(If you have time to read only one sentence, skip to the bolded action plan below.)
On 3/19/18, authors and other children's publishing professionals had a conversation on Twitter and Facebook about the first annual Asbury University Children's Literature Conference in Kentucky (a collaboration with the Mazza Museum of picture book art in Ohio) on 3/24/18.
The event scheduled four author speakers. All were white. All were male. One was me. (The others were Marc Brown, Peter Catalanotto, and Aaron Reynolds.)
The online conversation called out the dearth of diversity, and rightfully so. Though this is a conversation we need to have year-round, the timing was especially apt: March is Women's History Month and now also #Kidlitwomen Month.
After hearing me speak at Mazza the summer of 2017, one of the Asbury organizers invited me to speak at their 2019 conference and I accepted; I did not think to ask who else was presenting. A few weeks before the 2018 conference, one of the four authors backed out. (I later learned that the author was female.) My contact asked me if I would be able to switch to this year. Finding a comparable replacement for a conference speaker on such short notice is a challenge. I was able to rearrange my schedule so I said yes. Again, I did not think to ask or check who else was presenting.
When the all-white, all-male lineup was announced, public reaction within our kidlit community ranged from disappointment to outrage.
I take heart that creators of books for young readers have long embraced equality and tolerance on the page and are now empowered to identify mistreatment or lapses in judgment in real life.
In this case, however, I was troubled by the approach that some people took in voicing disapproval. As one example, this anonymous comment:
I stand with all who are working to eliminate inequity in children's publishing (and I feel the other three gentlemen authors at the conference also do), but I do not condone doing so by casting aspersions on people you do not know. This can alienate those who already agree with you and who already speak up for others (five links).
The goal at hand is fairness. The path to achieving it should exemplify fairness.
Unless proven otherwise, we must presume authors, illustrators, and conference chairs are human allies capable of exhibiting an oversight—and willing to fix it. We are all perpetually learning.
We must give the benefit of the doubt.
We must follow the Golden Rule.
We must Choose Kind.
Like many of our peers, I will now accept invitations only from events committed to gender and racial diversity.
In addressing the organizers and participants of events that do not represent diversity, I propose a simple course of action:
Rather than start with public shaming or snark, instead contact the event organizer and participants directly and privately to express the concern civilly.
Takes the same amount of time as calling out on social media but is more in the spirit of our industry—and of the movement itself. This good-hearted approach gives people the chance to course-correct because they want to do right, not because they were guilted. Stick to the mission: conveying the importance of maintaining a unified front on diversity at literary events. And stick to non-inflammatory language.
I'm not saying we can't be angry. Anger fuels change. But it is most effective when it is controlled.
Nixing the negative while remaining positive is the way forward.
Case in point:
Two days after the lack of diversity was (directly, privately, civilly) called to Asbury's attention and three days before the event, the conference was able to add a female keynote, illustrator Erin Barker. (Remember that name. She's going places.)
And I have on good authority that if there is a second annual, it will be more diverse.
Thank you again to Asbury for inviting me, for listening to feedback, and for making a last-minute change. And thank you to those who discussed this issue constructively.
As we continue to insist on diversity, we must also insist on civility.
Side note of equal importance:
I learned only after I presented that Asbury is a Christian university that has been accused of being anti-gay. As someone who has withdrawn from delivering a keynote in a state that had legislated LGBTQ intolerance, I was at first conflicted about this.
But my perspective has shifted and now I would have ultimately participated anyway because of this.
A story I commonly tell involves a gay man whom I mention during every talk for grades 3 and up (which the person who invited me to speak at Asbury knew firsthand). I do it even when I'm (sigh) asked in advance not to. Therefore, this would be a chance to speak about the issue plainly, as the non-controversial fact of life that it is (or should be). Marc Brown also touchingly discussed this by mentioning both his transgender son and a gay marriage in one of his upcoming stories.
We gave this community the benefit of the doubt and they did not let us down.
The way to promote tolerance is not to stay away from possible intolerance but rather to destigmatize it from within.
On 3/19/18, authors and other children's publishing professionals had a conversation on Twitter and Facebook about the first annual Asbury University Children's Literature Conference in Kentucky (a collaboration with the Mazza Museum of picture book art in Ohio) on 3/24/18.
The online conversation called out the dearth of diversity, and rightfully so. Though this is a conversation we need to have year-round, the timing was especially apt: March is Women's History Month and now also #Kidlitwomen Month.
After hearing me speak at Mazza the summer of 2017, one of the Asbury organizers invited me to speak at their 2019 conference and I accepted; I did not think to ask who else was presenting. A few weeks before the 2018 conference, one of the four authors backed out. (I later learned that the author was female.) My contact asked me if I would be able to switch to this year. Finding a comparable replacement for a conference speaker on such short notice is a challenge. I was able to rearrange my schedule so I said yes. Again, I did not think to ask or check who else was presenting.
When the all-white, all-male lineup was announced, public reaction within our kidlit community ranged from disappointment to outrage.
I take heart that creators of books for young readers have long embraced equality and tolerance on the page and are now empowered to identify mistreatment or lapses in judgment in real life.
In this case, however, I was troubled by the approach that some people took in voicing disapproval. As one example, this anonymous comment:
The goal at hand is fairness. The path to achieving it should exemplify fairness.
Unless proven otherwise, we must presume authors, illustrators, and conference chairs are human allies capable of exhibiting an oversight—and willing to fix it. We are all perpetually learning.
We must give the benefit of the doubt.
We must follow the Golden Rule.
We must Choose Kind.
Like many of our peers, I will now accept invitations only from events committed to gender and racial diversity.
In addressing the organizers and participants of events that do not represent diversity, I propose a simple course of action:
Rather than start with public shaming or snark, instead contact the event organizer and participants directly and privately to express the concern civilly.
Takes the same amount of time as calling out on social media but is more in the spirit of our industry—and of the movement itself. This good-hearted approach gives people the chance to course-correct because they want to do right, not because they were guilted. Stick to the mission: conveying the importance of maintaining a unified front on diversity at literary events. And stick to non-inflammatory language.
I'm not saying we can't be angry. Anger fuels change. But it is most effective when it is controlled.
Nixing the negative while remaining positive is the way forward.
Case in point:
Two days after the lack of diversity was (directly, privately, civilly) called to Asbury's attention and three days before the event, the conference was able to add a female keynote, illustrator Erin Barker. (Remember that name. She's going places.)
And I have on good authority that if there is a second annual, it will be more diverse.
Thank you again to Asbury for inviting me, for listening to feedback, and for making a last-minute change. And thank you to those who discussed this issue constructively.
As we continue to insist on diversity, we must also insist on civility.
Side note of equal importance:
I learned only after I presented that Asbury is a Christian university that has been accused of being anti-gay. As someone who has withdrawn from delivering a keynote in a state that had legislated LGBTQ intolerance, I was at first conflicted about this.
But my perspective has shifted and now I would have ultimately participated anyway because of this.
A story I commonly tell involves a gay man whom I mention during every talk for grades 3 and up (which the person who invited me to speak at Asbury knew firsthand). I do it even when I'm (sigh) asked in advance not to. Therefore, this would be a chance to speak about the issue plainly, as the non-controversial fact of life that it is (or should be). Marc Brown also touchingly discussed this by mentioning both his transgender son and a gay marriage in one of his upcoming stories.
We gave this community the benefit of the doubt and they did not let us down.
The way to promote tolerance is not to stay away from possible intolerance but rather to destigmatize it from within.
