Growing up, what was your favorite book? Did you have one? Was it a common classic, like “Goodnight, Moon” or “The Giving Tree”? Or something unique to your upbringing? 

Who was the main character in your favorite book? Did they remind you of yourself? Did they look like you?

For many adults and children, the answer to that last question is probably, “no”. Children’s books historically have featured two types of main characters: animals and white children. And when 40% of the U.S. population identifies as Latino, Black, Asian, or Indigenous, that’s a problem.

According to a study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin, in 2013, of the 3,200 children’s books published, only 93 featured characters or storylines relating to the Black diaspora. That’s only 3% of children’s books published in 2013.

So, why is representation of people of color in children’s literature important and necessary? 

In 1988, educator Emily Style introduced the phrase “windows and mirrors” to refer to literacy and books. The phrase refers to the fact that books have the ability to serve as “windows” into a world unknown or unfamiliar to readers, and as “mirrors” for readers to see their own likeness, experiences, and stories told by the author. This phrase expanded in 1990, when author and educator Rudine Sims Bishop added that books serve as “sliding glass doors”, giving readers the ability to see, and access, something they had never experienced before.

But when all the books you read tell stories that focus on anthropomorphic animals, which are animals given human mannerisms or characteristics; or children and characters that don’t reflect your everyday experience, it can be difficult to turn that experience into a “mirror” or a “sliding door”.

Author Walter Dean Myers acknowledged this in his 2014 article, “Where are the people of color in children’s books?” In this article, Myers, author of the award-winning young adult novel “Monster”, reflects on the moment when his love for reading and his own identity as a young Black man collided.

“Books did not become my enemies. They were more like friends with whom I no longer felt comfortable. I stopped reading. I stopped going to school. On my 17th birthday, I joined the Army. In retrospect I see that I had lost the potential person I would become — an odd idea that I could not have articulated at the time, but that seems so clear today.” 

In order to ensure that students and children from historically marginalized backgrounds are able to engage, connect, and develop their love for reading and literature, it is imperative that they are given the opportunity to find literature that not only reflects them, but tells their own unique stories and experiences. But that doesn’t necessarily just start with authors.

In 2015, Lee & Low Books, an independent publisher of multicultural literature, published the first major study examining staff diversity in publishing. Results found that across the 40 publishing houses and review journals that participated in the study, 80% of staff self-identified as white. 

NPR focused on the topic of diversity in publishing in their 2016 article, “Diversity In Book Publishing Isn’t Just About Writers — Marketing Matters, Too”, speaking with Kima Jones, owner of the Los Angeles-based publicity company Jack Jones Literary Arts. From Jones perspective, there is a dire need for diversity in publishing, not just authors and writers, in order to provide the systems level support for writers of color.

“There needs to be more women of color in publishing, in positions of power, period. As I see other book clubs and speaking series, reading series, organizations pop up that are dedicated to writers of color, queer writers, disabled writers, other marginalized writers, I’m like: yeah, do that! This is what we need.”

In order for authors to tell stories about diverse characters and experiences, they have to not only make it through the publishing house doors, but ensure that the team working with them on publishing, marketing, and distributing their books understand the story being told and the audience being emphasized. If they’re unable to do that, they run the risk of having their book be underpublicized, not reaching the communities they are trying to uplift.

Diversity in children’s literature doesn’t just benefit children of color, but all children, allowing from an early age for conversations to take place relating to race, religion, ability, and other ways that we, as humans, each come from different backgrounds while sharing similarities. Offering stories and characters that represent people of color allows children not from these groups to build empathy for others, while simultaneously encouraging positive recognition of self for children of color. Think about it, if you are making soup, you need a grouping of diverse ingredients: water, broth, vegetables, seasonings, and meat. When these ingredients blend together, you are fed and sustained. Similarly, a range of ingredients and experiences from people of color can enrich the minds of youth and build their understanding to reduce fear and improve care and love for not only their in-group, but those around them. While anthropomorphism (characterizing animals or other non-human entities with human characteristics/abilities) in literature does have its benefits, allowing writers to tell stories about morals, ethics, and serious situations while placing an emotional distance between the reader and the characters, when every children’s book places that distance, it can be difficult for readers to connect with the story on a human level.

As parents, reading to your child is a necessary part of child development and is one of the simplest ways to foster a love of learning and build connection with the little human you’re raising. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind what values you hope to instill in your child as they grow up, and how their exposure to literature that reflects not only the world they experience every day but also the world beyond their lived experience can contribute to their development. Making an effort to seek out children’s books and resources that reflect BIPOC and their perspectives, is one of the simplest ways to build your child’s ability to empathize with others, especially those who may not look like the people they are exposed to everyday. 

For the past 50 years, the conversation around equity in education has surrounded a central topic: the academic achievement gap. But what is the academic achievement gap? 

Born of the movement for standardized testing, the academic achievement gap is, as it is most commonly referred and simply put, the difference in scoring between students of color (Black, Latinx, Indigenous) and their white counterparts, with students of color historically receiving lower test scores than white students at a similar age or grade in school.

One of the most common examples of standardized tests and the academic achievement gap comes from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), or sometimes called The Nation’s Report Card. The NAEP is a standardized test administered by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) on a recurring basis since 1969, selecting a sample of fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders across the nation for exams in areas such as math, reading, writing, and science. According to the most recent research by the Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA), on the 300 point scale measured by the NAEP in math and reading, white eighth graders scored an average of 23 points higher than their Black peers and 21 points higher than Latinx peers in reading. In math, white eighth graders scored an average of 28 points higher than Black peers and 21 points higher than Latinx peers.

However, the academic achievement gap as it is presently viewed, while seemingly cut and dry, does not account for two influential factors: improvement in scores over generations and the difference in learning styles, ability, or cultural differences for students from under resourced backgrounds.

When looking at the difference in scores on the NAEP 8th grade reading exam, what isn’t emphasized is the difference in scores between 8th graders over a 30 year span. The same research from the Stanford CEPA shows that in the years between NAEP exams taken in 1975 and 2015, Black students in 2015 scored an average of 18 points higher than their historical counterparts in reading and 32 points higher in math. Similarly, Latinx students scored an average of 15 points higher in reading and 30 points higher in math than their 1975 counterparts. Meanwhile, white students scored an average of 4 points higher in reading and 18 points higher in math exams in 2015 than in 1975. This difference in scoring shows that while the “achievement gap” exists, it is closing in as the years progress. 

Why is this significant?

This “closing” of the “achievement gap” highlights that over the years, as a greater focus and case for anti-racist education has entered the mainstream, students are given access to greater opportunities, more culturally competent curricula, and changes in policy that emphasize equity over equality. As stated by Ibram X. Kendi in his 2016 article “Why the Academic Achievement Gap is a Racist Idea”, “Americans have been led to believe that intelligence is like body weight, and the different intellectual levels of different people can be measured on a single, standardized weight scale. Our faith in standardized tests causes us to believe that the racial gap in test scores means something is wrong with the Black test takers–and not the tests”. 

When considering the definition of the word achievement, many would agree that it’s meaning is: success garnered through effort, courage, or skill. However, under that definition, can it be said that students of color are not putting forth enough effort, maintaining enough courage, or building enough skills to compete with their white peers? 

Shavar Jeffries, head of the group Democrats for Education Reform, emphasized this view of the achievement gap in Kevin Mahnken’s 2020 article, “The achievement gap has driven education reform for decades. Now some are calling it a racist idea”.

“If we name this an ‘achievement gap,’ particularly in a country that has a racist history, it reinforces a context where people are already predisposed to think that certain folks of color can’t achieve the same way as others. You can call it marketing if you want, but I think how we frame things matters.”

By emphasizing equity in education, rather than equality, the idea of the academic achievement gap has slowly begun to dissipate, as educators and administrators recognize that in order for students from under resourced backgrounds to score at or above the level of their white peers, these students need advocacy from their community outside of the classroom. While scores show that the “achievement gap” has closed significantly in the past 30 years, there is still much work needed to be done for students of color. This means that, as a community of advocates for students, we must focus not on the achievement gap, but on the opportunity gap and the aspects of our society that influence the gap in access for students of color and those from under resourced communities. 

The use of the phrase “opportunity gap” has been adopted on a nationwide scale by a number of organizations and leaders across the realm of education. The 2018 blog article, “Why We Say ‘Opportunity Gap’ Instead of ‘Achievement Gap’”, posted by Teach for America defines the “opportunity gap” as: “the arbitrary circumstances in which people are born—such as their race, ethnicity, ZIP code, and socioeconomic status—(which) determine their opportunities in life, rather than all people having the chance to achieve to the best of their potential”. 

As a society, by introducing the idea of the opportunity gap into our everyday knowledge and conversations around education and access, we shift the blame for educational inequities from being the fault of the child struggling with academics, to the fault of the systemic influences that serve as barriers to their success. And, as a society, together we can find ways to eliminate these systemic barriers, through mentorship and community engagement, financial support of educational organizations, or policy changes in local elections, to ensure that all students, regardless of their background and upbringing, can bridge the “opportunity gap” and achieve long-term academic success.

Trinidad & Tobago Training: Learnings & Reflections 

How We Can Learn From One Another Ending Cultural Opposition & Biases

 I had the honor of visiting Primary (Elementary) and Secondary (High School) schools in Trinidad & Tobago in 2019. Educators on their beautiful island shared similar challenges and experiences that other educators face here in the United States. My biggest take away was that educators living on the island needed a better hardware infrastructure, faster Wi-Fi, and cohesive educational leadership. 

From the culture, I enjoyed eating Roti every day in Trinidad. I asked over 25 residents on the island what their favorite thing on the island was, and I was told the food. It was true the kinds of food that I ate was unique and authentic to their island. The parts of the island where I stayed exhibited clean air and water where the clean air blew strongly each day. Their island respects the environment and I was amazed how many stores did not allow customers to leave with plastic bags. I also learned that Trinidad is the bigger island and Tobago is the smaller island where they are governed by the same entity which is why they are called Trinidad & Tobago. What fascinated me was that there is a large Indian population because Indians were sent to work as Indentured laborers in Trinidad & Tobago on May 30, 1845. Now, they celebrate their arrival as Indian Arrival Day on May 30th each year. This change implemented a culture that makes Trinidad a melting pot of many people or persons. 

 In the schools, some classrooms and hallways had no walls allowing the continuous fresh breeze to be felt. You could hear and Soca music any time throughout the day. Walking in the courtyard, I saw palm trees and fruit plants right next to us.  For school governance, I learned that some schools were governed by their Ministry (government) and many other schools were Private. Private schools and government run schools had similar funding challenges. The teachers had an internal drive where some shared, 

 I was excited to see the diversity in ages and ethnicity amongst the educators. There were African teachers, Indian teachers, principals, and administrators. Most importantly though, they considered themselves as Trinidadians. They did not consider themselves as Black teachers, or Indian teachers as what we hear in the U.S. 

The racism and hatred amongst the people did not exist during my time. I do understand though experiencing the culture for a longer time period would have given me a broader view of the dynamics and tensions. However, when I reflected on my experience above was that despite the internal unrest for education change. There was still a bond and a sense of community that I do not feel in the United States. 

 Right now, in 2020, America is faced with racism and white supremacy ideologies. The ideologies were stemmed from the desire to conquer, have economic power, and to strip down the souls of the ones they captured. These ideologies that were created by our ancestors affect us largely by a lack of knowledge and ignorance from one another. For example, where you might see someone stay a hurtful racist comment, or shout words that are highly unjust. Sadly of course seeing the malicious attacks of George Floyd and Ahmad Berry were stemmed from these systematic ideologies so that the muted voices, black and brown, and poor cannot be heard. 

 Trinidad and Tobago are haunted by slavery and impoverished neighborhoods. However, the historical deficits and racial ideologies on the island are being shifted where hope and unity were realistic. We can learn from Trinidadians and other international allies. Racism is not as deeply embedded in their culture. I was told the only time it comes out is during political arguments. However, for the most part, Trinidad and Toboggans live happily and strive to be better citizens. We can learn that living amongst one another, food, music, acceptance beyond tolerance of cultures can create change.

 On Trinidad and Tobago News Forums, ” In Trinidad’s history (distinct from Tobago’s), the episode of Emancipation was crucial in changing the character of the population of the island. For one, Trinidad became a magnet for the emancipated slaves of the other, older and more-densely populated islands, especially Grenada, St Vincent and Barbados. An estimated 10,278 of these West Indian immigrants came to Trinidad between 1839 and 1849, while between 1871 and 1911 about 65,000 immigrated. By 1897 there were about 14,000 Barbadians living in the island. The largest immigration, however, came from the importation of 143,949 Indian indentured labourers between 1845 and 1917.”

 I met dedicated, caring, kind, and brilliant teachers. Some educators started their own private schools, others wanted to find ways to revolutionize the island, and others just wanted a better way. What I loved was that the educators poured their heart out when I visited their schools to better learn and provide a solution for their challenges. Here is what some said. 

• Would like the Ministry to effect the repairs so that the school could return to normal functioning.
• Collaboration with stakeholders interested in literacy development is always welcome.
• Provide a booth as the TUTTA teachers convention.
• Planning a remedial reading program for students at different levels in the school.
• More sharing of what works by actual practitioners in local classrooms too many teachers are skeptical of changing their practice, they prefer to stay in their teaching comfort zone and blame the students and their parents
• The availability of resources and the experience of being immersed in a classroom which utilizes these techniques so I can use that lived experience to apply to my classes.
• I would like guidance and assistance to connect with international companies to receive materials for my students for use within the classroom.
• The provision of resources (books, charts etc.) that would enhance the teaching and learning experience. Also, more training sessions to keep persons informed.