Yesterday, two days before the We Need Diverse Books Campaign is set to launch, #WeNeedDiverseBooks trended on Twitter.
This is incredible. I’m still processing it all actually.
The above tweet was my contribution to the #WeNeedDiverseBooks discussion. To elaborate…as a child, I may have realized on a grand scale that minorities who weren’t black felt different simply because they, like me, weren’t white but I never truly gave it any thought as to what that meant and how their lives were different from not only theirs but mine and what we as a people could do about it until I became an adult. I read books everyday of my childhood. Diverse books could have helped me realized this sooner.
Diverse books could have helped me enjoy history more or set history straight. Diverse could have this, could have that. Diverse books CAN. Diverse books DO. Which is why we need more.
And diversity doesn’t begin and end with race. So often, I hear about reading outside one’s culture, gender, and sexual orientation but what about religion? And have you picked up a book with a main character who has a disability? Mental illness? Someone raised in a different class or neighborhood from what you’re used to? Someone completely different from you?
Diversity is not about separation, it’s about inclusion. Diversity is the complete picture. We need the complete picture and we need to support it. By word of mouth, spreading awareness. By taking action, buying these books, donating these books, requesting these books at libraries, reading and reviewing these books on Amazon & B&N and so on, blogging about these books and talking about these books just like we do every other.
As I described here, I grew up with parents who went out of their way to give me a library that included girls like me. If you head over to that link, it’s actually a bit of a rant about taking action vs. only talking about a lack. Because talking about it is just the first step.
I encourage you today to read through the #WeNeedDiverseBooks, an outcry for more diverse books and not only that but more diverse books written by diverse authors to understand what happens when there’s a lack and understand why it’s so important that there isn’t. Educate yourself and take the next step by doing something about it. Spread awareness about the need and support the (diverse) authors who have already written diverse stories and want so very much to share theirs.
Other links:
More on my struggle with my identity is here in my open letter to selfie takers.
A discussion I recently had with a few POC YA Authors about a diverse book conference amidst the BookCon controversy is here.
For some reason, I feel the need to include this piece, “Delirium: Love Lessons” because while it doesn’t necessarily deal with diversity, I think there are some nuggets here about validity among other things.