Pop op O’ Colour olour Dreaming of Neverland Addressing the lack of magic in African-American children’s stories
A Generational Curse...pg.9 Starting Over...pg. 5 Get It Right...pg.7
Contents 4 Dreaming of Neverland 5 Starting Over
7 Get it right
8 Dreaming of Neverland Cont. 9 A Generatonal Curse
DREAMING OF NEVERLAND As a kid there were two types of stories I loved the most, one was fiction. Give me a story about a far away land, magic, or the impossible and I was hooked for hours. The second was love. Any story where two people came together against all odds was a page-turner for me. Guided by the moonlight seeping through my bedroom window I travelled to distant lands and fell in love over and over again. These two genres were forever my kryptonite, but as I got older I noticed they were also very white.
rape, or slavery it’s almost as though black children only appeared in stories to experience agony. I wanted adventures and fairy godmothers that granted wishes. Instead I was given colorfully wrapped versions of a history I was blessed enough to not have to live through but was continuously forced to remember.
Literature plays a major role in a child’s imagination and what does it say about stories if children cannot see themselves as the main character? Do black children not dream of Neverland too? The absence of people of color in the world of literature is not a new phenomenon. In fact it has been studied before creating and opening the door for novels that focused on African-American characters. One of the people responsible for opening this door is Nancy Larrick.
“Do black children not dream of Neverland too?”
Stories of little black children were always centered around Looking back I don’t rememhow amazing how strength and ber reading about little black perseverance was, as if girls or boys getting to play with that was the only supermagic, going on adventures, or power we were allowed to finding love against all odds. have. But even Superman In reality maybe I was looking got tired of being strong. in the wrong places but for the most part they weren’t there. As an African-American I understand that who we I spent hours of my time in are is vastly cloaked in our Barnes and Noble looking history, a history washed through shelves of books to find in blood. my next obsession. The next adventure I could get lost in or To some this may not the next character I would fall seem like a problem, in love with but as I journeyed learning about history to each new land I was the only allows you to learn how person of color along for the not to repeat its mistakes. ride. But as I fell more in love with writing I started to I did notice that many of the create my own stories, but books geared towards black even when I wrote I realchildren and young adults were ized that not even my own always wrapped around some characters looked like me. sort of pain or trauma. Death,
Larrick criticized the absence...
Continued on Page 8
Photo Courtesy of Nappy
STARTING OVER I’ve moved into this weird space in my life. I’m an adult but I’m not quite independent, I’m on my own but I still heavily rely on my parents.
year in undergrad and how long unsure of my decision, prayit took me to actually forming for a sign I made the right friendships. What if I spent my choice. whole graduate career lonely? The next day was orientation. I Despite the growing angst in my walked into the room and tried Unlike many people I decidstomach move-in day came and my best not to look small. Out ed to go straight into graduate there was nothing I could do of habit I sat in a corner on my school. At first I thought “this is about it. I got to campus, paid phone. As the day continued I great,” I was going to continue my rent (after a lot of running began to grow, I even managed learning in a completely new around but that is a story for to have conversations with a few environment, one that is far another day), helped my parpeople. from home. ents carry all of my things up two flights of stairs, and began By the end of orientation I felt I would be able to move out to settle in. As my room slowly better. I walked back to my on my own and explore a city came together the monster in room feeling accomplished. I beautiful and rich may not have made in culture. The idea a life long friend but of new experiences I was able to connect excited me in a way and laugh with some I could not explain. people. This wasn’t so bad. As the weeks got closer to my moveHowever, later on that in date my exciteday boredom set in. ment came to an I looked around my abrupt halt. I was room and realized I, moving to a comonce again, was alone. pletely new city.... Before that dreaded alone. feeling could come back I made a decision A majority of the right then and there, friends I made in undergrad my stomach started to leave as “I’m going to be okay with beand even friends from home well. ing alone.” I got up and decided were either working, looking to take myself on a tour of the for work, or still in school. I Sitting in the restaurant inhalcampus. was going to a new place with ing my Chinese food I began to my support system hours away feel better. This wouldn’t be so Moving into my own place from me. bad. I could do this. brought me to a different type of solitude. I was always fine The rational side of my brain My parents and I made our way with doing things by myself but told me that I could always call back to my new apartment. This being alone without the option them or go home if I needed to. was the last time I would see to have others around is a toBut the anxiety and fear contin- them until break. The ball of tally different feeling. I’m still ued to settle in. anxiety came back. getting used to this idea but I’m sure I will make it to the other I remembered back to my first I fell asleep in my new room side.
GET IT RIGHT I don’t care what level of my education I’m at whenever the teacher says they “will randomly call on people to answer questions,” I start to panic. It may seem childish but the fear is always valid.
Each time I have to answer a question I hear a younger version of myself “Mommy if I place this shape here will it make the nice noise?”
I’ve always had an issue with being wrong. Growing up my I’ve always hated having to read mother would tell me that I’d my answers out loud to the class because I didn’t want to be wrong.
If someone was to ask my opinion on a topic I would gladly voice what I was thinking, however let it be some piece of factual information and I freeze up. I grew up knowing that no one could object to my opinion because it was a personal belief. But this understanding also allowed me to see that when something was set in stone,a fact, that you had to be correct when addressing it.
“Mommy if I place this shape here will it make the nice noise?”
The moment the teacher would call on me I suddenly became small. My voice would retreat some place far within and I struggled to project, usually causing me to have to repeat myself. I’d hold my breathe praying I’d get it right or hoping I did not miss something very obvious.
always ask before making a decision, especially with a game, so I would hopefully know the outcome beforehand. Nothing felt worse to than trying and not succeeding.
This fear has followed me shaping the way I interact inside It seems like such a trivial thing the classroom or even the work to fear but for me it is very real. place. Each time I go to answer As I continue on in my educa- a question or I want to voice a tion that fear has stayed with new idea a pep talk takes place me. in my head in an attempt to convince myself to speak up.
Photo Courtesy of Nappy
I wish I could give some easy fix to this but after over 20 years of life I have failed to find one. My best solution is to just try. It sounds cliche and ineffective but the only way to get over something is to start building the bridge that will help you cross it. Now lets hope I’m not too scared to find the materials to build the bridge.
NEVERLAND CONTINUED
A GENERATIONAL CURSE Photo Courtesy of Nappy
Continued from page 4
the Civil War.
the absence of children of color in literature in her 1965 Saturday Review article “The All-White World of Children’s Books.” Larrick conducted a survey that showed “’only fourfifths of one percent’ of [children’s books] included contemporary black Americans as characters.”
As much as I loved having the doll I wasn’t too happy with reading her story. It was the same feeling I had with many other historical fiction books depicting African-American children: The constant reminder that we started with nothing and life was/is hard for us.
primarily for Black children to enjoy.” (Bishop) Even when black children are included in the world of literature we are not included as main characters and when we are it is to remind us of our cruel past. Bishop also points out how these “reminders” are important and serve as a reflection of the time period in which many of these stories were created, but we are in a new time period.
Nancy Larrick’s study on chilToday more authors are includ- dren’s literature may have ing children of color in their opened the door for inclusivity novels thanks to Larrick’s ded- but that open doorway seems to ication. However, despite her only serve as a constant remind- Children should look at stories efforts literature still has a long er of the past African-Ameriand feel that they can re-create way to go. can’s cannot escape. and re-invent the magic that they see other children receivLike many young girls besides In the Fall of 2012 a woman by ing. Stories such as Disney’s books I was also into dolls. the name of Rudine Sims Bish- Princess Tiana or Moana have There is a particularly famous op, a retired Professor Emerita helped to show just how imcollection of dolls I liked, The of Education at The Ohio State portant inclusivity is. American Girl Dolls. I remem- University, published an article ber getting the first black Amer- in the Children’s Literacy AsChildren of color should not ican Girl Doll, Addy Walker. sembly. This article acknowlbe reduced to their past and She was a beautiful brown doll edges the very point I’ve noticed should be allowed to imagine with pretty brown eyes but most all of my life, that “Black charthemselves at the forefront of of all I remember her story. acters [are] objects of ridicule kingdoms and castles just as all Each doll was based on a hisand generally inferior beings, the other kids do. torical event/time period and [their] representations [are] Addy’s was based on slavery and not likely to have been created
I am constantly making lists of things I need to do. I need to clean my room , finish a project for class, write a blog post, call a family member, do my homework, pay my rent, the list goes on and on. Every time I complete something another job is added to my list. The longer my list grows the more I want to curl into a ball and ignore it.
accurate and normal for women to do all of those things without complaint, because it was their jobs. My mother may not fit into the “traditional” role of a mother but she does take on a ton of projects in her work and personal life.
Every time I speak to her she is going to a meeting, writing up a But the sad thing is presentation, creating I don’t know how to something, or attemptnot be busy. I’m so ing to finish the work used to always having she had to bring home something to do that with her. And I have the thought of having learned to be the same nothing can sometimes way. give me anxiety. What’s even worse is the anxi- At the end of a long day ety and stress I get from 9 times out of 10 I can having a large amount find my mom asleep of things to complete. I in front of the televican’t win either way. sion, her work splayed around her and food I am reminded of my that goes unfinished mother. My mom has left on the table. the ability to be superwoman, as cliche as Why is it that women that is, it’s true. have to always be so strong? When we tell Women are known to young girls not to rely balance a large amount on anyone we teach of things at once. Tak- them to internalize the ing care of kids, clean- need for help and dising the house, going to guise it as strength. work, making dinner, and although that list I was taught to do for is very sexist there was myself, to work hard, a time when it was also and to not rely heavily
on others because they will probably fail you. We wrap our young girls in this cloak of strength and perseverance that is then placed in a bottle slowly being shaken up by the world until we explode. Then we are labeld as emotional and irrational.
We have a hard time accepting that mental health is apart of the problem in the world.
Failing to grasp the concept of an issue manifesting despite a lack of physical evidence pushes those who suffer further into themselves.We have been taught to Sometimes I throw acknowledge physical myself into work and I pain and ignore the know the end result is invisible ones, passing more than what I could down a generational
ask for because of what I put into it, but that does not always mean I need to put in everything I have. Moving forward recognizing the reasons for high levels of stress can be extremely important. Of course it won’t be easy, we are conditioned to not look for help or acknowledge “excuses” but mental health is just as important as physical health.
curse. How many times in the black community has God been the answer over therapy? I want this curse to stop with me. If l have children I want them to know that the pain they cannot explain or the pain they cannot see is just as valid as the cuts and scraps that could appear on their bodies.