When I am captured in {SOCH}, it is probably the most fulfilling time of my day (after anything and everything my son manages to do to make me smile or frown!). So, it would only make sense that my ideas needed some fermenting before rising to this blog!

Given the strengthening dialogue around the issue of creating and recognizing literature that represents children today, it makes me wonder. As we put the heat on established publishers to truly represent the evolving Canadian (in my case) identity and to “share the love” with talented up and coming authors of colour, I wonder if Publishers and booksellers are really listening. Will they oblige because they feel it’s a growing trend or because it is the right thing to do? Why should they care?

Well, they should care. For a population that is growing five times faster than the “mainstream” in Canada, visible minority representation in the publishing world does not correlate.

During a recent school Book Fair, I asked my students to think about every book they saw or had recently heard about and the results were interesting. With that caveat in mind, many perused the shelves as critical observers of an otherwise trend purchase. They noticed the lack of diversity. They recognized hidden biases (pretty in pink princesses). They questioned the lack of persons of colour on the covers of books. They were thinking critically. They were becoming informed. Instead of twenty minutes of no teaching, it became a teaching opportunity that could shift mindsets, if only minutely.

Publishers should care. These children are growing into a global media world where every opportunity will be within their reach. Success can be measured from different perspectives but as we have seen in the recent tragedies in Japan and New Zealand, the human spirit traveling through social media brought comfort to a nation suffering unforeseen destinies by sharing respect and compassion for complete strangers. This is the beauty of building a generation of informed citizens. Growing knowledge and fostering peace through understanding another person’s experience. News was raw and authentic. Knowledge became immediate. Personal opinions were formed using first-hand accounts. There was no time for media to influence hidden biases.

The raw voices of authentic writers of colour need to be represented beside those that fit the mainstream so that readers can make the ultimate decision about what actually stands out. Who is making the choices for which books end up facing out on bookseller shelves is another post. For now, I offer you some time for {SOCH} – have any publications including persons of colour made a difference to you?

Many relief efforts are underway for victims of the tsunami. Please check out Multiculturalism Rocks blog for ways to help.

Tags: children's books, diversity in publishing, hidden bias, multiculturalism, south-asian, visible identity, writers of color

This entry was posted on Monday, March 21st, 2011 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Diversity in Children's Publishing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.