Tag Archives: white children’s books

MY RESPONSE: WHERE ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS?

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Where Are People of Color in Children’s Books?

Walter Dean Myers, didn’t relate, he was black reading books about white kids.

DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of FolioAcademy,LLC or every artist there in. We can’t help it if Mr. Will Terry has an opinion after all. ~your best friend, Wayne Andreason; Mgr.

 

The New York Times recently posted an article entitled: “Where Are the People of Color in Children’s Books?” Walter Dean Myers, the author shared his experience growing up reading books that he didn’t relate to because he was black and most of the books he read were about white kids. It’s a very thoughtful article that provokes many questions.

My mom didn’t ‘pass’, & wasn’t allowed to attend a white school

I thought I would share some of my experiences as an illustrator relating to ethnicity in children’s books. I grew up in a white suburban neighborhood just north of our nations capital in Maryland. I always identified myself as white even though my grandmother on my mother’s side has native american blood in her ancestry and my mom is suspected of having an African American father. It wasn’t until I was in college that my mom felt comfortable sharing that as a child she wasn’t able to attend the white schools because she couldn’t “pass” – a term meaning you were classified as having a mixed-race heritage.

There’s color in my Genes but I think of myself as white

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