We read the McHenry and Heath piece (The Literature and the Literacy: African American as Writers and Readers 1830-1940) around the same time I was reading Playing in the Dark by Toni Morrison for a different class (Critical American Studies). While McHenry and Heath were considering the position of African Americans as writers and readers, Morrison was examining the use of black characters by white writers in literature.
Morrison’s book truly dug in deep to the concepts of white projection onto black characters. Black characters in literature often serve as a symbol for the unrestrained, primitive white man or as a moral lesson. This, of course, is problematic for many reasons. It strips away the value of the black character, takes away the depth of their personhood in favor of elevating the white characters. This is both a reflection and a relation to the racism so deeply engrained in society; if it’s in literature, it came from somewhere and is bound to go somewhere too. Morrison writes on why it is so important for black authors to write, to make sure that people of color in America have a voice and a place beyond the projectile fantasies of the white man.
Literacy should be more inclusive of minorities. Students should be reading books by black authors, women authors, gay authors. The straight white man has had his time to shine in ‘classical’ literature. Let everyone else have a turn! Read Zadie Smith, Allison Bechdel, Haruki Murakami, Toni Morrison. Anyone besides another straight white guy.
Felt compelled to comment on this post since my favorite book is Morrison’s Beloved and I just finished Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore last weekend. 🙂
This topic is something I feel rather conflicted about because I am in love with a lot of works of ‘classical’ literature. While I believe that a lot of books in the canon are there because they deserve to be, I definitely agree that the canon needs some serious expansion. We should be reading books by more diverse authors because it encourages empathy, expands our cultural knowledge, and helps us become more well-rounded people.
Your suggestions are awesome, and I wanted to offer another one for the poetry people out there: Lucille Clifton. PLEASE READ HER WORK. She’s a black woman from America.
She is, in my opinion, criminally under-read and recognized and that’s an incredible shame. She’s amazing.