So Story time for y’all! I received a text from a family member asking for Black literature with some very specific criteria set by an English teacher. Said criteria was: fiction, about 200 page or less, NOT YA, and NOT focused on tragedy/pain/suffering/drugs/violence, etc. Immediately, my follow up question was “so middle grade?” And I was told no because it’s for a 9-10th grade honors class and later on that the teacher felt that YA books were only for plot & didn’t show technique. *record scratch* The way I rubbed my forehead because SINCE WHEN?!
So, of course I had to ask the background of said teacher & it was confirmed that they are not a person of color (cause I had my suspicions)…that told me so much of what I needed to know. The more my fam told me, the higher my pressures went up because I was basically told this teacher didn’t see YA as “serious literature” which then caused a *tire screech* in my head because WHET (which that assertion felt very [redacted] classics coded)?! If YA wasn’t “serious”, it wouldn’t be doing so well in the market nor would YA books be getting banned because they speak to this generation in a way that makes them feel seen or allows them to see into the lives of their peers. At this point in the conversation, my head was exploding and had me thinking if I ever see this teacher, I’ll be giving them more than an earful. I wanted to know why this person was teaching high school English if they view a genre geared towards the ages they teach as not serious and letting that view known to parents. *Auntie Frown*
Getting back to the story, My fam goes on to tell me that said teacher asked for Black Book recs that fit the previously stated criteria was doing so because the kids were complaining that the Black lit they were assigned was too negative so they’re trying to appease the kids. The kids said they wanted a book that would center Black joy but there is a problem: where are you finding an adult book that has zero of those themes outside of romance? YA books can have those themes to an extent but they can also center Black & Brown Joy! And in the YA space, it’s so much more relatable to teens! Honestly it is a no-brainer to make the next assigned read a YA book for these reasons! Like bRrRRRRr DUH #AllMissyElliott!
My next question is: What would cause this person to think they understand what would constitute or prohibit Black & Brown joy when the criteria they set indicates that they don’t? Part of the beauty of our joy is that we tend to find it amongst all the nonsense we deal with on a regular basis. We know that we are able to go through the fire because our ancestors have us always. That even when our tired is tired, we will still make it and thus our literature reflects that. So thinking that any Black book devoid of trials/tribulations/trauma/negativity exists is really unrealistic. I would also like to note that as educators, we don’t know the entirety of what our students are going through so these books can provide guidance or comfort if they have similar experiences to those characters and hopefully helps them to find their own expression of joy. EYE, as an adult, have had epiphanies while reading YA & MG books because of parallels I’ve felt to the story.
Honestly, by the time I finished talking to my family member, I really wanted her to just say that this teacher wasn’t really serious about meeting their student’s requests. With all those restrictions, that was what it was giving no matter how much she tried to defend them. It truly isn’t that hard to put student’s wants and needs ahead of the curriculum especially when the school year is ending in less than 3 weeks! Give those kids something to enjoy and gone about your business, person! We ended with my family member saying she will see if her child will let her to speak to the teacher about putting YA books in the running but honestly, with the criteria they set, there are NO books in the running right now.
And here ends story time my good peoples. That was the long and short of that conversation. I had thought about including book recommendations in this post but I don’t have the bandwidth after ranting and my eyes are tired of looking at the screen so next time folx. What do y’all think about this? Am I wrong for thinking what I did or saying what I said? Let me know in the comments or on social media on Instagram @bookishgirlmagic, Twitter @bookishgrlmagic and Clubhouse @bookishgrlmagic where you can find me mostly in book centered clubs/rooms (mostly on Tuesdays and Fridays) to chat with me. Also subscribe to this blog if you haven’t already because it makes me feel like I got some ish off my chest! And to those who are subscribed, thank you so much, I truly appreciate y’all! Sending y’all bookish love and wishing you happy reading of any genre!
Bookish Girl Magic 
The thing is publishers do want YA books to follow a specific formula which does make it harder to have through conversations. There are some great books out there that I think do a good job starting the conversations that need to be had but they don’t go into depth because YA publishers act like teens need everything to be spelled out for them and can’t infer things from the text. Go read a YA book aimed at Black children from the early 2000s and there’s a stark difference from how they approached different issues. And that’s not even getting into how so many stories have a white savior or redeemed racist as mandated by white editors who can’t enjoy a book unless they see themselves in it as a hero. Every day on Twitter we see author complaints about how restricted they are in their storytelling especially in the YA space where publishers want to be able to comp them to popular white books.
And if we’re talking about books to study for college prep their are many great adult books by Black authors outside of the Black classics to explore. I might suggest a YA book for middle schoolers to study by in high school we read much more challenging books. School is not just about reading books that you enjoy but also reading books that will challenge you and make you ask questions. And that was an age where we were transitioning to more adult reads. It’s interesting now that the biggest readers of YA are adults while more and more of the actual teens are picking up adult books to read for leisure.
LikeLike
Well the issue is that the teacher set that criteria that isn’t really realistic in terms of adult reads. I know that publishers are restrictive but more recent books give any reader something to think about and discuss. Also, they have a lot of technique so saying that they are only plot focused is shortsighted on that teacher’s part.
LikeLike
I do agree that this Black Joy only movement in books is unrealistic but many Black authors in the YA space also market their books the same way. All books need conflict to be interesting. I think what people are looking for is less books where racism and explaining Black humanity to white people is an issue. Black people go through things that aren’t Black specific but just universal trials and tribulations everyone goes through. But those aren’t the types of stories that are mainstream.
LikeLike
I think the Black Joy movement is more than possible and we are in the middle of it, I think that it is unrealistic to think that Black Joy books would be devoid of any sort of negativity/tribulations/etc.
LikeLike