We all have a bias to think we are accomplishing whatever the goals are that we set for ourselves. There’s nothing like cold, hard data, right there in black and white, indisputable, to open our eyes to where our true behaviors mismatch with our perceptions. This is why we are all wearing Fitbits, right? To hold ourselves accountable with objective data as to whether or not we are actually being as physically active as we want to think we are. This is why the growing trend of undertaking a diversity audit to honestly assess the materials we have available in our library collections, classrooms, and even home bookshelves is so valuable. Sure, we think we’re doing a great job at exposing kids to books by and about different kinds of people. But are we?
I undertook this challenge for myself to see in real detail if I am meeting my goal of showcasing a minimum of 40% of materials by and/or about people of color in the materials that I use in Stories, Songs, and Stretches! training. I set the goal of 40% because the US population is about 40% minority. I created a booklist of 62 titles that I regularly use in training. As it turns out, 37 of them (59%) are by and/or about people of color. Pretty good! However, when I look at this information in more detail, it’s clear that there is plenty of room for improvement.
Only 17 of the 62 authors (27%) and 19 of the 62 illustrators (31%) are people of color themselves. So while 59% of my materials feature diverse characters, only 32% of those materials were written or illustrated by diverse creators. Hmmm.
Let’s dig a little deeper. For the sake of streamlining, I separated minority authors into five racial categories, regardless of home country: Black, Latinx, Asian, First Nations/Indigenous, and Middle Eastern. I recognize that these categories are imperfect, but all of this is a starting point to help me see who I am and am not representing. Here’s what I found:
Black Authors: 6% Illustrators: 8%
Latinx Authors: 11% Illustrators: 13%
Asian Authors: 8% Illustrators: 6%
First Nations/Indigenous Authors: 2% Illustrators: 2%
Middle Eastern Authors: 0% Illustrators: 2%
Some of this information isn’t terribly shocking to me. For example, it makes sense that Latinx authors and illustrators are the most represented in my content, as I have spent my career deeply immersed in the world of Latinx children’s literature. It’s the subgroup of kidlit in which I am the most well-versed, so I’m not surprised so many of these materials made it into the SSS collection. However, even with Latinx creators being more represented than other minority groups in my collection, I still fall short of approximating our population, which is 18% Latinx.
I meet or exceed the percent of our population who are Asian (5.8%), and American Indian (1.3%). Representation of Black authors and illustrators falls well below the 13% of our population that they constitute. Finding data on the population of people of Middle Eastern descent is a little tough as this is not an exact racial category. However, considering the climate in our country, I wanted to do my best to capture this information. Estimates I found quantify this part of the population at 3%, which I fail capture in my collection.
So what does all of this mean? For me, it raises some interesting questions. For example, what do these numbers mean when we take into consideration the selection material for the content? All books used in SSS are chosen because they either (a) present text and/or illustration easily adaptable to creative movement and yoga poses or (b) because of their inclusion of social-emotional learning themes. Could the overrepresentation of Asian authors be due to my emphasis on yoga-themed materials? Many of the books that I use do not feature human characters at all. Instead, they present animals or objects from the natural world. Do these numbers say anything about how minority authors and illustrators are pigeonholed into producing certain “types” of content? Do they get to create the same playful, whimsical animal stories that white creators publish, or do their stories more often have to focus on human characters and racial themes to even get published? I don’t know, but I do wonder about it now after seeing these numbers.
While an undeniable racial disparity in publishing remains, it would be very easy to let myself off the hook here by blaming publishing bias. However, my use of materials by more Latinx authors than any other minority group – the group about which I have the most knowledge and experience – says to me that I have to look honestly at my own blindspots revealed in this data. For example, surely it is possible to do better than having less than 10% of the collection represent Black authors and illustrators. This is a major area for improvement! Also, though my inclusion of First Nations/American Indian creators exceeds the overall population size, this is only one book. One book! That’s not enough. And no Middle Eastern authors represented at all? Well, that’s just embarrassing.
So, I’ve got some goals for 2019. First and foremost, I want to get that number of books by Black authors and illustrators much closer to the 13% of the population that identifies as Black. I’d like to add at least 2 more books by First Nations/American Indian and Middle Eastern creators. And I’d like to boost the number of books by Latinx creators closer to the 18% of the population they represent.
We spend a good amount of time in SSS training discussing representation, cultural identity, and social-emotional development. The underrepresentation of people of color in children’s literature means that we have to work to be sure diverse kids are included. It won’t just happen by accident. We have to check ourselves, make use of tools like the Diverse Book Finder and Kirkus Collections, and yes, occasionally put some of our tried-and-true favorites back on the shelf so we can make room for new favorites, more representative of our population. If I am asking my trainees to do this work, regularly, then I have to do it too. I’m far from perfect, y’all. There’s always room for improvement. Look for regular updates as the year progresses. I’m doing this publicly to both model the process, and to hold myself accountable for followthrough.
I would absolutely love it if YOU would help me with this work! Do you know great movement books and/or books on self-awareness, self-regulation, kindness, empathy, gratitude, etc. by diverse authors and illustrators that I’m not yet using? Send them my way! Your perspective and expertise can help me correct these issues, increase inclusion in SSS trainings, and improve quality for the children who receive the programs in daycares, schools, libraries, homes, yoga studios, community centers, and everywhere else!
