power surge
Clockwise from top: me, Edith Campbell, Maya Gonzalez, and Debbie Reese.
Friday was the ALSC’s Day of Diversity. By mid-afternoon I was feeling somewhat drained; I’d just taken my migraine medication and ideally would have gone to bed for an hour or two, but my breakout session was coming up so I needed to stay alert. I slipped out of the main meeting room during the post-lunch panel and went to the ladies room; as I was washing my hands, Debbie Reese came in and we laughed about our shared need for a “time-out.” Less than five minutes later, Maya Gonzalez came into the bathroom and we decided we had to photograph this impromptu meeting of women of color. Selfie taken, we resumed our conversation about what we were feeling in our bodies as the panelists and speakers shared their views about the publishing industry’s problem with diversity. “Has anyone seen Edi?” I asked, and one minute later the door to the ladies room opened once more and Edi appeared! We snapped two more selfies to capture the moment; in the first one we were screaming and in this one we’re smiling. That sort of sums up the range of emotions we felt throughout the day. So as I summarize my impressions of the Day of Diversity, I want to begin with this important point:
- A room of our own. Discussions about diversity can be exhausting for people of color. As Maya pointed out, it would be great to have a lounge or some other private space for PoC who need a break from the dominant group. Different kinds of conversations become possible when we’re on our own, not self-censoring and freely expressing our ideas and emotions in a safe space. We also need a place to recover and step away from well-intentioned individuals who may or may not know (or care) that they’re making problematic remarks. Which brings me to my next point…
A diner of our own! MLIS scholar Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen took me and Maya to breakfast the next day.
- White folks have work to do (or “why you all need a private room, too). Overall, I thought the day was a significant achievement for the organizers. I was thrilled to meet several “virtual”/online friends for the first time, and I connected with like-minded educators, writers, and librarians in the field—most of whom were PoC. The 100 invited guests shared a commitment to diversity in an abstract sense, but at times it felt like the discussions were only scratching the surface; the recommended readings were never referenced, which gave the day a sort of “Diversity 101” feel. I heard several euphemisms for “racism” and wondered why that word (along with “white supremacy” and “dominance”) was being avoided. Near the end of my morning breakout session I finally inserted those words into a conversation about self-publishing (a frustrated Black woman writer asked if it was a viable option and was told to “keep trying” to break into the traditional publishing industry). At the very end of the day, a white woman from my group said, “I heard a word today—“microaggression“—that I’d never heard before. Wait—did YOU say that?” Yes, I did. And what does it mean that we’re trying to change an industry/community that is overwhelmingly white if the potential changemakers don’t have the necessary vocabulary and awareness of power dynamics? I hope the next diversity event includes a workshop on how to recognize and fight white privilege and bias in the children’s literature community. Because having good intentions isn’t enough. Laura Atkins would be the ideal person to lead such a workshop!
- Teaching tolerance. I’m very grateful to organizer Allie Jane Bruce who invited me to serve as a co-facilitator for the afternoon breakout session on partnering to promote diversity. I don’t generally get invited to “mainstream” events like these, and I was also appreciative and impressed that organizers helped with travel funds because I probably wouldn’t have been able to attend otherwise. My session co-facilitators, Monica Olivera and Beatriz Pascual-Wallace, were fantastic and our group members had some great ideas about overcoming the many challenges in connecting with and serving diverse populations. There was clear resistance to self-publishing—I know, because it was voiced by the women sitting next to me—but there was also obvious interest in community-based publishing. If you’re trying to connect with people who feel books aren’t for them, why not try making them PRODUCERS of books and see what happens? We simply don’t have time to wait for traditional publishers to recognize and respond to the needs of our diverse communities. A librarian friend recently mentioned on Facebook that a young patron asked for a book about Michael Brown. How long do you think it will take for THAT book to exist? Or any books for kids about police brutality? Don’t hold your breath. But a librarian willing to think and work outside the box could help her patrons create a book about the situation in Ferguson. That was one of the highlights of my day—staying behind after my breakout sessions ended and answering questions from the writers, librarians, and educators who want an alternative to the existing system. Which brings me to my next point…
These middle school teachers, Karimah and Marilyn, were inspiring! Already doing great work with their students and now planning to self-publish some of their students’ work!
- To the left… Hilary Clinton needs Elizabeth Warren. Hilary—if she decides to run for president—will need to woo voters on the Left who feel she’s too centrist and not fighting for the working class. Self-publishing is to traditional publishing what Warren is to Clinton, and yet no one from the far left was represented at the Day of Diversity. Which is a shame, because the field is READY. Edith Campbell recently shared an American Libraries article with me that shared how public libraries are helping patrons to create their own books. Self-publishing democratizes the publishing process; it allows PoC in particular the chance to tell their stories their way without having to deal with (mostly white) editors who lack the cultural competence to assess their work. If we agree that the playing field is NOT level, why then do we expect the system that created that uneven field to suddenly start working for us? It was frustrating to hear so many people talking about commercial books and bestsellers and the need to “prove” to publishers that diverse authors can turn a profit (which definitely happens when you write about white kids). Why is profit our top priority? Community-based publishing puts people before profit. I wish there had been space for that perspective at the Day of Diversity.
- “Power must be shared.” Maya reminded me of this important fact; we were scribbling notes to one another during the second panel and sighed with relief when Pat Mora finally reminded the attendees that publishing is really about POWER. That’s why change has come so slowly to the publishing industry—those with power simply don’t want to let go. I did meet some remarkable, radical women in Chicago. Maya noted that Black women writers were missing from the three panels, but the Black women moderators were fantastic. Violet Harris reminded us that the Supreme Court recently rolled back voting rights and then turned around and granted rights to LGBT people, so we have to be vigilant and vocal when people talk about “progress.” Satia Orange gave a rousing speech as the day drew to a close, reminding attendees that BLACK LIVES MATTER and some of our kids are being shot dead in the street and even in their own homes. Black youth are being groomed for an early death and/or prison and the tools they need to avoid this fate are being deliberately withheld. These are our “urgencies” but do I think most attendees left thinking about Tamir Rice or Aiyana Stanley-Jones or the school-to-prison pipeline? No. Everyone agreed that we still have a LOT of work to do, and the Day of Diversity was another small step forward. But we really can’t afford to “go slow.” As keynote speaker Camila Alire reminded us, the number of books about PoC has actually gone DOWN in the past decade…
My radical women friends have also blogged about the Day of Diversity. Find Edith Campbell’s post here; Sarah Park Dahlen’s post here; Maya Gonzalez’s post here; and Debbie Reese’s post here.
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