tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post9175535789915984434..comments2024-03-27T14:08:51.191-05:00Comments on American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): On Ways Authors Respond: A Look at Meg Rosoff, Emily Jenkins, and Sarah McCarryDebbie Reesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-38129738110190244682016-04-05T16:07:33.370-05:002016-04-05T16:07:33.370-05:00I love your blog and I find it very helpful and in...I love your blog and I find it very helpful and informative. I'm shocked by Rosoff's nastiness (also, her ignorance - I already knew squaw was a slur, but literally one minute of googling showed me the dictionary categrizes it as offensive and writers have been regarding it as a terrible slur for well over 100 years so IDK how she could miss that). As for her comments on diversity, I think Mikki Kendall said it best when she said, "Bad representation is not better than no representation." Anyway, I'm sorry you have to put up with writers like her when all you're doing is trying to help writers and readers make/find better portrayals. Thank you for all your work. Sincerely, Leah.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-83905968924168513602015-11-04T21:05:04.352-06:002015-11-04T21:05:04.352-06:00I find the discussion here and on other blogs like...I find the discussion here and on other blogs like RWW thoughtful and thought-provoking, but on Tiwtter, I tend to stay away. I'm uncomfortable with the vitriol, because it does nothing to further the discussion and tends to bring out the worst. Thank you for your posts, and for being thorough in how you cover everything you write about on a regular basis.Sandiehttp://teenlitrocks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-14246381089879280942015-11-04T17:44:26.247-06:002015-11-04T17:44:26.247-06:00When Meg Rosoff said, "Debbie Reese is at it ...When Meg Rosoff said, "Debbie Reese is at it again," she should have followed it with, "Saying important things we need to hear." I've learned a lot from you over the years; thank you. Your voice is needed and appreciated.Kristinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-50354975551915078922015-11-03T18:48:24.237-06:002015-11-03T18:48:24.237-06:00I think it is ok to say, "I didn't know t...I think it is ok to say, "I didn't know that word is construed with meaning that is demeaning. Now that I know that, I will be more congnizant of how I use it." I don't expect everyone to understand layers of meaning for every race so I do find it valuable to have it pointed out as a learning opportunity and I do the same when it comes to terms that I have personal experience with to education my point of view as an Asian American.<br /><br />I think Meg Rosoff is not willing to say that I used the word "squaw" in ignorance of its shades of meaning. When you, Debbie Reese, pointed it out, I was embarrassed to find out it was true. Luckily, there are shades of meaning and some of it is not all negative. Instead of admitting my ignorance around racism towards Native Americans, I'd rather focus on firing back at you because I do not consider myself a racist person. <br /><br />We've all made mistakes with regard to racism, and the subtlely miscontrued stories that perpetuate shades of stereotypes or worse. It's ok to say that we are all learning and trying to be aware. That's all we can ask, right?<br /><br />And if you study U.S. history, it's clear that Native Americans were robbed of their land and their way of life. Even worse, they were forced to repudiate their their culture by being put into boarding schools that punished them for speaking their own language. And I can see some sensitivity about white people now telling their stories ... I mean, how much else can you steal? You took their land, their homes, their way of life. You forced them onto concentration camps -- how is this different from Internment camps in WWII except WWII actually ended? And now you want to tell their stories. And incorrectly?! <br /><br />I would be peeved too.<br /><br />Out of all people of color, have you noticed how Native Americans struggle the most with socio-economic success? In publishing, most Native Americans authors are not widely published or distributed. Even ones who are notable authors like Joseph Bruchac. He's wonderfully talented. Tim Tingle and others. But they are not getting the commercial success of other writers of color. And I think it's because they are pigeon-holed with "marketing analysis" that says their market is mostly Native American readers so that's a small market and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. <br /><br />I would love to see a Native American author reach the financial success of a Rick Riordan or JK Rowling some day. Why not?PragmaticMomhttp://pragmaticmom.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-83742136823485979532015-11-03T11:48:07.928-06:002015-11-03T11:48:07.928-06:00Ms. Reese, Thank you for continuing this discussio...Ms. Reese, Thank you for continuing this discussion. There are so many layers to this issue no one discussion can unpack them all. <br /><br />As a POC, what I want today goes beyond inclusion. I want more traditionally published books by authors from underrepresented groups. <br /><br />However, as long as the primary source of representation comes through cultural appropriation, every book's representation of "other" should be vetted. And yes, authors do have a responsibility to understand how their personal perspective, bias, backgrounds, preferences, and life experiences, influence positively and negatively their portrayal of "Other". They do have a responsibility beyond story and craft. They have a responsibility to their readers. All of their readers. And no, they cannot continue to pretend that only white people read books. <br /><br />As Ellen Oh said in a similar discussion, no rep is preferable to bad rep. We've had enough poor representation to last a life time.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01570236475916110458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-35163500116715486842015-11-03T09:09:22.752-06:002015-11-03T09:09:22.752-06:00This is even more interesting in light of bringing...This is even more interesting in light of bringing aboriginal/native women's abuse to the light in Canada. I have to go shake the nastiness off of me. The Librarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17170535474320187169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-33247258250628783792015-11-03T06:19:04.044-06:002015-11-03T06:19:04.044-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-24688012953939427652015-11-03T04:00:40.061-06:002015-11-03T04:00:40.061-06:00In the early stages of this debate, I would have l...In the early stages of this debate, I would have liked to give Rosoff the benefit of the doubt that what she was saying (clumsily and in the wrong place) is what many diversity campaigners say – that what an author writes must come from the heart and simply pinning ‘diversity’ on because of an agenda leads to bad books.<br /><br />Since then, I have been appalled by the level of vitriol Rosoff has brought this debate. Yes, some of the language in response to her original post was intemperate (though never from Debbie). But as McCarry and Jenkins have shown, if Rosoff’s first reaction had been to recognise that she chose a totally inappropriate place to express those thoughts, to apologise and perhaps to do something positive to support the book she had appeared to be denigrating, things could have turned out very differently. Instead she has done nothing but pour scorn on her detractors.<br /> <br />The generous reaction I have seen so far to Jenkins’ apology should demonstrate that what is going on here is not cyberbullying. Would I like to see more on all sides of ‘a kind word turneth away wrath’? Perhaps. But a recent post on the Reading While White blog pointed out what a privilege it is to be able to approach these things unemotionally, because they do not really touch me.<br />Catriona <br />LibraryCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11461629705267459809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-69840837355131951052015-11-02T22:00:04.844-06:002015-11-02T22:00:04.844-06:00Everything Kara Stewart said. Thank you, Debbie. W...Everything Kara Stewart said. Thank you, Debbie. We need you!!! Carole Lindstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12233895154364607753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-48891055302007647692015-11-02T18:21:01.095-06:002015-11-02T18:21:01.095-06:00Absolutely right, Lyn! Thank you for pointing out ...Absolutely right, Lyn! Thank you for pointing out the disservice done to kids when we give them what is "hip" and "in." So few of us were part of the in group in school... so many are left out when that is the way things get done in publishing. It leaves many readers on the outside when the goal is to entertain the cool kids. Debbie Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-53457774463857461212015-11-02T17:57:17.837-06:002015-11-02T17:57:17.837-06:00Anonymous, Meg Rosoff showed up on Edi Campbell...Anonymous, Meg Rosoff showed up on Edi Campbell's Facebook page in order to kick dirt all over a conversation and was hostile when called on her behavior, but Debbie needs to explain her tweet? Rosoff had opened hostilities. Why should everybody else have to behave pleasantly?<br /><br />--VeronicaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-32045399950847690532015-11-02T17:02:30.449-06:002015-11-02T17:02:30.449-06:00"Teachers and librarians are forgetting that ..."Teachers and librarians are forgetting that their primary responsibility as educators is not to an author or illustrator they like, but to the children in their classrooms."<br /><br />This is an important observation that bears repeating. And there's another dimension to that: Teachers and librarians responsibility to the children in their classroom extends to opening their minds up to authors and illustrators they don't like or don't know. Not all of us are charm school standouts, but that doesn't mean we have nothing to offer. And in professions that are predominantly white, gatekeepers need to go beyond their "club" of people just like them and seek out the work of authors and illustrators of color, authors and illustrators who don't live in the United States, authors and illustrators with disabilities, openly LGBTQIA authors, those who self-publish like Myles Johnson, and those who publish with small presses. There's too much focus in the industry on what's hip and "in" and it does a disservice to our diversity of young people.Lyn Miller-Lachmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01939121876262433495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-44857411251760039992015-11-02T16:48:39.585-06:002015-11-02T16:48:39.585-06:00Debbie,
We (Natives) need you. We need you to keep...Debbie,<br />We (Natives) need you. We need you to keep doing what you are doing - critically analyzing children's literature for anti-Indian bias and pointing it out to authors, agents and publishers. We very much need for you to continue this good work. You are not militant or oppositional. You say what needs to be said on behalf of us, on behalf of Native kids, on behalf of non-Native kids who get their ideas of what Native people are from those books. Those non-Native kids will grow up to write the next generations of books. With you educating ALL people about Native people - how to accurately research, what is stereotypical, what is offensive, you raise us up to be on equal footing with books about/by white people. Do not let the current debate distract you from the much appreciated purpose you serve us with. I am sorry you are taking the heat for helping us. Keep on keeping on, and thank you. <br />karastewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17689384820233898083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-14299004851576743462015-11-02T15:58:54.456-06:002015-11-02T15:58:54.456-06:00Not from the book world, but Kerry Washington rece...Not from the book world, but Kerry Washington recently did it right: was ignorant of something, got called out for it, learned, apologized, and said thank you.<br /><br />http://www.buzzfeed.com/natalyalobanova/no-scandal-here#.kmkVW8Bq6rebeccahttp://diceytillerman.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-39796510663767472622015-11-02T14:53:37.769-06:002015-11-02T14:53:37.769-06:00And again, I am reminded that no one can live in a...And again, I am reminded that no one can live in a racist culture without picking stuff up. The difference between a racist and a non-racist is not what they've assimilated, it is how they respond when someone points up the problem. I'll start reading McCarry and continue reading Jenkins.Kaethehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01138988651491869091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-41577779229620980892015-11-02T14:12:21.555-06:002015-11-02T14:12:21.555-06:00Debbie's choice to tweet Meg Rosoff is her own...Debbie's choice to tweet Meg Rosoff is her own, but I think it was relevant. That this particular author who has already shown insensitivity toward Native people in her writing was working on a book with a Native character bore a response.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04226891209877091887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-13231771437270967342015-11-02T14:05:02.638-06:002015-11-02T14:05:02.638-06:00Wonderful post. Wonderful post. Martha Brockenbroughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00921299935406060841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-61898759190567444252015-11-02T13:51:10.297-06:002015-11-02T13:51:10.297-06:00Ms Reese, I am asking this in all seriousness and ...Ms Reese, I am asking this in all seriousness and not trolling - why did you reply to Rosoff's tweet? Many people would objectively look at your response as baiting her and nothing more. I empathize with your plight, but occasionally it seems to me like you are being incendiary for no particular reason. But overall, this is just a minor thing. Please, keep up the good fight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com