting their first bra, thank you, Judy Blume – but I rarely read a story that featured a child of color doing anything besides escaping slavery.
As a young adult, when I started to get interested in historical romance and contemporary fiction, I read all of the popular authors like Danielle Steele, Jodi Picoult, and Jennifer Weiner. Of course, I read every book I could find by authors of color, but I was such a voracious reader, I still found myself reading more about white people and their ‘unique and fascinating lives’ because there were simply more options by white authors available. Thankfully, the publishing industry has evolved – many thanks to Terry McMillan – and started to publish a much more diverse range of literature across genres by authors of color in the mid-1990s. But they still have a long way to go. A long way.
White People Need Windows Too
With the current Black Lives Matter Protest Movement forcing everyone in our society to reflect on their role in upholding racist structures, the publishing industry is rightfully getting attention. Last week, there were calls for everyone to buy at least two books by Black authors to try to “Blackout up the Bestseller Lists.” This agenda item was meant to highlight the overall lack of authors of color on the bestseller lists.
I would like to ask this community to continue this trend of buying books by authors of color, because as I said above, books provide the perfect windows into other cultures and lives. And anyone who has been raised in this country, like me, has a lot of catching up to do to simply understand where our fellow citizens are coming from. We can all do better and be better freedom fighters if we can empathize with those who have different backgrounds than our own. Plus, reading is just fun and educational! And you can do it just about anywhere.
Reading in Color is Anti-Racist
In addition to being fun, reading a delicious, juicy novel – or some solid non-fiction– by an author of color counts as an anti-racist activity. Why? Because you are educating yourself about another culture. You are supporting the livelihood of an author whose work has traditionally been undervalued. You are proving to a racist publishing industry that books by authors of color are in demand and will sell, so they should sell more of them. Also, parents who buy and read books by authors of color to their children, engender all of the same benefits AND they are helping to raise a new generation of anti-racist kids. Score!
Where Do You Start?
If your world and your bookshelves are remarkably devoid of color, you might not know where to start to find books by authors of color that you’d like or that your children would like. Do not despair. There are plenty of places where you can go to get recommendations. First, check the archives here on My American Meltingpot. Just click on Books from the categories menu on the right and you’ll find dozens of suggestions and reviews I’ve written over the years. You can also check out my bookshop.org storefront where I have lots of books by diverse authors in categories that range from Books about Black hair to Novels that Feature Interracial Romance. Also, check out the My American Meltingpot Pinterest account where you’ll find dozens of diverse reading lists for kid, teens and adults.
You can also check out this list of 43 book by Black authors you should read from Oprah.com. Or this list of 52 books by women of color from Daily Kos.
Be a Well-Read, Anti-Racism Activist!
Suffice it to say, there is an abundance of resources to help you find just the right type books for your reading pleasure. Challenge yourself to read in color. Diversify your bookshelf and those of your children. Do it for you, do it for the cause, do it because you want to be a well-read, anti-racism activist!
Peace!
