#31DaysIBPOC

I realize it is only May – the 5th month of the year but I am fairly confident when I say this decade is a dozy.

• January highlights included the presidential campaign – emphasis on PAIN – spillover from 2019.
• The American Dirt “novel” White-pendeja-fest (technically started in 2019) it really hit level 1000 in January 2020. Please read Myriam Gurba’s most excellent and historic literary criticism (here).
• February seemed fairly normal. Racism, homophobia, and sexism but nothing out of the ordinary. Near the end of the month started hearing about COVID19 cases.
  • A colleague got yelled at for coughing while Asian on public transportation.
  • I overheard a second grader say, “I hate Chinese people because they are killing us with germs”
• February lulled us into complacency and then March came in like a blind-folded, dizzy 11 year old swinging a piñata pole.
  • Everything was cancelled. School, travel plans, everything that made my schedule was cancelled. Except racism. Racism is never cancelled. Anti-Asian racism went into hold-my-beer-over-time.
• April lasted approximately 70 years. I tried to be a teacher, colleague, parent, partner, and dog owner. I’m pretty sure I failed epically on a regular bases but I was too busy trying to understand how so many people were dying to notice or breath long enough to regret my actions.
• May is here. I’m exhausted. I wondered why, so I decided to take a close look at one typical week via my Twitter feed. A sort of close-reading of my world as a White presenting, lesbian Latina with a long time partner that I love dearly, two teen sons, two dogs, and work that centers bringing #OwnVoices books into k-12 classrooms.
  

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MONDAY May 4, 2020

I sign onto Twitter planning to spent my regular 10 minutes of Monday morning reporting racist anti-Asian/COVID19 garbage. I note that on May 2, 2020 Shana White, Ed.S (@ShanaVWhite) posted the following question about “Adam and Carly’s STEM Summit“

I’m not in the STEM field, but my partner is, so I know a lot of the folks in the field. Plus, SHANA WHITE!!! is all that & a bag of chips in her real-ness around anti-racist education.

I read through the responses – as one does – and I see that Adam and Carly decided to block the holy-patoo-ties out of anyone who pointed out the White avalanche of presenters. I also note the defenders clutching at their pearls about BIPOC being mean to Adam and Carly. Since I have yet to be blocked, I respond naming the racism.

That evening shea martin (@sheathescholar) invites me to participate with them and Shana White on a 30 min Zoom meeting with Adam and Carly. For reasons I still do not fully comprehend, I agree.

I blame the continuing stay-in-place order.

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Tuesday May 5, 2020

Cinco de Mayo – ugh. Twitter is filled with “wine-marg-time” ads and Tweets featuring teachers in tiny sombreros and oversized mustaches. It’s a lot.

Run a “remote teaching in higher ed” PD for the faculty in my college.

Grade.

Zoom call with shea, Shana, Adam, and (eventually) Carly that turns out to be an hour-long White Fragility art installation.

Highlights (I am paraphrasing because I did not record, but I really should have!) include;

-Adam expresses dismay and regret.
-Adam says the actual words “We have a dear black friend” All THE WAY OUT LOUD.
-Adam says Carly taught ‘hispanics’ in Indianapolis.
-He has been reading White Fragility by Dr. Robin Diangelo for 2 days and is learning so much.
-By the time Carly joins more than 30 excuse-laden-minutes have passed.
-Carly expressed regret, and assures us she is learning and has met some amazing people through this experience. She also cries.
-Carly says something like ‘Our black friend told us some people might take issue with our summit being all white but I didn’t know how to find Black STEM teachers’. shea googled Black STEM teachers for Adam and Carly to show them it is possible.

Ruh-Ro-Shaggy! My head snaps back – They were warned, they went ahead with an all White STEM summit anyway. Then when they got called out, they blocked the ba-jeebers out of eveyone. They went and unblocked folks, and now have seen the error of their racist ways. They want to fix everything as soon as possible and they are committed to topping off the STEM summit’s tank with some extra mellanin.

Shana, shea and I tell them the summit needs to be delayed. They need to do The Work – critical intersectionality work which needs to be more than performative. And, it will take more than one book and 2 days. They claim they cannot delay the summit and ask for our forgiveness and our guidance.

It is 2020. I have been on Zoom with these people for an eon, an era, perhaps an epoc. I finally tell them what this experience is like for marginalized people  …

It is as if you run BIPOC folks over with your car because you cannot see us through the unearned privilege blocking your view. Then you lean out the window, ask us for directions, because you are so flustered by the act of running us over with your car.

They did not understand. They are not delaying. They refuse to do The Work. I am unsurprised.

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Wednesday May 6, 2020

I start reading other #31DaysIBPOC and begin to panic. I did not sleep well. I am having COVID dreams about talking animals and being in charge of things I do not understand or have any reason to be in charge.

I send the money that Adam and Carly paid for my time to #WeNeedDiverseBooks.

Murder wasps are a thing.

Grades are due or past due. We are still staying-at-home.

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Thursday May 7, 2020

Prep for interview on with Jenni Bement on The Queer Pod. It is a much better way to spend an hour. My entire professional life is distilled into this;
I am asking White, straight, cis, able, middle class teachers to do The Work.
– Learn the oppressive history you were never taught.
– Read only #OwnVoices books!
– Bring Critical Intersectionality into the curriculum.

Work on a writing thing that I am way behind on. Computer crashes.

Work on another writing thing that I am even further behind on. Computer crashes.

Submit grades. Computer crashes.

Pearl clutching White teachers just want me to be kind since Adam and Carly are trying. I suspect my eyes are damaged from the constant rolling.

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Friday May 7, 2020

White Savior-ness abounds. This White dude teaches Black and brown kids the history of rap music in Philly.
– He posts, and subsequently removed post highlighting his consumption and appropriation of BIPOC culture.
-Didn’t Dr. Christopher Emdin cover this already in For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood. Of course Dr. Emdin isn’t White, so he’s not edgy. He’s just educated.

Work on a writing thing that I am way behind on. Computer crashes.

Work on another writing thing that I am even further behind on. Computer crashes.

Hang out on Zoom with some queer ed scholars talking about the scary landscape of higher ed.

Spend a few hours trying to load new system, get backup to run, get university tech to remote fix my computer.

STAY IN PLACE

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That’s it.
That’s my week.
There is nothing unique or out of the ordinary about all the White nonsense. It is ubiquitous, droning on like the leaf blowers in the suburbs on Spring days.

I close my second annual #31DaysBIPOC post with thanks for all the wonderful BIPOC and LGBTQIA people that share in The Work.

We are all around. We do The Work for ourselves, each other, and generations to come. We call each other out, and call each other in, out of love and respect. We celebrate, laugh, and cry across vast differences and distances because we believe in ourselves and our value.

We have to.

P.S.

If you teach STEM, get your STEM on here ….

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Read yesterday’s #31DaysBIPOC post by Lorena Germán  

 

Hey all,

I hope you are well, that you have chafed hands from constant washing, and that you are staying inside.

Many the children’s and YA community is trying to support teachers by hosting read alouds. I’ve seen a bunch on Twitter and a few collaborative sites and collections. I’m going to keep to try and keep this post updated so parents can find great literature for the non-adults in their lives.

Susan Tan has a YouTube channel she calls Authors Everywhere! that features many authors and illustrators reading their work, and also providing writing and illustrating lessons and advice. This channel has a LOT so please check it out.

We Are Teachers has a rolling list – thanks to Jeanne Croteau! – started on March 18, 2020. It is organized by grade level.

Grace Lin has a Youtube channel where kids can hear stories, and see how to draw stuff from a real book illustrator.

If you want to go deep web … Kat Cho (@KatCho) has a google calendar, KIDLIT EVENTS , that lists all kinds of virtual kidlit events! She also has a form for folks to use for future events.

UPDATE March 24, 2020

Laurie Halse Anderson got the flu so her read-alouds are on hold. No word on what KIND fo flu.
Laurie Halse Anderson is reading Fever 1793 aloud. I have to say I have been enjoying it in all new ways.

 

 

 

 

 

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UPDATE March 30, 2020

Adding this fabulous resource created by Edi Campbell, total amazing librarian. It is designed to assist us … all of us … to be better teachers.
JEDI Resources for Online PreK-12 Teaching During COVID and Beyond

 

PRIDE month is over but that doesn’t mean we have to go back into any closet. In fact, and I hope Joel Christian Gill doesn’t mind me completely coopting his 28 Days Are Not Enough (See his excellent TEDxAM14 Talk) here, but he is super correct. I’m going to say PRIDE month isn’t enough.
So, welcome to LGBTQIA-July, which will be closely followed by LGBTQIA-August. No, it does not roll off the tongue but what the heck. What LGBTQIA-Fill-in-The-Month lacks in suave it makes up for in accuracy. In my world it is always time for LGBTQIA themed children’s and YA literature.

I received a review copy of a graphic novel, Alexis Vs. Summer Vacation by Sarah Stevenson and Veronica Agarwal (Avanue A Books). I was just coming off of the bitter disappointment of a picturebook about the Stonewall riots that erased Black butch and trans women and, well … let’s just say I was suspicious. I read so many problematic books, I get exhausted.

But, this one was interesting. The cover was cute, the protagonist looked interesting, and let’s face it – I’m a sucker for a graphic novel for elementary/middle school readers and this one hits that spot perfectly! Instead of being coy and making you wait for it, I’m just going to put it out there now … Alexis vs Summer Vacation is great. It’s fun, has lots of teen angst, and most of all, is full of solid and fully realized characters.

The color pallet is bright and inviting (I read it as an electronic book on my laptop) and really does a good job of bringing summer to the page. There is lots of blue skies and pool water to give it a coolness and loads of white space that gives room for the dialogue. And, there is lots of talking! Which makes sense since we are reading about 13 and 14 year olds. Lots of talking.

Alexis, the protagonist is going through a lot. Her parents are newly divorced, she’s going from 8th grade to high school, she’s babysitting (free of charge) her younger brother and sister for the summer, and she’s figuring out what it means to be bi.

Yup. There’s a lot. Luckily, Alexis has two new friends, Jason (Jay-Jay) and Luke to help her. With these two guys at her side, she gets through her summer full of responsibilities, figuring out her crush on Hayley Stein (the very words leave Alexis breathless), and how to be a little less bossy. The three of them form an important triad of friendship, they play something similar to Dungeons and Dragons, and they begin the hard work of growing into the people they want to be when they grow up.

The majority of the book takes place at the local pool, with some short hops into the ER (drama!) and Alexis’s house. This setting is a convenient conceit, but it also gives the characters the all important parent-free hours to talk about life, family, love, bullies, and the impending change from middle to high school. Another aspect I appreciate about this book is the effortless character diversity.

There is no polite or civil way of saying this so I’m going to just go ahead with it. Too many comics and graphic novels are all White as far as the eye can see or the racial diversity is done but done badly. Luke is Latinx and he and his brother do not look the same. Jason is bi-racial (black and I assume Japanese although we never see his mom). Most importantly, not everyone is the same skin tone, even within groups!

Reading Outside My Lane

One aspect we don’t talk about enough is HOW do you start reading and evaluating literature that falls outside your own identity? Although I am an out and proud member of the LGBTQIA community, I am not bisexual. That meant I had to re-read the book with a keen eye on the tropes and stereotypes associated with bisexuals. I had to read for my engrained biases. I have found that the more stereotypes and lazy literary tropes there are, the worse the representation.

But that means I had to think and record the stereotypes and lazy tropes I know about bisexual people. Here is my list, your might be different, and again, these are stereotypes based on BIASED AND WRONG HEADED crap ideas about people that I learned because I live in a sexist, homophobic society!

• Bisexuals are attracted to every human being at all times, regardless of any kind of personal aesthetic.
• Bisexuals are always polyamorous and only exist to complete a dissatisfied couple, or they have crushes on both of their best friends (always a cis boy and a cis girl).
• Bisexuals do not actually exist.
• Bisexuals are always cis.

With these stereotypes in mind I reread the book. I am please to see that although Alexis is the only open bisexual in the book, and she does appear to be cis, those are about the only tropes I could see. She has definite and stated preferences. She is actively interested in Hayley and no one else and she appears to be unattached. She is not attracted to either Lara, Jason or Luke. She does exist in the world, she exists as bisexual, and she’s figuring it out. She comes out to her friends and her parents and the world does not come to an end.

It’s good to see bi visibility in kidlit. I hope you grab a copy and head to the pool!

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I welcome your comments.
Please know I will not publish nor respond to anonymous posters. 

I write with the idea that teachers will read my scholarship. That includes peer reviewed articles, invited pieces, and this blog. So, when I write, I am always talking to teachers who are the influencers on what gets read in the classroom. Now, don’t get me wrong there are others who read my scholarship — librarians, parents, other scholars — and that’s great but I’m in teacher education for a reason.

They (who are THEY anyway?) say numbers don’t lie – but I’d say they only tell part of the story. The numbers on the teacher  representation are undeniable …. it is a White world in teacher education. The latest statistics show a little over 80% of teachers are White, and 77% are women (Taie and Goldring, 2018) and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. At the same time, 51% of students are non-White and that number is increasing in every state. Here is what we also know, teacher expectation is a huge predictor of student outcomes, and White teachers expect less of Black and Latinx students (Boser, Wilhelm, and Hanna 2014).

What can we do? Each of us must think about how we can change education to best serve all students. For me that means I spend a lot of time developing ways to help teachers shift their ideas about literature in the classroom. One area I spend a LOT of time thinking and writing about is graphic novels – novel length narratives (both non-fiction and fiction) created in comics form.  I think of graphic novels as the grandchild of comic strips, and the child of comic books.

It is important to think about the form and the history of the form. Comics, at least here in the United States of America, have a long history of being by and for White, straight men. But, the readership has changed in the last 25 years. Although the leading comic book publishers (DC and Marvel) don’t want to face the fact that the readership has grown beyond White, straight guys, that is exactly what has happened. But, publishing is a conservative business, so changing it is like steering a cruise ship in an ocean of Jello. It is slow to change direction and takes a hell of a lot of work.

I recently saw a tweet from National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) that featured this image ….

I was excited at first and then disappointed. This is the kind of emotional roller coaster I am all too familiar with and it goes something like this ….

1. Hey! Look! Graphic novels in my Twitter feed!
2. Wow – from NCTE. Big dealio! Getting some traction here!
3. That’s a really White list of books.
4. That’s a really male list of books.
5. Ugh … now everyone is re-tweeting.
6. Ugh …. Dammit      

Let me explain. I have been keeping a database of graphic novels published for k-12 readers. It started with a focus on books with protagonists that were women and girls, but it has grown. It is this huge pile of data that I wade into every once in a while and muck around in. I have added all sort of items – such as the race and gender of authors and illustrations; the total number of identifiable characters by gender, race, and if they speak. I’m trying to develop a way to measure the quality of representations (this is still a work in progress). It’s a lot … and I’m not sure what the data is showing me yet.

Measure for Measure – Representation 

When I saw the Tweet from Matt (no last name found) who originally posted the list on Upper Elementary Snapshots, I took a quick scan of the titles and groaned. I groaned outloud and probably grabbed my head. Why, you may ask, because the post is all about using graphic novels in all the right ways. But … But … the actual list of recommended books is just soooooooooo White, male centric …. just monolithic and typical. All I could think about was the students in the classrooms of the teachers who read the Tweet and see that NCTE tag and think, “hey, that looks like a great list!”

The Bechdel Test (Sarkeesian, 2009) is a really low bar to measure the representation of women in media – it isn’t about quality, it is only focused on the mere presence of women in media (films, TV, and in this case, books). It goes something like this:

1. Are there at least 2 named female characters who;
2. speak to each other;
3. about something other than a man.

It is a really, really, really low bar. Sometimes that is what we are dealing with – the lowest of low bars and I think we really need to be doing better than this. I mean, think about the ABSOLUTE minimum you are willing to provide for your students, and then look at this list another way.

Graphic Novel Series Creators in This Classroom

Corinne Duyvis came up with the idea of  #OwnVoices in 2015. She suggested the hashtag “to recommend kidlit about diverse characters written by authors from that same diverse group.” The idea that marginalized people are better equipped to tell those stories has become much more contentious then I think anyone expected. But, when we see lists like this, it is important to look at who the authors and illustrators are, who’s voices are being heard, and who’s are not.

I waded into my database and pulled the titles Matt listed as “series” and “single story” graphic novels and created some charts.

Graphic Novel Authors – Series and Single Stories 

Take a look at who is writing the graphic novels that Matt uses in his classroom.

Out of the 33 creators – some books had an author and illustrator(s) – 27 are White, one Black* and three Asians. No Latinx, Indigenous, or Middle Eastern.

 

In addition to the authors being overwhelmingly White, these books are primarily written and illustrated by

men. This monochromatic selection is not a reflection of what is available in graphic novels. It is a reflection of what this teacher chose for his students.

Protagonists – Series

The protagonists in these graphic novel series that Matt selected for his class and recommended for your classes, the results were just as disappointing. The vast majority of the characters were either White or NOT HUMAN. That’s right, you have a better chance of seeing yourself reflected in these books if you are a talking rabbit or a Yeti, rather than Latinx, Black, Asian, Indigenous/Native American, or Middle Eastern person.

Additionally, looking at these protagonists I found they were overwhelmingly male. There were no gender non-conforming characters, and no LGBTQ protagonists to be had across these series.

Just … ugh.

 

 

Protagonists – Single Story

The “single story” graphic novels on the list were a bit different when it came to gender. Here there are more female protagonists. There were still no no gender non-conforming characters, and the 2 LGBTQ characters (both male) were written by a straight woman.

 

There were no non-humans in these books. But, the clear majority of these protagonists are, once again, overwhelmingly White. The 3 Latinx protagonists were from the same, hugely problematic graphic novel – Ghosts. You can read about the issues here on my blog, and here on Dr. Debbie Reese’s blog.

Take Aways

Matt, the teacher who posted the list, is trying to provide interesting, engaging, and complex literature for his students. He is trying to open space for his students. But, he forgot that all literature, including graphic novels, are not culturally neutral.

Students need to read a wide range of authentic representations of genders, sexual orientations, abilities, races, and ethnicities. That needs to be non-negotiable because our students deserve no less.

 

* Thank you for the careful read Mary Reilley Clark, @SEMSLibraryLady, and the catch. I mistakenly wrote that there were 3 Black authors, there is only 1.

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References

Boser, U., Wilhelm, M., & Hanna, R. (n.d.). The Power of the Pygmalion Effect. Retrieved July 29, 2018, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2014/10/06/96806/the-power-of-the-pygmalion-effect/

Sarkeesian, A. (2009, December 7). The Bechdel test for women in movies. Retrieved August 1, 2010, from http://www.feministfrequency.com/2009/12/the-bechdel-test-for-women-in-movies/

Taie, S., and Goldring, R. (2018). Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Teachers in the United States: Results From the 2015–16 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look (NCES 2017-072rev). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 2018 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.ap?pubid=2017072rev.

I must confess, I have a special place in my heart for big stats. Not for the reasons most researchers will give – I don’t think the TRUTH lies within big numbers. No. But, I think massive amounts of data can give us two dimension of a story – sort of the breadth and width of things. And, in this case, the THING I am looking at today are picturebooks. To be precise – I’m looking at Great #OwnVoices Picturebooks.

The Cooperative Children’s Book Center is the children’s literature go to organization for Big Data. Publishers both big and small send books to the CBCC all year and the librarians (both staff and students) count all the things. The annual collection consists of “books typically available for sale to public schools and public libraries”.

As you can see, with a few exceptions (2004-05, 2013) there has been a steady increase in the number of children’s books published in the United States of America.

Too many publishers, scholars, authors, editors, librarians, and teachers have told us – People of Color, Native Americans, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, and non-neurotypical people – to wait our turn. We’ve been told that change takes times, and above all else, to give authors, editors, and publishers the benefit of the doubt. It stands to reason, if we wait for the market to grown, then the pie gets bigger, and the bigger the pie, the more share I get. Right? Right!?! RIGHT!?!?!?!?

Well, the results from the CCBC 2017 count is in and it is a freakin’ crime (thanks to Lee and Low for putting tother this infographic). I want to draw people attention to this bit, down here, near the bottom of the image …. you see that?

7%.
Seven. Siete. Sept. S-E-V-E-N. As in the 7 Deadly Sins kind of seven.

I’m not giving up and I know my colleagues are committed to educating literary gatekeepers to recognize the need for a rich variety of diverse #OwnVoices literature in classrooms and libraries. In addition, the authors aren’t stopping anytime soon. Providing children and young adults with a wide array of authentic representation is a change that will make us a better society – full stop.

Unfortunately, White writers and editors are freakin out about SEVEN PERCEPT! of children’s books that are published being by and about under represented communities. They are clutching pearls, and asking to see all the managers, because they are threatened by the very idea that we are demanding a wide array of representation written by the people being represented. Please see Nora Baskin’s Ted X talk for the best of this not-isolated-at-all-flaming-trash-heap of White fragility in action.

Instead of understanding #OwnVoices they decided White authors should write random non-White, non-straight, disabled, non-neurotypical characters, as long as those characters are just like them. You know, “normal”, which is White code for “White, like me.”

Instead of leaving you with this dismal state of affairs, I want to highlight some #OwnVoices picturebooks that you need for your library and classroom. In addition, I am going to URGE you to go to Goodreads and Amazon to post reviews!

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Alma, by Juana Martinez-Neal

This picturebook just made me feel good about being Latina. Alma is a little girl with a big name – Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela. This book is a beautiful and loving illustration of the ways Latinx names recognize and honor our histories.

The illustrations by Martinez-Neal are striking in their quiet grace. Using what looks like pencil and charcoal Martinez-Neal brings a vibrancy to the lives of Alma’s ancestors, as well as to the ways she identifies and connects with them.

Goodreads, Amazon

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When We Were Alone by David Robertson and Julie Flett.

I used this book with my children’s literature classes because of the complex and subtle narrative structure. This book gave me, a non-indigenous person, a small glimpse of the fallout from the cultural genocide boarding schools perpetrated on Native Americans and First Nations people. (And yes, it was genocide. Calling it anything else and you are just trying to make yourself feel better).

The book features a young girl hanging out with her Kókom (grandmother) and asking her why does things like grow flowers, wear a long braid, and laugh with her brother. The reasons are all bound to her Kókom’s time in boarding school. Throughout the picturebook there are tensions: the simple premise and the hard subject matter; the plain faces and the expressiveness of those faces; the colorful beauty of the little girl and her Kókom alongside the drab and faded look to the boarding school images. Flett’s illustrations could be used as a master class in mood – a notoriously difficult literary concept to teach across k-12 English Language Arts classrooms. The changes in color palette from the present to the past signals the changes in time, place, and mood to the reader.

Goodreads, Amazon

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A Different Pond by Bao Phi and Thi Bui

Phi’s intimate story of an early morning fishing trip with his father is told in sparse text and rich colors. The gentle ways the story unfolds keeps many readers engaged and enthralled.

The deep melancholy of the book makes it stand out among children’s book. A tired young boy and his father getting up before day break to fish is familiar story. What makes A Different Pond unique is that it takes a common story and tells it from an immigrant’s point of view. The boy references his father’s accent (Vietnamese) “A kid at my school said my dad’s English sounds like a thick, dirty river.” The father tells the baitman, who he obviously knows well, that he’s got a second job. What surprises many readers is that this family is fishing not for sport, or fun but for sustenance. They talk about how difficult immigrating to the United States has been and why it is worth it for their family. And, by taking the young Bao Phi with him, this father is including him in his love and care for the family.

Goodreads, Amazon

 

The year has begun. We will have a new president in two weeks. The Southern Poverty Law Center is gathering data that shows an initial increase in hate crimes and hate speech, followed by a slow down.

Twitter is … well … Twitter but more so these days.

I still haven’t figured out Instagram or Tumblr. They make me feel old.

And so, 6 days into 2017 and people are wondering what can be done to make things better, more civil and less frightening. Well, I am all about DOING. So, I have a small project I think you can help with. I might be biased, but I think we should be doing more reading. Reading outside ourselves. Reading good, authentic representations of people, places, and histories that have NOTHING to do with us or our lived lives. And so thanks to a bunch of people who contributed (link if you want to add to the list) I have a pretty good start on a list of books written by authors that come from marginalized communities.

These marginalized authors are writing books – good books and great books – that are not getting enough attention.

I want readers to amplify the voices of these authors who are members of marginalized communities because books are being written by actual marginalized people with great characters, authentic settings, and solid story telling.

How can I help? What can you do?

Well, I am glad you asked.

As a member of Reading America you can do two things.

A) Read these books.
Get the book from the library. If they are not in your libraries holdings, ask for them.
Or purchase the books, direct from the publisher or a local bookseller.

B) After reading, write a review and add your voice to amplify these authors. You can help create buzz and excitement around their works. You can change the direction of publishing (maybe) and prove that White, straight, able America can read and enjoy literature that does not center White, straight, able America. Give it a shot.

How do I do that?

Again, thanks for asking.

1. Read a book that is on this list (it is a vetted list that is growing)
2. Write a positive review (don’t panic, I’ll help with this bit)
3. Upload your review up on Goodreads or Amazon or both.
4. Repeat

But, how can I write a review? I’ve never done that? It makes me nervous and I avoid things that make me nervous. 

Don’t panic Reading America! I’ve got a book review starter kit here for you. You can copy and paste this (fill in the blanks) and then BA-BAM! Review written!

I read — BOOK TITLE — by — AUTHOR — and absolutely loved it. << Write something specific that you loved about the book: Characters, Voice, Plot line, Setting work here>> This is the first book by this author that I have read, and I am glad I stepped out of my usual comfort zone! I highly recommend this book for — NAME SOME SORT OF HUMAN BEING WHO MIGHT ALSO LIKE THE BOOK — and plan on reading — TITLE — next!

Here is what I wrote for March, Book 1, on Goodreads using this template.

I read March, Book 1 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell and absolutely loved it. I was completely blown away by the powerful black and white illustrations and the intricate ways the text and illustrations work together. This is the book first in this series that I have read, and I am glad I stepped out of my usual comfort zone! I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about the beginnings of the civil rights movement in America and plan on reading March, Book 2 next!

Thats it. Read, write a little, post it and read some more.