7 Reasons To Request School Books With Black Lead Characters

Change is a great feeling to feel in the air, but for some, the magnetism of it can feel daunting and disruptive. For those who are "woke" and on a mission, this feels like a golden hour and for many who have just been awakened to the notion that "it is time for change", this moment can feel like a fork in the road.

What many white people don't realise is, there are many black people who have been navigating the assault course of systemic racism by choosing to leave their blackness, culture, and expectations of full acceptance at the door in a bid for a peaceful life.

A peaceful life that may involve straightening your hair daily despite the damage it is causing your hair because you have been told that your natural hair is unprofessional. A peaceful life that may involve having to always carry a smile, pretend to not notice being overlooked, and constantly second-guessing yourself in fear of being perceived as angry or threatening. A peaceful life that forces you to pretend you are okay with sending your child into a school system that teaches them about a world where people who look like them entered the world as slaves and made no real contribution to society, even though you know that this is historically and scientifically untrue.

These are also people who are now being forced to take a stand and abandon their everyday coping mechanisms, to join others in seeking change from the oppressive systems they have become accustomed to, which can be a scary thought.

"Every parent, family member, educator, and mentor has a unique opportunity to start reshaping the future, today!"

A wise person once said "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world" and whilst the thought of dismantling oppressive systems and structures around the world may seem overwhelming, every parent, family member, educator, and mentor has a unique opportunity to start reshaping the future, today!

It's important that we keep developing confident, ambitious, young black people, who are well rounded and ready to make valuable contributions at every level of society.

It is also equally important that we develop young white children to not only respect others but to see all people as equal, so that they can grow up expecting to see colour in every space they operate in.

Whilst this sounds like an easy fix, none of this is possible if children do not literally see Black people and Ethnic minorities in positions of leadership in their everyday life, if they don't know the valuable contributions black people have made to society and if they don't see them as lead characters in the books that they read.

It's hard to see colour or have confidence in being a person of colour when history has been whitewashed and the books we read to children find black people absent, visibly invisible, or in trouble. It doesn't take long to realise how our identity and world view is formed.

After reading CLPE's ethnic diversity report, it made me realise that if we want our children to see and understand people better through the books that they read, we are going to have to be a part of the change we hope to see.

With this in mind, here 7 reasons why every parent should request school books with black characters:

Increase demand for ethnic diversity books.

Only 7% of the children’s books published in 2018 featured Black & Ethnic minority characters.

Help every child have the opportunity to see people like them lead.

Only 4% of the children’s books published in the UK in 2018 had a Black & Ethnic minority main character.

Encourage school libraries to reflect the diversity of society.

33.1% of pupils of school age are of minority ethnic origins yet only 4% of children’s books had a Black & Ethnic minority main character.

Give white children the opportunity to explore and learn about other people and cultures.

94% of children's fiction books are centered around white main characters.

Cultural diversity stops geographic whitewashing in books.

Country specific settings without country specific population is a term that refers to instances where it was evident that the scene was located in a specific part of the world outside of the UK but the characters present were exclusively or predominantly white, rendering the indigenous population invisible. - CLPE Report

Demand for Ethnic diversity books stops "Short Term Stay" culture.

Short term stay describes instances in which Black and Ethnic minority characters are introduced at the beginning of the book but are either written out very quickly or never mentioned again in the text. In the most extreme case in this cycle of submissions, an Ethnic minority character disappeared as early as page three and failed to reappear thereafter. - CLPE Report

An appetite for books that show a deeper level of respect and understanding for people from different cultures makes "wallpapering" unacceptable.

‘Wallpapering’ is a shorthand term we developed to describe a style of illustration where the background is densely populated or at least featured a number of background characters. A repeat pattern achieved by intermittently colouring in characters either black or brown to the extent that it almost resembled a wallpaper effect, often resulted in minority characters blending in so much so that they became lost in the crowd. - CLPE Report

Conclusion

If you want your child to feel more confident, empathetic, and more respectful of themselves and those around them then we need to become more intentional about the books our children read.

Children's author Rudine Sims Bishop said it best:

"Children need windows and mirrors. They need mirrors in which they see themselves and windows through which they see the world.”

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If you can relate to anything I've said or feel compelled to speak to your child's school and request school books with black lead characters please share this article to give others the opportunity to do the same.

Thank you

Thank you for staying with me! I hope this article added value, a fresh perspective and gave you a reason to take action.

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