Segregation & Racism in Children's Literature

In her article titled "Social Justice Literature and Writing: The Case for Widening Our Mentor Texts," Emily Smith-Buster describes her process of selecting mentor texts that are representative of the lived experiences of her students and their families. Her classroom, better known as "the Hive Society," is an inclusive place where students are free to explore and take pride in their own unique perspectives of the world and its injustices (Smith-Buster, 2016, pg 108). Using historical mentor texts as the basis for discussion, Smith-Buster provides her students with opportunities to share stories from their lives as they learn to deconstruct powerful photographs, articles, and other sources that are often not viewed as text in a classroom. Smith-Buster artfully utilizes these mentor texts to set the stage for learning that is culturally responsive and meaningful for all students These books prepare young readers for dynamic, thought-provoking conversations and writing as they dive into complex issues such as racial injustices, segregation, and friendship.

In this week's blog post, I'll be discussing two works of children's literature that encourage students to ask questions, thinking critically, and engage meaningfully in challenging concepts, such as racism and desegregation of public schools. These books tackle topics related to race in ways that are accessible yet historically accurate and culturally relevant, which I believe are their most important assets when considering books for young readers.

Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship

Authors: Irene Latham & Charles Waters

Illustrators: Sean Qualls & Selina Alko

Published: 2018

This book by authors Irene and Charles details the interactions of two fifth-grade students by the same names. Irene is a white girl with straight, blonde hair and Charles is a black boy with curly, thick hair. From the outside, the two could not be more different, and that is a little intimidating to them both. Stereotypes plague their view of each other, that is until they work together on a writing assignment. As they discuss topics for their work, they reveal lived experiences to one another and ultimately realize they are more alike than different, and their differences make them unique.

About the Authors

Through powerful and eloquent poems, Irene Latham and Charles Water provide an insightful message on the impact that racial injustices and stereotypes can have on children. The two poets were inspired to create this story based on their contrasting experiences as former students of suburban, predominantly white public schools. As a white woman and a black man, Latham and Waters lived drastically different experiences as public school students. Despite their differences, both center around confusing and often infuriating negative interactions that were the result of stereotyping. In the authors' note, they state that although "[they] invented many details to better serve the book," their interactions and lived experiences as children now serve as the foundation for Can I Touch Your Hair?. Both Latham and Waters are #OwnVoices writers in this story as their writing represents their actual lived experiences.

Charles and Irene as characters of the counter narrative

The stories and perspectives described through the poem's characters create a counter narrative that deconstructs racism along with the challenges and questions it poses for young readers. Despite the implied happy ending, most of the poems in this book are not happy, and that is a good thing. Racism isn't a happy subject, and it's a subject I don't often see discussed in schools. As teachers, we need to have conversations with our students about these challenging subjects. We need to provide students with books, materials, and places that counter the racially unjust narratives that often saturate our media. Talking about important issues in our lives is necessary to finding resolution, and Irene and Charles' experiences are the ideal place the start with young readers.

In many ways, Charles' character provides a counter narrative to Black stereotypes throughout the poems. When Charles' classmates discover he actually isn't the amazing basketball player that stereotypes would suggest, he gets picked last in gym class. In this same poem, Charles confronts racism head-on once again. The room fills with groans as the teacher, Mrs. Vandenberg, calls on Charles to read aloud in class. No one thought the black boy would be a quick and skillful reader, but he proved everyone wrong the moment he began reading. This counter narrative is so important because it debunks the stereotypes that decades of racism have embedded into popular culture, whether we realize it or not.

For another example, Irene and Charles have two strikingly opposite experiences at the beach, but they both feel insecurity and embarrassment related to the color of their skin. While these emotions are different for the two fifth-graders, the sentiment is similar in that the root of the discomfort stems from other people rather than themselves. When Irene compares her pale skin to "the perfect flapjack tan" of the other beachgoers, she begins to feel dissatisfied with her ivory skin tone.

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation

Author & illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh

Published: 2014

Sylvia Mendez was only nine years old when her father spearheaded the lawsuit that would ultimately change the way children in America went to school. The year is 1944, and despite her fluent English and American citizenship, Sylvia and her siblings were forced to attend a dilapidated school for Mexican children after being turned away from the pristine halls of the local neighborhood school. While flies swarmed their school lunches, Mr. Mendez was traveling across Orange County, California in search of others to join his fight for his children's right to the neighborhood school.

Historical accuracy / authenticity to the Mendez family story

Something I appreciate about this book is Tonatiuh's vivid, authentic inclusion of Sylvia and her family's perspectives as they faced the slew of injustices attending the Mexican school. While the book primarily depicts Sylvia's journey, her family members are not forgotten in both the text and accompanying illustrations. Additionally, despite Sylvia's young age, the racial injustice of the situation was overwhelmingly evident to her, and the painful experiences of both Sylvia and her family members are not spared from this book. Whether the family is disappointed and distraught after being shooed from the white school or anxiously awaiting the trial in the courtroom, the story is factually accurate and invaluable as their efforts and successes sparked nationwide debate, eventually leading to the famous Brown v. Board case less than a decade later. The value in this must not go unnoticed.

The video linked below provides additional information from Sylvia Mendez herself.

Cuando la causa es justa, los demás te siguen.

When you fight for justice, others will follow.

-Felicitas Mendez

Recognizing stereotypes and racism through illustrations

Tonatiuh's illustrations emphasize the immense ways in which Sylvia and her family members are aware of the racial injustices thrown at them. This is especially evident in the ways he chose to illustrate the two different school buildings, with the Mexican school appearing desolate while the white school features trees and a clean walkway. While the differences between the schools are clear, something else that I noticed was the graphic representation of the family as they drove to the neighborhood school.

In this illustration (pictured below), Sylvia and her two brothers are sitting in the backseat of the car while her light-skinned cousins sit in the front with Sylvia's mother. I find this small detail so important because it demonstrates the ways that the Mendez family is treated as second-class to their light-skinned peers, even if they are in the same family and all of Mexican descent. Critical race theory suggests that racism is such a typical, common aspect of life that it masquerades as something not to be questioned or considered. When looking at this image from a critical race theory perspective, I see how racism dominates simple and everyday tasks such as riding in the car. I see how even within this family dynamic, racism is alive and well as Sylvia and her darker-skinned brothers take the backseat to their more privileged cousins, despite the fact that they are all related by blood.

Combating racism through graphic representations

Tonatiuh's artwork also combats racism through the way he creatively represents characters and works to reclaim their identities from institutions of systematic racism, such as the American justice system. For example, in the double-spread picture below, people of various races are shown testifying in the trial. When I see this image, I am reminded of a quote from Elizabeth Marshall's article "Counter-Storytelling through Graphic Life Writing" that states, "Graphic life writing represents one way to deepen an understanding of school as an institution with a history that continues to segregate and exclude youth because of their ethnic and/or racial background" (Marshall, 2016, pg 80). In the situation of Sylvia and her brothers, school has served as a place where they are punished and shamed for the color of their skin. They are cast away to a dirty schoolhouse simply because of the color of their skin, which has ultimately led them to the courtroom where they sit in this illustration.

Despite several varying features between the characters shown here, each person is represented in a similar style. One important varying feature is the way the eyes are drawn on different races. For example, white characters' eyes have rounded bottoms with a flat upper lid, while characters of Mexican descent are drawn with rounded eyes that reach a point at the edge, similar to an almond. This can be seen throughout the book, even on Sylvia's light skinned cousins, and is an important way that Tonatiuh subtly notes racism. Additionally, Sylvia and the judge stand out in this picture because of the way their heads are turned to the right, while everyone else is turned to the left. This connections to critical race theory and its idea that racial power and the law are linked in order to maintain white supremacy. In this image, Tonatiuh combats this by turning the judge and Sylvia in the same direction, symbolizing the change that is coming to Orange County and later, the entire country.

Additionally, racism is combatted through Tonatiuh's graphics in that he almost never shows Sylvia alone. Sylvia's story is unique to her, but the racism she faced is not. She is also not the only important character to this story and the legal case it follows. Without the work of her parents and those who testified in the trial, there might not have been a precedent for Brown v. Board. Students in Orange County and across the country would have probably continued their education at separate but unequal schools if not for the bravery and determination of the entire Mendez family. Sylvia is critically important but she is not the entire story, and Tonatiuh respects this as he includes her family members in almost every illustration.

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Citations

Marshall, E. (2016). Counter-Storytelling through Graphic Life Writing. p. 79-93.

Smith-Buster, E. (2016). Social Justice Literature and Writing: The Case for Widening Our Mentor Texts. p. 108-110.