Racism in Childrens Literature Essay -- Race in America

For my research project I chose the topic of Racism in Childrens Literature. I chose this area of study because it is something that bothers me and I know as a child in school I was very uncomfortable with assignments that dealt with racism. One day I would like to make a difference to all the people who are affected by racism. My hypothesis states that if educators are better trained to deal with the slight subject of racism in childrens literature, books would not be banned, yet actually teach the lesson the authors of these books intended for all of us to learn.During an International Board on Books for youth People conference in New Delhi, India, Spyros Kyprianou stated, Books for young people are the main cultural nourishment for our youth. For this reason they must send messages and teachings of humanism and altruism, hunch over for the lofty principles of freedom, justice, and democracy, respect for moral values and longing for universal fraternization and peace in the worl d is conducive to the creation of a better forthcoming for mankind.Writing has been an important part of every culture from the beginning of time. The illustrations of cavemen have evolved immensely. Today, there are millions of published books. In fact, there are over iv hundred books published every month. What happens when these books turn into something more? Is there racism in our childrens literature? Ironically, the renowned great works of our past is full of racism. The headway that remains, how do we teach our children the great lesson that these brave authors intended?According to Rogets Super Thesaurus, racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, bigotry, bias, segregation, apartheid, intolerance, and white supremacy, (463). Throug... ...ur Literature. The Teachers Lounge. Dec. 2010 65-68. Print.Lee, harpist. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York Harper Collins, 1993. Print.McCutcheon, Marc. Rogets Super Thesaurus Second Edition. Ohio Writers Digest Books, 1998. Print. Munin, Art. Empathy About Campus. may/June 2007. 30-32. PrintRogers, Rebecca, June Christian. What Could I Say? A Critical Discourse Analysis of theConstruction of laundry in Childrens Literature. Race and Ethnicity and Education.Vol. 10.1 March 2007. 21-46. PrintSteinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York.Random House, 1952. PrintStowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Toms Cabin. New York Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1952. Print.Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York Random House, 1993. Print.Wolk, Steven. Teaching for Critical Literacy in Social Studies. The Social Studies. May/June2003. Print.