My daughter owns “I can do it, too” which features a black child as the main character. Katie knows that the child is black – but she looks at it much the same way as other characters having different colors of hair. While I realize that black children may read the book and embrace it differently because it reflects them, I love that Katie just likes the book.

It’s kind of where I was going with my Disney post on yesterday. The best thing that could happen is to have such a mix of books that race in books becomes unremarkable.

“African-American children’s books are no more “exclusively” for black children than books authored by white authors are solely for white children.

Black children in our society are at a disadvantage when it comes to mirroring themselves from what they see and read in books. When I was a child, the Dick and Jane book series were very popular (never mind how old I am!). But, when I read these books, I did not see one single person that:

1. looked like me
2. lived like I lived
3. had hair like mine
4. whose mom looked like mine
5. dressed like I dressed
6. etc., etc., etc.

Need I go on? I’m simply saying that it’s important for African-American children to be able to “identify” with something that they can relate to. In books, it is iso important because that’s where their foundation (reading) begins and where their generalizations begin. Now while I do not in any way advocate separation of any kind, I believe it’s important to explain to a child that, yes, you are different, but it’s also ok. They need to understand that because of their differences, the world will treat them differently and then we teach them how to deal with those attitudes. Don’t mimick them, but embrace them as a catalyst to help them become better.

My daughter wanted to know why she just couldn’t get in the pool all willy-nilly like her friends do and get her hair all wet and just ‘go’. I had to explain to her the texture and reactions of HER hair and the consequences of just ‘getting in’ the pool just like that. We have to plan to make a pool trip and because of this, it just takes us a little longer.

Ignoring differences doesn’t cause them to not exist. It just makes things worse.