Reflection of Texts as a Set

When attempting to choose children’s literature which exemplifies positive multicultural and diverse content it is important to consider many things. Firstly, it is important to take into consideration the background of the author, paying special attention to whether or not they are qualified to write a piece of literature about a specific topic. Typically this can be done by examining whether or not that author is an “insider”, or a part of the culture that they chose to write about. In regards to the three examples of African American literature I have chosen, each of the authors are in fact African Americans who have experienced what it is like growing up in America during times when racism and segregation were very prominent. I felt that because each author had first-handedly experienced growing up during these segregated times, with memories of their experiences directly shining through the content of their texts, they were more than qualified to write about such topics. In addition to the authors, each of these chosen books was illustrated by an insider as well. I felt that this was an equally important aspect of the overall work in that the pictures say just as much, if not more, than the text. Illustrations have the ability to add additional information about characters and settings as well as evoke certain feelings and responses from the readers (Duren). I found each of these texts to be effective pieces of African American literature because of the issues each presented. In regards to Goin’ Someplace Special, it exposed a very real part of American history with its examples of racism and segregation in the 1950s, in addition to the sense of hope it provided for the integration of the human race. In regards to Tar Beach, prominent issues of the hard working African American family during the Great Depression were prevalent, as well as symbolism rooted in African culture. And in regards to The Sunday Outing, it focused on aspects of African American culture that did not necessarily have to do with racism, but rather on the issue of economic difficulties for an African American family at the turn of the century. I believe that it is important to include pieces of African American literature in the classroom in order to expose children at a young age to real-life issues that are commonly underrepresented and overlooked. By introducing students to multiculturally diverse literature not only will they be able to formulate a better understanding of the world that surrounds them, but it will also ideally deconstruct predisposed stereotypes and prejudices that they may unconsciously understand to be real. Additionally, presenting such literature in the classroom will allow children from backgrounds whose experiences are not typically heard to make sense of their own experiences. Multiculturalism in children’s literature is slowly being incorporated into the common classroom curriculum but there is a large gap which needs filling and much explanation that needs to be done in regards to educating today’s youth; this education should begin in the classroom at a young age. As students are being introduced to a variety of literature it is necessary to include a variety of African American literature and multicultural literature as well.


Works Cited

Duren, Emma B. "Critical Multiculturalism & Racism in Children's Literature." Multicultural Education 7 (2000): 16-19.

McKissack, Patricia C., and Jerry Pinkney. Goin' Someplace Special. New York: Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books, 2001.

Pinkney, Gloria Jean, and Jerry Pickney. The Sunday Outing. New York: Dial, 1994.

Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. New York: Crown Books For Young Readers, 1991.

"Critical Multiculturalism & Racism in Children's Literature"

In Emma B. Duren’s journal article, “Critical Multiculturalism & Racism in Children’s Literature”, she presents the argument that many children unconsciously overlook the political implications of their whiteness and fail to recognize it as an unearned privilege. This facet is one that the majority of students, and adults alike, do not understand. I believe that this statement is very true; many whites are uneducated about other races, ethnicities, and cultures, as they are often overlooked or pushed aside as a controversial topic. Due to this issue, Duren stresses the importance of exposing elementary students to experiences of other people and their cultures through literature, as they typically have limited experiences with people of different backgrounds and ethnicities, and literature is a good way to prompt dialogue in the classroom about such topics. Duren makes the point that due to this lack of exposure stereotypes are often a child’s only knowledge of other races. Multicultural literature allows students to hear different perspectives or experiences that they may not have otherwise heard and provides them with the opportunity to learn about racial and ethnic groups as well as “examine their own stereotypes and prejudices”. Duren states that the use of multiculturalism in children’s literature is not only beneficial to white students, but that it also provides students of color with representations of their own experiences. Because traditional children’s literature typically does not focus on issues of diversity, multiculturalism, or racism children who experience such issues in their own lives are often left with no reflection of their own experiences. In her critique of five “multicultural” books, Duren notes that they merely “reviewed reinforced existing concepts of how racism functions in this country” rather than challenging or critically explaining such racism. Duren also makes the claim that the majority of children’s literature presents racism as a southern issue and a thing of the past which no longer exists. In response to this, Duren believes that literature regarding issues of racism need to be explored in a more contemporary setting as “children need to see themselves in a more racially mixed society in order to understand the social, economic, and political construction of race”. Duren states the need for “honest dialogue about race” which she believes should be introduced to children at a young age. I could not agree with Duren more. While I believe that there are many pieces of literature which place racism in a historical context that are beneficial to teaching such issues, there are very few pieces of children’s literature which place a focus on racism and issues of multiculturalism set in a modern or contemporary setting. As Duren mentions, there needs to be a greater attempt to create literature which exposes issues of racism and stereotypes which are present today. Educating students about such issues can be very difficult to do, in fact by no means is it expected to be easy; but there needs to be a greater effort on the behalf of authors and educators alike to expose children to these issues at a young age in an attempt to evoke discussion about, and change within, our current status as a completely unified and integrated country.



Works Cited

Duren, Emma B. "Critical Multiculturalism & Racism in Children's Literature." Multicultural Education 7 (2000): 16-19.

Tar Beach

Adapted from, and incorporating many elements of her series of painted quilts titled “Woman on a Bridge”, Faith Ringgold creates a wonderful piece of African American children’s literature titled Tar Beach. Tar Beach is narrated through the perspective of eight-year old, Cassie Louise Lightfoot, and is set in Harlem during the year of 1939. According to the Author’s Note, Ringgold’s artistic depiction of life during these times is roughly based on memories of her own childhood growing up in Harlem during the era of the Great Depression. Ringgold does an exceptional job of presenting issues of poverty from the angle of her young narrator Cassie. In this story, Cassie realizes that her family is not wealthy and that they are not as well off as most; however, the Lightfoots make the best of what they have in an attempt to overcome these hardships as they spend their evenings on the paved roof of their apartment building; the glorified “tar beach”. Through Cassie’s imagination she is able to travel to places that are otherwise denied to her as a result of the present segregation. Ringgold focuses on very real feelings that she experienced as a child, such as the desire to help out her family, specifically through the mention of Cassie’s father. Ringgold alludes to the denial of union jobs to colored people as a result of the “grandfather” rule and the present segregation, something that Cassie is very much aware of. As Cassie imagines flying over the Union building she explains how she will give the building to her father, resulting in her family being rich and they will then be able to eat “ice cream every night for dessert”. This element of flying over her city is one that specifically stood out to me as an element of African American literature. The concept of “flying” is one deeply rooted in African history as it was once symbolic of an escape from slavery and/or oppression; ultimately flight equals freedom. In this case it is an escape from the inequalities experienced by a young African American girl growing up in Great Depression Harlem. Cassie describes flying as the freedom “to go wherever [she] wants for the rest of her life”, a method of countering the issues of segregation and racism. Ringgold’s story highlights a very important part of both American and African American history by focusing on the hardships that African Americans faced throughout the past. It is important to inform children of such events as they actually happened and are responsible for where we are at today; socially, culturally, and economically.



Works Cited

Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. New York: Crown Books For Young Readers, 1991.

The Sunday Outing

While Gloria Jean Pinkney’s, The Sunday Outing, is not a Coretta Scott King award winner and it does not focus on issues of racism and segregation, I found this to be an excellent example of African American literature as it does focus on issues of economic status experienced by many African Americans. Pinkney’s book, constructed from childhood memories, tells the story of young Ernestine who loved going down to the North Philadelphia train station to watch the trains roll by and listen to her great-aunt Odessa tell her stories about her “great- uncle Ariah who had worked for the railroad”; the one thing that Ernestine wanted more desperately than anything was to be lucky enough to ride on one of the trains that she loved watching so much. When Ernestine presents this idea to her group of friends they tell her that she will never be able to ride on a train, but Ernestine believes otherwise. The issue that Pinkney presents is a matter of economic difficulty experienced by many African Americans. Ernestine’s parents were saving money in order to move into a house and therefore could not afford to buy her a ticket; in the text it is evident that her family can not afford things that other families obviously could afford. Ernestine realizes that she must give up certain things in order to obtain others. In the story, Ernestine suggests that rather than buy new school clothes, which she really did not need, she could put the money towards buying a ticket to ride the train to visit her relatives in Lumberton, North Carolina. Her parents decide that this is a good idea and end up allowing her to take the trip. I thought this book was a good piece of African American literature because it teaches children that even in times when racism is not as prevalent, not all have it easy; there are still obvious differences in economic status. Pinkney shows how something as little as riding on a train, that may be taken for granted by some, for others may become a privilege. Pinkney does a fine job of providing yet another African American experience, different than those commonly portrayed in what is considered African American literature.



Works Cited

Pinkney, Gloria Jean, and Jerry Pickney. The Sunday Outing. New York: Dial, 1994.

Goin' Someplace Special

Patricia C. McKissack’s Coretta Scott King Award winning children’s book, Goin’ Someplace Special, is the semi-autobiographical story of the author-based fictional character, ‘Tricia Ann, and her experience as she journeys to her favorite place ever: “Someplace Special”. Set in a southern town during the 1950s, through ‘Tricia Ann’s downtown trip, McKissack explores issues of blatant segregation and unwarranted racism that were very prominent during these times. Tricia Ann sets off on her trip and immediately encounters this segregation as she is required to sit at the back of the bus in the designated “Colored Section”. Throughout the story ‘Tricia Ann faces this segregation and racism. As a young girl she finds the reasoning behind Jim Crow laws difficult to understand, however, she is aware of the danger that could result from disobeying such laws. One aspect of this story that I really liked was ‘Tricia Ann’s encounter with the young white boy named Hickey. This part of the story presents the innocence of children and the overall ridiculousness that issues of racism and segregation are rooted in. McKissack not only highlights a very important part of American history through her specific focus on the hardships that African Americans faced during the 1950s, but she does so while bringing forth the strong message of hope for African Americans. ‘Tricia Ann’s grandmother, Mama Frances, encourages ‘Tricia to hold her head high regardless of the conditions she must face. Mama Frances tells ‘Tricia that although whites can tell African Americans where to sit they can not tell them how to think and makes the very powerful statement, “you are a human being” no different than any one else. In addition to this hope provided by Mama Frances, ‘Tricia Ann is able to find her own sense of security as she finally arrives at her special place: the library. During the 1950s the library was the one place where blacks and whites were equally welcome. Ending the story on this positive note I felt was a very effective way of presenting hope for unity. McKissack does an excellent job of presenting one specific experience of life as an African American during the 1950s as she raises issues of segregation and racism; issues that are a very real part of our past and should by no means be neglected.


Works Cited

McKissack, Patricia C., and Jerry Pinkney. Goin' Someplace Special. New York: Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books, 2001.

Wrap-Up

Well, its been a minute since I've posted on this bad boy, but I figured as class is coming to a close what better time to reflect on the semester than now? I think that this class has been a very valuable one, especially in regards to how to approach teaching issues of diversity and multiculturalism in the classroom; overall I really did enjoy this course. I think that it was very enjoyable and unique because we focused on issues that are way too often overlooked or underrepresented. I feel like the content taught and the knowledge I obtained over the course of the semester has been very valuable, and it will continue to be valuable both in my personal life and my life as a teacher, as it is knowledge that many people unfortunately are not aware of. I think that when people consider children's literature they typically think of literature that is not very deep, that is easily written, and that is irrelevant for anyone who is not a child. This course has done an excellent job of teaching that this is by no means true. It stresses the importance of diversity and mulitculturalism in children's literature. It has provided me with an abundance of new information that I belive is very important to consider both in the real world and in a classroom setting. This class has helped me to realize everything that contributes to the overall realm of children's literature by focusing on aspects that are visible on the surface and also by exposing what lies below the surface of the text, even down to the illustrations. I think that everybody should have to take this course; it is so eye-opening and presents so many issues that are important not only to teachers, but to the common person.