tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post7189712508571681623..comments2024-03-27T14:08:51.191-05:00Comments on American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): A Native Perspective of Laura Amy Schlitz's THE HIRED GIRLDebbie Reesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-39106718325143799662016-01-07T12:11:18.062-06:002016-01-07T12:11:18.062-06:00In her comment at 11:29, Sarah pointed to her Twit...In her comment at 11:29, Sarah pointed to her Twitter page. For those who do not have access to Twitter, I am doing a copy/paste below, of Sarah's tweets (Note: for ease of reading, I'm only including her name/time stamp in the first copy/paste). What I've shared, and what Sarah has shared, are important context for how THE HIRED GIRL ought to be considered. I am disappointed that it was given the Scott O'Dell Award yesterday (Jan 6 2015). <br /><br /><b>Sarah Hamburg</b> @sarahrhamburg 8 Nov 2015<br />The Hired Girl is set in that year, and follows Joan, a Catholic girl who escapes her farm & is hired by a wealthy Baltimore Jewish family.<br /><br />In the book, there are no references at all to Black Americans, aside from a newspaper article & people working as porters on the train.<br /><br />And though the book focuses on religious difference, the only overt act of antisemitism = when a Jewish man is passed over for a commission.<br /><br />Prejudice in the book is primarily that of individual beliefs & sentiments, which change-- and reconcile-- as people get to know each other.<br /><br />But researching Baltimore in that year, this is what I found: <a rel="nofollow">http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-03-21/entertainment/bal-ae.bk.neighborhood21mar21_1_blacks-and-jews-rouse-white-woman</a> (this book has an entire chapter devoted to 1910.)<br /><br />In 1910, Baltimore passed a sweeping Jim Crow housing law. <a rel="nofollow">http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/12/25/105900067.html?pageNumber=34</a><br /><br />The law came as a response to George Mechen, an African-American lawyer, moving into a white neighborhood in Baltimore in the summer of 1910.<br /><br />When he moved in, white residents protested, and threw rocks. <a rel="nofollow">https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1715&dat=19800216&id=p6s7AAAAIBAJ&sjid=7ikMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4985%2C3778859&hl=en</a><br /><br />His residence, at 1834 McCulloh St., would have been half a mile from the house where Joan lives and works in the Hired Girl.<br /><br />Eutaw Place, where her employers the Rosenbachs live, would have been one of a few neighborhoods in the city where Jews could buy housing.<br /><br />At a meeting in July, 1910, White residents signed a petition, and expressed fear that Black people would move to Eutaw Place as well.<br /><br />Milton Dashiell then drafted a bill that would prevent Black people from moving into majority White neighborhoods, and vice versa.<br /><br />Dashiell cited fear of a "Negro invasion" of Eutaw Place.<br /><br />In December of 1910, City Solicitor Edgar Allan Poe wrote in favor of the segregation ordinance: <a rel="nofollow">http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2498&context=mlr</a><br /><br />Mayor J. Barry Mahool, a prominent Progressive interested in women's suffrage and social justice, signed that first law a few days later.<br /><br />This article and book describe what came next. <a rel="nofollow">http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2498&context=mlr</a><br /><a rel="nofollow">https://books.google.com/books/about/Not_in_My_Neighborhood.html?id=N-5riPQX-KEC</a><br /><br />None of this is in The Hired Girl. Which is set in Eutaw Place, Baltimore in 1911.<br /><br />I have been thinking a lot, especially this week, about how children's books present history. What is included, and how. And what's left out.<br /><br />About stories of historical bigotry that focus on personal attitudes-- and their reconciliation through personal relationships.<br /><br />What does this literature tell children about the past, and in consequence, about our present?<br /><br />Diversity in children's literature isn't only about numbers. It is about who controls the story of our past and future.<br /><br />Just wanted to add a link to this article here (with thanks to @debreese for sharing it): <a rel="nofollow">http://wowlit.org/communities/files/2011/09/Ching-cultural-authenticity1.pdf</a>Debbie Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-48629943712930289172016-01-07T11:51:54.976-06:002016-01-07T11:51:54.976-06:00Yes, I do, Sarah. My comments about "Promised...Yes, I do, Sarah. My comments about "Promised Land" didn't make it into the review. There is, in fact, so very much more to say about the book. Including all my notes would make it an unwieldy piece of writing. <br /><br />So--a quick note on "Promised Land." <br /><br />Who did that "Promised Land" belong to, in the first place? Mr. Rosenbach--is he ignorant of history? Doesn't he know that land was taken from Native peoples? Is it convenient to ignore that fact? And what of the bigotry he's speaking of? Laws to protect him? What about laws that removed Native peoples from their land?!<br /><br />It is interesting to think about land and ownership of land right now--given the occupation taking place in Oregon. A group of armed White men is occupying federal offices, saying that they'll stay there until land in Oregon is return to its rightful owners---which is, farmers and ranchers---in the view of those occupier. The fact? That land actually belongs to the Paiute Nation. <br /><br />Debbie Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-69427779829109353792016-01-07T11:29:06.807-06:002016-01-07T11:29:06.807-06:00As the book gets more attention again this award s...As the book gets more attention again this award season, just wanted to link to this here as well. Again, I'm struck by the dynamics of a book that takes place in the same neighborhood during the same year as the passage of our nation's first Jim Crow law-- in which one of the central characters (who serves as the protagonist's mentor) says: "It's hard for you to understand, because you've grown up in America, and America is truly the Promised Land. Even here, there is bigotry; but there are laws to protect us." There is nothing in the book to either contradict that sentiment, or convey the deeper historical reality. (And Debbie, I know you have other thoughts on that quote as well.) Again, the issue isn't just with this singular book-- or other individual books that have been discussed this year-- but with a dominant presentation of history and present-day realities that underlies so many books published for children. https://twitter.com/sarahrhamburg/status/663420968669421568Sarahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-7288485773566879002015-11-02T21:54:54.454-06:002015-11-02T21:54:54.454-06:00Thank you for that clarification. You are absolut...Thank you for that clarification. You are absolutely correct and I apologize for my error. Obviously, Laura Amy Schlitz is the person to whom I need to direct my question.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-1084723013393324902015-11-02T04:25:29.477-06:002015-11-02T04:25:29.477-06:00Anonymous at 9:42 PM,
I didn't say that the t...Anonymous at 9:42 PM,<br /><br />I didn't say that the term Hebrew is offensive. The author of A HIRED GIRL, Laura Amy Schlitz, said those words in the Author's Note at the end of her book.Debbie Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-40107999154001189502015-11-01T21:42:26.741-06:002015-11-01T21:42:26.741-06:00Debbie, I am very surprised to learn that many Jew...Debbie, I am very surprised to learn that many Jewish people today find the term" Hebrew" to be offensive. This is the first time I have encountered this viewpoint. I would be very grateful if you would provide the source of your information regarding this idea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-19873186332667845812015-10-26T14:33:58.576-05:002015-10-26T14:33:58.576-05:00I'm not sure when your time before "once ...I'm not sure when your time before "once again" occurred, Durable Goods. Native peoples have been reduced to stereotypes in children's literature for as long as I can remember, and before that, too. Debbie is merely shining a light on the stereotypes and helping non-Native people like you and me understand and recognize them. K T Horninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04505891463218329510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-23453476026780259242015-10-26T09:54:48.804-05:002015-10-26T09:54:48.804-05:00To Durable Goods-- If those non-Native authors wan...To Durable Goods-- If those non-Native authors want to write about Native people and communities without the existence of feedback from actual Native people and communities, maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing if they DID give it up. "...become subject to your analysis" is such an interesting construction, too. The idea that the gaze should only go one way, and that Native people are somehow wholly dependent on outsiders to render them "visible" to that gaze, seems like such a fundamental part of what's wrong in the current dynamics of publishing.Sarahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-6176544467739161362015-10-25T16:58:26.563-05:002015-10-25T16:58:26.563-05:00That's just absurd, Durable Goods. You assume...That's just absurd, Durable Goods. You assume that "writers" and "non-Natives" are the same group, first of all. Plenty of writers are Native/First Nations and do bang-up jobs of representing their nations and people. Second, Native/First Nations have never been "invisible." "Invisible" may well have been an improvement over the depictions of "savages" that populated American and British literature for so long (and still do, in places. Finally, it is in fact possible for a non-Native writer to mention First/Native Nations people in their writing and not insult them. Finally, can you find <i>any</i> writer who has voluntarily silenced themselves due to Debbie's critiques? They've argued, learned, remained stubborn, etc. But silenced? Due to Debbie's awesome publishing powers? I'd like an example.<br /><br />--VeronicaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-24793891680554047592015-10-25T10:29:09.072-05:002015-10-25T10:29:09.072-05:00Hi Debbie,
I don't know why any non-Native wo...Hi Debbie,<br /><br />I don't know why any non-Native would want to mention Indians in any of their works of children's or teen literature. If they do, they become subject to your analysis. It concerns me that what will eventually happen is writers will simply avoid mentioning native people and culture and once again this population will become invisible. If that is your intent, I think you are doing a bang-up job. Durable Goodshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05192668551726904379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-90494606219136447722015-10-24T12:53:36.612-05:002015-10-24T12:53:36.612-05:00Debbie,
Thank you so much for rounding up these th...Debbie,<br />Thank you so much for rounding up these thoughts here. So valuable to have them together to refer to like this. Nina Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03363775984160309811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-61948467971237557922015-10-23T18:51:48.497-05:002015-10-23T18:51:48.497-05:00What a great post, Debbie! Thank you so much for t...What a great post, Debbie! Thank you so much for the clear and insightful focus on the American Indian content of the book, and for providing the historical context as well. Your comments about the author's note make it clear that the author wasn't thinking about Joan's perceptions of Indians as dated or offensive -- at least, not enough to merit comment.K T Horninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04505891463218329510noreply@blogger.com