From Publishers Weekly:
WI13 keynote speaker Junot Diaz delivered a blistering political statement on Wednesday morning, in what will surely enter the annals of Winter Institute history. Diaz denounced the nativism of white conservatives who catapulted Donald Trump into the White House, as well as the hypocrisy of white liberals, in the publishing industry and beyond, who do little more than talk about promoting diversity.
Quoting Malcolm X, Diaz said that people of color always know where they stand with white conservatives, who don’t hide their beliefs. However white liberals, he said, “lure” people of color to them by pretending to be their allies. The liberals, he went on, then fail to support people of color in substantive ways.
. . . .
Admitting that he and his friends were desperate to find some respite from the daily abuse, Diaz said that while some of them turned to music or sports, or “[lost] it completely,” he “found books,” thanks to his elementary school librarian. She took Diaz on a tour of the school library and told him that “all the books on the shelves were mine.” Books, Diaz said, saved his life by providing “shelter against a white world that sometimes felt like it was trying to destroy me.”
“In a better world,” Diaz said, “that is where this story would end.” The books he read, though, reinforced the messages he was receiving in his community. From Laura Ingalls Wilder writing that there were “no people, only Indians” on the plains, to J.R.R. Tolkien’s comparing black people to trolls, books reinforced Diaz’s sense of being an outsider.
“Kids like me did not exist in the literature,” he said. “What kid doesn’t want to see themselves represented in the literature they’re reading?”
While praising the fact that there is more attention being paid to diversity in the publishing industry, Diaz said that it’s not enough. Criticizing the book industry for being a business where predominantly white gatekeepers publish predominantly white authors, Diaz said there needs to be a diversification of “our publishing infrastructure.” The book world, he declared, has to resist “white supremacy’s cruelest enchantment: that whiteness is at the heart of absolutely everything.”
Link to the rest at Publishers Weekly
If that Junot Diaz is the one I found on the web, I have two questions. And I’m not trying to be annoying. It’s… Well, race works way different in Europe.
Isn’t Mr. Diaz Hispanic? Are Hispanics “of color”?
Then, second thread, are Spaniards Hispanic?
Take care.
Technically speaking, hispanic is supposed to refer to people with a spanish-speaking background, including Spain and excluding Brazil, Guyana, etc.
Latin (american) is supposed to refer to include Brazil and exclude spain.
In today’s “progressive” political climate melanin content is everything so caucasians are expressly excluded from the conversation. (Look at the fine print of the government statistics.)
You haven’t lived until you’re told to your face you can’t possibly be Puerto Rican (or Cuban or Venezuelan or Colombian) because you’re tall-ish, have no accent, and don’t look even remotely like Marc Anthony. 😉
(I guessed they wanted an engineer they could trot out to prove they were filling their AA quota.)
In the olden days it was mostly amusing.
Their problem, not mine.
Today the charge would be misrepresentation and could get you fired. Not so amusing.
Gotta love social progress. 😀
good question Ferran, not sure anyone knows as many names given to various groups are not the names they call themselves. For instance, we call ourselves Mexica, for that is our tribal group, but we are called by the USA government “hispanic” a name the govt made upnfor census purposes that most of us dont call ourselves…the term supposedly glomming together all people who speak spanish/ latinate languages. I guess by govt def, french, italians and romanians would be latinate but they are not included. Some say the government term came from someone who just thought all spanish derivative languages meant we are all alike. But I can assure you, lol, that our lowly stock has nothing to do with grandees from Spain.
Are Hispanics of color. That is such a good question. The usa gov’t answer is no. We understand that if we mark ‘hispanic’ on the us census, we are counted as ‘white.’ Which is ridiculous as people from PR, Spain, Mex, Centeral and South Am, and throughout the usa are all different colors depending on who had babies with who.
I just shake my head at the obcession with color and skin. It is so odd as it is theleast of who everyone is truly, like their heart and handiwork and character seem good enough measures.
Just my 02. A lot of people who are mestizo like us, mark native american on the census. They are not counted as ‘white’. Long ago on us census we were called Mongolian race. As you can see trying to understand people and their complexities by race or color or religion alone, brings I think, more confusion and a shallow 1″ deep knowing that amounts to nearly ‘not much.’ lol
I remind my kids and grands that lots of people have thoughts without ever having thought them.
Speaking from here, people in the northern coast of the Mediterranean tended to mix with people from the Southern coast… (commerce, raids, war…) Which, considering migrations and power there, could mean anything from slight tan to deep dark.
Then, why is Mr. Díaz not “classified” as white? [*] Most of my father’s family was darker skinned [+] than him. Then, again, so was most of the cast in the Cosby Show. Or the Fresh Prince. What I mean is, isn’t he Hispanic?
It’s weird.
Sorry for the rambling. Take care.
[*] Classifying people by race… brings bad memories this side of the Atlantic. But I’ll shake that off.
[+] While not a “grande” (that’s a Castilian tradition), there was “blue blood” once upon a time on his side (way, way ago). And yet, a German friend’s kid once ran upon seeing him screaming “The dark devil! The dark devil!”. She wasn’t being metaphorical, as she saw it. Technically, he tanned. Heavily. In the shade. In winter.
thanks ferran and felix. Its an ongoing convo isnt it. Prob the beatitudes say it pretty well over and above any government deciding how people ought be classed.
The propensity for counting by made-up type reminds me the chinese invasion and theft of tibet , first thing done was count ==on tablets–not only all humans by gender, tribal group, but also all the animals on each tiny farm in the mountains and in the valleys, also by age, gender and whose progeny. That seems like the opening shot in some game hardly anyone understands except the counters, and I often suspect, not even they themselves have any real goal in mind of unity, rather deciding what/and whom to enourage to have babies.
I met this girl from Argentina once, absolutely beautiful. Crystal blue eyes, blonde hair, didn’t speak a word of English. She only spoke Spanish. I was helping her with some IT stuff when I lived in Seattle and she was told to her face, she couldn’t possibly be Hispanic because she had blonde hair and blue eyes. This was a woman from Mexico telling her that. People who don’t know history shouldn’t be allowed to speak in public.
Jeff, you are right about history knowing. It is a great gift to know one’s own history for it gives the aerial view instead of just what we know in front of us.
There are tons of latinos from mex and also Latinos born in usa who do not realize that mex [and all the nations of central and south america and the islands] was colonized by the spanish from moorish dark to castillian light skin, and many eye colors; then colonized by the french of blonde and red hair and blue eyes, and then african people dragged as slaves to most port cities throughout the americas. Then a huge number of chinese, and other asian groups, and also huge groups of jewish people, german and irish persons, and that the conquistadores were from spain, greece and italy.
And so. A person who is a mexican or central or south american, can be many many colors, and all are mexicans, central or south americans from whichever nation
Not knowing history gives rise to tropes that leave out other essential truths to try to understand huge movements of humans for potential ill or good, such as speaking of slaveholders as ‘white’, when there were also many slave holders in africa and in the states who were black. And also many people other than africans who were dragged into slavery throughout the islands and the americas. And many african american and euro americans who protected one another. As far as I can tell, same for every unprotected and highly protected group on earth; either part of a pillage somewhere in time, and part of the pillaged somewhere in time. And more.
There’s this tendency to lump all “hispanics” into a single pigeonhole as if the 20-plus nations all have the same origins and same history.
Nobody bothers to look at the historical record that clearly shows different settlements came from different parts of Spain. Or that regions not currently associated with the spanish empire were established by Spain (Louisiana, for one.) Barcelona sent settlers to some, the Canary Islanders were officially “encouraged” to migrate to PR and Venezuela. Andalucians and Galicians headed for different settlements.
No different than the british colonies up north.
And over the five centuries after initial colonization even more divergence: the nineteenth century saw a massive migration of italians and germans to Argentina, Corsicans and italians to PR, even a few notable irish.
I wonder how many even know the first modern total war of extermination wasn’t against the Armenians in the 20th century but rather against the Paraguayans in the 19th?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguayan_War
Lots of history getting swept under the rugs all too conveniently.
it’s funny how this can hit home at unexpected moments.
Like when my eleven year son told me that he felt like a dog was a more relatable protagonist than a girl.
He’d literally read more books told by dogs than girls. That’s the books the school library offers to boys.
The indie revolution hasn’t hit school libraries, although it should.
Tilly, I hear you. My boys are 7 and 9 and I’m always on the lookout for books in their reading level with sympathetic female protags that aren’t about princesses. I had no problems reading male protag after male protag as a child. Boys would be okay with girl protags too, but there’s still a ridiculous taboo when it goes that way though–I’ve seen librarians/teachers/booksellers take books away because “that’s a girl’s book.” Wow. God forbid we teach boys to empathize with girls.
Has your son read Island of the Blue Dolphins? My boys love that book. It’s about a girl *and* a dog. And she’s not of European descent. 🙂
Try Heinlein’s, HAVE SPACESUIT WILL TRAVEL. The nominal protagonist is a teen boy but tbe brains of the operation is the girl. Nary a princess in sight. Just two kids, some aliens, and the fate of humanity.
Heinlein wrote a set of SF adventure “juveniles” that are very kid friendly without talking down to the kids. (Or adults. They’re just good SF.) No clinging damsels in distress or princesses. Just smart tough boys and girls.
A more challenging read is Doris Piserchia’s SPACELING.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GU32V7G/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
The protagonist has been described as a dimension-hopping female Huck Finn. Try the sample.
When they’re a bit older, you might want to expose them to James H. Schmitz’ THE WITCHES OF KARRES and his Federation of the Hub stories featuring Trigger Argee and Telzey Amberdon.classic SF adventure.
On my way to check these out. Thanks, Felix.
God forbid we teach boys to empathize with girls.
I didn’t read anything in early grades. My parents asked why I didn’t like to read and I told them it was boring and stupid.
So, my father took me to the book store and library, and let me pick my own books. I haven’t stopped reading since then. I still don’t read books someone else wants me to read.
Timothy Zahn’s DRAGONBACK set (6 books) might fit the bill, too. Main character a boy on his own, secondary strong character a girl. SF well told. my kid and I both liked them.
Last time I picked up one of the Heinlein juvys off the shelf I bounced hard, although it wasn’t HAVE SPACE SUITE – which I remember fondly.
its long past time for ‘the old’ whomevers to listen to those far younger in the minority groups who are filled with love, smarts, education, and who only want one thing besides freedom to be … that is, equal doorways.
There are many ways to create those, not just the old moss covered ones that are still slogging along with money enough to prop themselves up. Many ways OTHER ways to be present and seen.
I admire some of Diaz’ work. But frankly, the oldies who are often on the college circuit and elsewhere are too often into shaming without making the doorways. All talk. No backbreaking work. Ive seen it at ABA, book expo, frankfort, london bookfairs and elsewhere.,
Its not just the publishers who are out of it often. It’s often the ‘primary speakers’ at book functions. Also many who made their name saying the various predictable tropes about how ‘bad’
‘white’ people are, or ‘black people’ or ‘injuns’ or the irish, or the portuguese or cubanos, or the jews, the whomever is the favored rhetorical whipping boy of their own time.
Ive never seen a person like myself or my family members in a book, in a film, on tv… though there are huge communities of us Native American/Latinos. Some of us carry black blood as well.
But my family esp our young and myself are interested in STORIES. Stories of challenge no matter what color/background/ethnicity a fictional or real hero might be. We learn from them all. We look for the pathways through, that they might show us. And follow up on some of those.
Though entirely standing with the innocents slaughtered for any reason, and esp wanting to counter half-stories about slaughters and gratuitous murders from back ‘then’ and right this very minute as we speak… I cannot make it right more than my family and I have tried, continue to try, by service and loss of life in wars, by running for election, by doing all we can to help those right in front of us be fed, sheltered, protected.
In the greater scheme of suffering in this world, whether I or anyone as an author is able to witness ourselves as represented in books/ as authors, in film, etc, is, I’m sorry if I offend, but a coarse hair on the massive body of a javelina compared to the suffering of so many right before us.
Yes, as others here have said, indie publishing IS the humongous numbers of doors open to anyone, no qualifiers, no ethnic quota, not controlled by persons who want to vaunt x over y. Amz, BandN online, Kobo, itunes, etc are, despite some of their oddities and peculiar traits, the most open doors I have seen in my lifetime of growing up from a family way way as we used to say, ‘so far down it looked like up to me.’
Too, it is good to remember, that those who speak at conventions, also have favor that most of us will never have, from those in trad publishing– and other parts of the massive web that is made up of money-ed and ‘currently old influential people.’
The word diversity doesnt cut it for me, Im afraid. The words I want, are parity and to hear from the young who are intent on creating a world made of words as bridges, rather than shaming people and thinking that’s a day’s work.
The ones who succeed talk about hard work and opportunities, and don’t take the time to also mention the horrible parts in between, the times when nothing worked, or when they produced their best work and it was disparaged or ignored.
That part is not inspirational.
They say it’s all about the book, in publishing, about writing the best book, but that’s only a tiny part. I sometimes wonder it there are other Middle Earths out there that we’ll never hear of.
good insights Alicia. This rocked my heart because I know it must be true: “I sometimes wonder it there are other Middle Earths out there that we’ll never hear of.”
All the more reason to keep letting young/ and/or inexperienced writers know about the doorways. Keep on ABE
I would suggest he write, and get others to write, and publish indie.
There must be categories in which books would take off. A few celebrities promoting them to kids, a couple of series the kids can identify with, and no publisher to stop them/us.
Criticizing the book industry for being a business where predominantly white gatekeepers publish predominantly white authors, Diaz said there needs to be a diversification of “our publishing infrastructure.”
Bezos is white. Amazon doesn’t know what color KDP authors are. Neither do consumers unless you tell them. It’s all under your control. Click the Upload Button.
Our shelves don’t need decolonising. They need extending. And, outside of traditional publishing, they have been. Outside of traditional publishing there is no need for any types of books or authors to be given precedence at the expense of others. One would hope that a Mr Diaz growing up today would find many books featuring “kids like him”, even if perhaps not many New York Times best sellers.
The jargon of the political activist achieves little but perhaps a bit of publicity in Publishers Weekly or the New York Times. What on earth does he mean by a diversification of our publishing infrastructure? Is he unaware of the advent of ebooks and self-publishing?
A nice bit of clickbait but mostly devoid of any real substance.
It never bothered me, even as a child, to read about book heroes who were neither children, female, white, or even human. Why would I expect the story to be a mirror?
Whenever they trot out this hoary complaint, it becomes clear just how little reading the “victims” have ever done in their lives.
Very true Karen. It’s almost as bad as the absolutely ridiculous concept of cultural appropriation.
“Kids like me did not exist in the literature,” he said. “What kid doesn’t want to see themselves represented in the literature they’re reading?”
Then I suggest he write it and put it on Amazon and the rest. If there’s a market for it he’ll be rich. (if not, still whining …)
Why not go the qig5 route you ask? Why would he want his ebooks priced out of his market? Of course if he only wanted to get his book in front of others I guess he could put it out there for ‘free’.
Of course some kids may not want to read about someone like themselves – someone living a more exciting life perhaps.
“In a better world,” Diaz said, “that is where this story would end.” The books he read, though, reinforced the messages he was receiving in his community. From Laura Ingalls Wilder writing that there were “no people, only Indians” on the plains, to J.R.R. Tolkien’s comparing black people to trolls, books reinforced Diaz’s sense of being an outsider.
This is another reason why publishing eco systems like KDP are so important. The B5 publishing houses are no longer the sole gatekeepers regarding the publishing of books. Any writer with an idea and the ablility to express it can publish.