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Recommended: Racism in literature
As I writer, I struggle with a number of things: finding the time to write, finding the inspiration to write, stopping myself from obliterating everything I’ve written in one fell swoop of my editing marker, and so much more. But the biggest struggle I have is not so much with the writing itself but with the color of my own skin.
Authors: Skin Color or Talent?
Like most writers, I read a lot. I’ve described this tendency to be gluttonous, or more complimentary, voracious. However, one thing most readers can agree on is that there is not a whole lot of ethnic or racial diversity in protagonists out there. Nevermind the clear racial bias in the authors that make it to the top-shelf magazines and newspapers. Roxane Gay and her assistant undertook the massive project of identifying the race/ethnicity of the authors of the 742 books that had been reviewed by the New York Times as of 2011, and what they found was positively offensive. Of the total 742 books, 655 of those were written by non-Hispanic Caucasians.
There is a disparity of almost 20% between the racial makeup of the United States and the racial makeup of the authors reviewed. This is certainly not due to the lack of writers or a lack of talent. Given that editors and agents are the key to getting published, is the first line of discrimination drawn by their hands? Is there a way to counteract this bias? I don’t have any hard statistics for it; there’s simply no way to know the racial/ethnic identity of every author of every submission that has ever gotten into the hands of an editor or agent. But it does make you wonder.
In the event that you do find a prominent non-white author, you will find that their work is treated like a zoo animal. They’re not being published or p...
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...kin, but there’s an overtly sexual connotation to that way of describing someone. Instead, you can go the wood route of deep mahogany and chestnut brown, but that sounds more like a table than a human being. Go the animalistic route of sleek panther-like human beings and once again, it’s dehumanizing and reducing these characters to wild creatures.
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The hardest part of this is that I don’t have an answer for any of the questions I’ve raised. I only have more questions. As a writer, do you write ethnically/racially diverse characters? Does the race or ethnicity of your characters play a large or small part in the works you write? How do you avoid cliches or stereotyping? If you’re a person of color, do you feel that your race/ethnicity hurts or helps (or doesn’t affect at all) your chances of getting published? What are your experiences with racial bias in writing?
In “Once Upon a Quinceanera” Julia Alvarez follows the Hispanic coming of age tradition for females to explore how evolution of culture has shifted throughout generations. By doing this Alvarez discovers perceptions are influenced by cross cultural boundaries. In “Leave Your Name at the Border” Manuel Munoz, discusses the barriers between Mexicans and Americans when it comes to language and how it affects future generations. He does this by acknowledging socially expected norms for Mexican Americans in public and the tensions created when assimilating to such norms between a non-dominant and dominant group. In “What’s Black, Then White, and Said All Over,” Leslie Savan discusses how black talk and pop talk is connected because white people
“Ethnic Hash,” a personal narrative by Patricia Williams, explains how being African-American affects the way others view the author and the authors culture. Patricia Williams was a quite person who did not speak one’s mind or stick
...it but try to make a change. Through Chris Jaynes, Johnson expresses to his readers the importance of taking a stance on the issue of Whiteness by making it a very prominent ideal in his novel. Johnson furthers his agreement against Whiteness by expressing the fact that the issue not only needs to be identified but that there needs to be more of a push to change the issue. Sticking to the normal ways of trying to fix the issue of Whiteness, such as using a diversity committee, are no longer acceptable in the fight against Whiteness as it has proved to be unsuccessful. Instead Mat Johnson challenges the reader to notice the practices that keep American literature segregated and consider how effective the methods put in place truly are in advancing American literature.
Minority writers like W.EB. DuBois, Judith Ortiz Cofer, and Sherman Alexie, have endeavored to vocalize the unheard voices of their people through literature. Their poems, short stories and novels echo sentiments of inequalities, prejudices, and the struggles of living as a minority in America. They also courageously share their perspectives on how the conflicts between their respective native cultures and the majority shape their lives and the world around them. These authors through their stories provide deeper insights on the concept of diversity. Authors from differing minority backgrounds have shown the variety of lenses in which diversity can be viewed and understood. Their writings show the evolution of diversity through time. Although
Racial prejudice began an undoubtedly winding journey, meandering through decade after decade. In the Norton Reader 14th Edition the personal narrative "Black Men and Public Spaces" by Brent Staples describes the multiple experiences he had with being racially stereotyped and how it affected not only him, but also other black men in society. His specific experiences become imperative to the meaning and all inclusive power of narrative, bringing to women 's attention that not all black men pose a threat. By revealing his emotions, Staples creates a multifaceted narrative expressing the effects of the misfortunate events of his life by using imagery and specific diction.
If I had to identify with one of the authors, I would identify more with Curtis Linton, who is white and grew up in a predominantly homogenous community (Park Ridge, Illinois...
In reading the first chapter of Ethnic Myth I was instantly lured in with the first sentence. That states this book is dangerous because it clarifies yet rejects all that is known on race, ethnicity, and immigration in the U.S. Race and ethnicity have always been taboo topics. Like discussed in lecture it is not appropriate for someone to come up and ask “What are you? In this reading Steinberg discusses how racial reparations should be demanded however not in the form of cash
Some African Americans view their race as inferior to the white race. Even though the author may not hold this same opinion, it is still important that he or she understands that part of his or her audience does, especially when writing about racial identity. Zora Neale Hurston understood
During the semester, race is a big part of the lectures. In class, we talk about how race is distinguishing physical characteristics used to place people in different racial categories (Jensen). The biggest concern with race is racial inequality. Racial inequality is the inadequate or unfair treatment of minorities in areas like income, education, employment, health, the criminal justice system, and media. The article written by Rebecca Keegan from the Los Angeles Times newspaper discusses the inequality of race in media specifically movies. This article relates to the unfairness in films because minorities are poorly portrayed in the majority of films. More often than not, minorities are the “bad guys” in films. They are caught up in criminal activity and live in poorer neighborhoods than the majority. The article gives numerous statistics proving and exploiting that there is indeed racial inequality depicted in films. Also the Keegan touches on how minorities are underrepresented in films in the way that they usually do not have as many speaking lines compared to the white actor/actress.
Rodriguez, R. (2000). Complexion. In Brunk, T., Diamond, S., Perkins, P., & Smith, K. (Eds.), Literacies (pp. 447-64). New York, N.Y.
Although we have taken monumental strides in the past fifty years towards racial equality and diversity, it is still commonly argued that popular culture lacks some sort of racial representation. In the United States, the people who live here are vastly diverse when it comes to race and culture, yet in the media people of color get marginalized and stereotyped everyday in film, music, and etc.
As a result, literature has to follow certain guidelines to be classified as Asian American; being placed in a box limits many great pieces of work to gain the recognition they deserve. As Wong and Sumida state, Asian American Literature is a presentation of American culture within Asian American history and culture, rather than a representation of the entire culture. “Asian Americans” is a large and complex, pan-ethnic group of people making it difficult to classify them all under the same stereotypes. Many Asian American works portray Asian Americans as “perpetual aliens or castaways whose cultures tumble nicely and helplessly” (4). This is because Asian Americans create their own culture, a hybrid of Asian culture and American culture, they don’t fully fit in with American culture just as they don’t fully fit in with Asian culture. Asian American Literature is a reflection of just that, it doesn’t fit into specific guidelines, breaking away from the labels that others create and making its own impact by culturing its readers on being Asian American. Whether the author is Asian American or is solely writing about Asian American culture, it still classifies as Asian American Literature
Writing has been an important part of every culture from the beginning of time. The illustrations of cavemen have evolved immensely. Today, there are millions of published books. In fact, there are over four hundred books published every month. What happens when these books turn into something more? Is there racism in our children's literature? Ironically, the renowned great works of our past is full of racism. The question that remains, how do we teach our children the great lesson that these brave authors intended?
Johnson, Anne. Janette. “Toni Morrison.” Black Contemporary Authors. A Selection of Contemporary Authors.
Still, no other novelist in America at the time populated his novels with representatives of so many races. Racism is a constant in American society. No other society may be as racist. Yet, what other society has made such valiant efforts to rid itself of this evil?