Capturing Black and White America

by Karen Leggett Abouraya

“The youngest of fifteen, Parks arrives stillborn

And is nearly left for dead until a dip

In ice water shocks his tiny heart to beat.

The baby is named for the man who saved his life, Dr. Gordon.”

Gordon Parks would grow up to become a professional photographer, cataloging American life on film for the Farm Security Administration, Office of War Information, Standard Oil, Ebony, Vogue, Fortune and Life.

His early work (1940-50) is the focus of an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. from November 4, 2018 until February 18, 2019. He is also the subject of Carole Boston Weatherford’s biography, Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America.

For Gordon Parks, photography was the tool he used to expose “the unfairness of segregation,” and the African American struggle against racism. “He not only documented but also served as an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement.”  

Parks photographs often featured everyday Americans in their daily lives, including cleaning woman Ella Watson – a photo that became known as American Gothic. “In one iconic photo,” writes Weatherford, “Parks conveyed both the African American struggle against racism and the contradiction between segregation and freedom.”

“Standing before

the flag of freedom,

cleaning lady Ella Watson

holds the tools of her trade

and the hopes of her grandchildren.” 

·       Ella Watson lived in Washington, D.C. in the 1940s.

·       What do you think she hoped for her grandchildren? For students whose grandparents are living, have them find out their hopes for their grandchildren. Write about it or share those hopes with the class.  Students can also imagine what they might hope for their own children.

·       Ask students to write about three things in their own daily lives that they would photograph – and why they selected these people, events or places. 

·       Perhaps a few single use cameras could be purchased to enable students to photograph a story about their school that could be published online, in the school newspaper or in a local community newspaper. (This would be an opportunity for students to learn about obtaining the rights  to print photographs of other people.)

Parks was not only a photographer. He wrote a novel, directed a film and wrote poetry and music as well.

·       If you wanted to change people’s minds about an issue in society, what do you think would be the best medium and why? 

  

Gordon Parks is one of many famous Americans profiled by Carole Boston Weatherford. She is the 2019 Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award winner  and will speak in Washington at the award celebration on May 11, 2019.  Make plans to come and hear what she has to say – students welcome!

“Sure to Spark Intense Discussion”

by Karen Leggett Abouraya

When Ann Bausum wrote Denied Detained Deported: Stories from the Dark Side of American Immigration in 2009, the starred review in Booklist called it a “landmark title, sure to spark intense discussion.” Indeed.  Eight years later, the discussion might be even more intense.

Ann Bausum is the winner of the 2017 Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award, given to an author or author-illustrator whose total work has contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children.  Bausum’s work is wide-ranging – The March Against Fear: The Last Great Walk of the Civil Rights Movement and the Emergence of Black Power; Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights; Stubby the War Dog and Denied Detained Deported.

In Denied Detained Deported, Bausum ends many chapters with questions that are excellent, thought-provoking writing prompts for teens and in a few cases, younger students. 

·       “What individual rights should be sacrificed in the name of homeland security?”

·       “Do migrant workers contribute more to society than they take away?”

·       “What protections might Americans be asked to forfeit when their heritage makes them suspect during a time of war?”

Whether students are asked to write essays or debate both sides of each question, they can gain experience in using logical reasoning and facts for civil debate and discourse. 

A less intense writing activity would ask students to write a single diary entry for one of the children whose stories are told in the book. What was a day like for Mary Matsuda in a Japanese internment camp or Herb Karliner, a German Jewish boy expecting to sail to freedom and safety in the United States?  

Herb Karliner, a German Jewish boy expecting to sail to freedom and safety
in the United States in 1939

There are more stories about Chinese who came seeking gold in California in 1849 and cycles of Mexican migration in the 20^th century. As Bausum concludes, “The United States has been alternatively welcoming and hostile to those who have tried to cross through ‘the golden door’ into America.”

While you are contemplating which of Ann Bausum’s books to share with your students, make plans to hear her in person at the Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award Celebration on April 29 at Clyde’s Gallery Place in Washington, D.C.  Register here . Everyone is welcome!

 http://childrensbookguild.org/karen-leggett-abouraya

RISK AND REWARD

Guest Post by Debbie Levy

            Visitors to this blog who are in the teaching and reading professions know—better than I—of the movement among literacy experts to give children more so-called “risky” texts to read, listen to, and discuss. By definition, risky texts raise difficult issues, and these educators say that kids can handle them, when the books are age-appropriate.

            Risky texts might raise feelings of sadness, guilt, or anger, even among young readers. That’s the risky part.

            But in my view, and the view of many others, the benefits can far outweigh the drawbacks. Quoting an academic paper I read recently: risky texts “can help students learn about . . . injustices, make connections to their own lives and broader social contexts, and consider potential actions to redress these injustices.” They also promote empathy and a moral sensibility to the sufferings of others.

            I didn’t set out to write a “risky book” when I wrote We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song, a picture book about how voices upon voices over years upon years built up this famous song like a collage. The book describes how this song came to be and how it helped the people who sang it while they fought against injustice—and how it still helps people today.

            The book starts like this:

Back in slavery times—

when enslaved people worked long days

with no pay and no say,

no freedom, no fairness,

no choice and no chance—

the people sang.

They suffered, yet they sang—

to soothe the hurt,

to fight the cruelty,

to declare that—yes!—they were human beings.

            Each spread has lyrics from the song, or precursor of the song. The book travels through different historical events and times in which the song evolved and played a part.

            I didn’t think of it as a risky book.

            But this past August I received a letter about the book—about this page:

            The text, if you can’t read it in the image, reads as follows:

It took a war—the Civil War—to end slavery.

But even after,

white people treated black people

as less than fully human,

excluding them, ignoring them,

blaming them,

even attacking them,

all because of the color of their skin.

Black people were no longer slaves,

it was true.

But they were not truly free.

Still they believed things would get better.

Still they sang.

           

            As I said, I received a letter.

            “Hello,” the letter began, “at work we had a book fair, and I purchased your book We Shall Overcome. My mouth dropped on page 7, and I had to put the book down! . . . Why didn’t it just say, after the civil war, ‘people’ still had a hard time getting along or understanding. Why did you have to be so . . . I don’t have words. . . . I thought the book would be shocking to read to my grandson.”

            Now, I wouldn’t want to take the approach this letter-writer wanted: to suggest that the problem after the Civil War was that people had a hard time getting along. The problem was racism, and although this book doesn’t use –ism words, I wanted readers to know that white-on-black prejudice was the problem. It wasn’t a matter of simply not getting along.

            Reasonable minds can certainly differ on what a particular child should read. And, of course, a grandmother should choose what she’s comfortable reading to her grandchild. But I do want children to know and to face truths, even uncomfortable ones. I think they are capable. And I think that facing truths is something that goes on, and should go on, in our schools. Which brings me to using this book in the classroom—both as part of social justice education and to get kids writing about how to respond to injustice.

            In my own interactions with young students around this book, I’ve found that they don’t necessarily grasp the notion of racial bigotry at first. (Not a bad form of ignorance!) But we do need to introduce them to this part of our history, which, as we adults know, isn’t really a thing of the past.

            So, with the younger students, I like to begin by talking about unfairness, with some “what if?” questions. What if you couldn’t go to your favorite park because of your hair color? Had to sit apart in school or on bus or in movies because you go to a different church—or don’t go to church? Couldn’t go to the place where they serve the best ice cream in town because only blue people can and you are orange?

            They giggle, but they get it. And then I talk about how, not so long ago, restaurants could refuse to serve you a meal if you were African American. I explain that, in those days, if you were African American, if you were Mexican American—you could not drink out of the same water fountains as white people in some parts of the country. (I share photographs of these and other segregationist practices. They are easy to find on the Internet.)

            So, I ask the kids, what’s unfair about all this? Write a letter to persuade the people in charge—the owner of a restaurant or theater or ice cream parlor, the superintendent of a county park, the president of the bus company—to allow equal access to these places.

            And I ask: if you were being treated so unfairly, or if someone you loved were, how would you feel? Write a diary entry about this.

            We can agree that being treating this unfairly could make you so angry and frustrated that you might want to fight. But fighting with your fists could create even more problems for you and it probably wouldn’t get you what you wanted.

            So, I ask the students, how can you fight with your brain? This is a good question to discuss in a group. And it’s a good question to lead into reading my book, because the story of the song “We Shall Overcome” is in part the story of the ways people in the civil rights movement thoughtfully fought against race discrimination.

            After reading the book and after singing the song, I ask: why was singing part of the fight against unfairness? (I have my answers. Singing shows the people who are treating you unfairly that you are strong, that you are a human being, and that you will be heard. And singing can give you courage and can lift your spirits—especially if you’re singing with others. But I want to know what the students think.)

            Two more writing activities after reading the book:

            Write a journal entry from the point of view of a person who lived through one of the time periods in the story and timeline. It can be someone who participated in the struggle. It can be someone on the sidelines. Someone black, someone white.

            Finally:

            Write your own new verses for the song, verses that respond to problems you see in your or community today. (Bullying comes to mind. Social shaming, too. But let’s see what’s on the students’ minds!)

            This last activity is my favorite. The song’s structure is simplicity itself, so everyone can succeed at this. I like encouraging the idea that everyone can author his or own lyrics about fighting injustice. And the lyrics can lead to a discussion of these difficult issues. The new verses, like “We will stand with you,” or “We are on your side,” are among the rewards for taking on a “risky” subject.

Debbie Levy is the author of more than twenty books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for young people, including the Jane Addams Award Honor book, We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song, and the Sydney Taylor Notable book, The Year of Goodbyes. Visit http://debbielevybooks.com/