I did not attend the ALA Midwinter Conference 2019 but I follow it, like all KidLit bloggers, to see who won the ALA book awards. In following the tweets, I saw some ugly racism that I want to cover today:
1. Let’s start with a baseline of whiteness in librarians versus the general population of the U.S.
2. Within this context of the lack of POC librarians, April Hathcock suffered a racist attack by a fellow white male librarian. I have deduced this person to be Christopher Corrigan.
3. The response by the ALA Council was disappointing, to say the least. They brought in their attorney to warn April Hathcock of legal liability should she go public about her experience. She happens to be an attorney as well as a librarian and I think they messed with the wrong strong black woman!
4. Next, is the matter of the APALA and Sidney Taylor awards being announced at ALA Midwinter for the first time with all the other major book awards. One problem though. They omitted the honor winners leaving everyone to think there were no honor books this year.
5. Was White Fragility a factor in the choice of the Caldecott winner?
6. Will the Geisel Award be renamed?
Let’s get started.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Librarianship from Feral Librarian:
Total credentialed librarians (2010, ALA Diversity Counts): 118,666
Total White librarians: 104,392
US Census data tells us that whites make up 63% of the US population, so if librarianship reflected the nation’s diversity, there would be only 74,760 white librarians, or nearly 30,000 fewer white librarians than our current numbers.
Total African-American librarians: 6,160
The US Population is 15% African-American, which would translate to a total of 17,800 African-American librarians if we were representative. That’s 11,640 more African-American librarians than we have currently.
Total Latino/a librarians: 3,661
A representative librarianship would be 17% Latino/a, which would equal 20,173 Latino/a librarians, or 16,512 more than our current numbers.
Total Asian/Pacific Islander librarians: 3,260
Asian/Pacific Islanders make up 5.3% of US Population, so we need 6,289 Asian Pacific/Islander librarians, or 3,029 more than we currently have, to be representative.
Total librarians of 2 or more races: 1,008
People of 2 or more races make up 2.4% of the US Population, which would equal 2,848 librarians or 1,840 additional librarians of 2 or more races.
Total Native American (including Alaskan Native) librarians: 185
The US Population is 1.2% Native American (including Alaskan Native), meaning a representative librarianship would include 1,424 Native American (including Alaskan Native) librarians – an increase of 1,239 over current numbers.
This is newer data from ALISE Library and Information Science Education Statistical Report 2015 on Library and Information Science Faculty by ethnicity.
“We should also temper our expectations with respect to the emergence of a well-organized movement of resistance among those currently entering the library profession (cf. Albanese, 2017). Library and information science education was not designed to promote or encourage rebelliousness, critical or alternative perspectives. Quite the contrary. In fact, the prevailing model of education in library and information science is grounded on the assumptions of liberalism, which, by definition, require a sanitized version of white supremacy. We can see the effects of this in the way the exclusion of minorities in library education parallels the exclusion of minorities from the ranks of the profession. With less than eight percent of the full time faculty in library and information schools in North America representing disadvantaged minorities (3.1% Hispanic, 4.3% African American) (ALISE, 2016), the values of white supremacy are integrated into the structure and functioning of library schools.In fact, the exclusion of minorities from faculty ranks has worsened. In 2010, for example, the combined Hispanic and African American representation cited in the report of the Association for Library and Information Science Education was over eight percent (ALISE, 2010).” Eino Sierpe
Eino Sierpe’s recent research is Confronting Librarianship and its Function in the Structure of White Supremacy and the Ethno State here.
Despite strong and persistent links to white supremacy and a well-established record excluding minorities from its ranks, the library profession has been remarkably successful in nurturing an unassailable public image of virtuous liberal benevolence and near mythical devotion to the highest ideals of freedom, individual rights, and democracy. Its unsurpassed ability in evading scrutiny or criticism of any serious consequence while maintaining a strong record of dedicated service to white power is all the more remarkable at a time where social media is used to amplify campaigns against injustices or organizations believed responsible for conditions of oppression. Although Critical Librarianship, or #CritLib, is beginning to question some of the doctrinal assumptions underlying the practice of librarianship, an examination of some of the mechanisms with which white supremacy has been able to build an entire system of racial protectionism as an occupational sector that intersects with areas of significant public interest is an important and timely research concern.
Racist Attack Against April Hathcock at ALA Midwinter 2019 Meeting
Definition of Racism from The Conscious Kid Instagram
… the inspiring words Dr. Hayden imparted to us at the Spectrum celebration: “You gotta be in the room. You gotta be at the table. You gotta fight.” From April Hathcock Post-ALA Race Fatigue 2017
Note that there are just 5% of librarians that are African American.
Total African-American librarians: 6,160
The US Population is 15% African-American, which would translate to a total of 17,800 African-American librarians if we were representative. That’s 11,640 more African-American librarians than we have currently.
April Hathcock
As the Scholarly Communications Librarian and a lawyer, she educates the NYU campus community about issues relating to ownership, rights, and access to scholarly research materials.
“This was a very traumatic experience for me,” said April Hathcock, scholarly communication librarian at New York University Libraries. After the 2017 ALA Annual Conference, Hathcock wrote a blog post about race fatigue, the “physical, mental, and emotional condition that people of color experience after spending a considerable amount of time dealing with the micro- and macro-aggressions that inevitably occur when in the presence of white people.” The post “exploded,” according to Hathcock, leading to harassment. Again, she turned to her university for help and said she received none. from American Libraries: Bullying, Trolling, and Doxxing, Oh My!
Just had a fellow council member, a white man, verbally attack me in the middle of council forum. Ended his verbal tirade by saying I “give him nightmares.” I’m curled up in my room shaking in sobs rn. I feel so unsafe & attacked. And no one stopped him. No spoke up.
I believe that the fellow council member, a white man, is Christopher Corrigan based on the public information available. Apparently, he has done this more than once. I think that it’s important to name the racist to protect others from future incidents. (Mia Wenjen)
He [Christopher Corrigan] has done that to me after a “vigorous discussion”/attack as well. He apologizes like we were in a debate competition not like he hadn’t just attacked my core values.
Christopher Corrigan
Digital Reference Librarian at Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
Five days of listening to white men librarians complain about being a “minority” in this 88% white profession–where they consistently hold higher positions with higher pay–because they don’t understand the basics of systemic oppression.
Five days of having “nice white ladies” tell you to be “civil” and “professional” when you talk about the importance of acknowledging oppression and our profession’s role in it.
From April Hathcock Post-ALA Race Fatigue 2017 which is what Chris Corrigan may have been referring to.
He accused me of doxxing ppl and called me a “hypocrite.” I have been doxxed, trolled, harassed, incl among my so-called colleagues at this conf, threatened at MPOW…if this is what it means to be a Black woman committed to social justice in this profession, then idk.
I’ve reported incident to Conference Services. And in the meantime, the person in question has apparently angry quit on the Council listserv. That’s something, I guess, but I’m still shaking.
Let me be clear: I’ve never said anything to or done anything to my attacker. And after the fact, I simply told him to stay away from me when he tried to approach me after his tirade. There is no backstory. And no excuses for his behavior.
Thanks to the folx in council who spoke up against racism and oppression and what happened yesterday. But my goodness the rest of it was full of gaslighting. Lots of references to “a complicated situation” and some mysterious “backstory between the two individuals involved.”
Good morning. Just had a meeting with ALA leadership in which they are trying to scare me of off talking publicly ABOUT MY VICTIMIZATION by suggesting I could face LEGAL liability. That is some VICTIM-BLAMING BULLSHIT. Made to a LAWYER no less.
It turns out Paula is the legal counsel for ALA. I don’t remember her identifying herself as such. As a lawyer myself, and one who has conducted these kind of conversations before, I feel like I would’ve made note and probably declined the meeting. I know from experience that when lawyers jump in early, it’s usually a matter of intimidation. I’ve done my fair share of that jumping.
In any event, she wanted to warn me about posting about my trauma in a public forum like Twitter in the event anything happened to my attacker and I “found myself liable.” “We’re just looking out for you and ALA,” she kept saying. She then turned to Wanda Brown and asked her to “take over from here.” Paula is white. Wanda is Black. And this meeting was not framed as an official response from the organization: there was no reference to the progress of my pending report; the current president was not present; and neither was the interim executive director. No, I was being handled by the company lawyer, and they’d brought a Black lady along to help out. I terminated the meeting in the midst of the lawyerly bullshit to inform Paula that as a lawyer I knew full well what they were trying to do. I made it clear in no uncertain terms that I would not be intimidated into silence, and with the most ridiculous, baseless claim of legal liability possible, no less (um, hello, First Amendment? you know, that constitutional right that we love to talk about so much in our profession?). April posted on this incident on her blog: ALAMW: What Happened, and What Should Happen Next
I made it clear to them that the real liability lies with them for not protecting me. They were verbal attacks this time but I was and am terrified it could be more. They want to silence me as a victim. I will not accept that. Spread the word. ALA, this is UNACCEPTABLE.
Keep in mind, this was less than twenty-four hours after I was verbally attacked in front a crowd of my colleagues. In less than a day, I had been publicly berated by an angry white man and then had the company lawyer sicced on me with the token Black woman in tow. And I still had one more Council session to attend. April posted on this incident on her blog: ALAMW: What Happened, and What Should Happen Next
Shana V. White@ShanaVWhite
So when will white educators step up? Few tweets supporting Nathan Phillips Few tweets about Jussie’s hate crime Reading tweets about ALA white rage with Black librarian and nothing said Why won’t yall speak up on here and in spaces? You make up 80% of our profession.
Replying to @AprilHathcock @violetbfox
I foolishly hoped that racism and micro aggression would be addressed first thing this morning from the dias since the ALA Ex. Director and the ALA President were informed about the issue last night. An ALA Councilor could go to the microphone and speak as “personal privilege.”
The ALA Council Meeting the Next Day Following April’s Attack. This is being live-tweeted by Vicky Steeves who is in attendence.
THREAD – showing that the majority of ALA council has elected *not* to discuss what happened to April yesterday. Crickets from @ALALibrary too 
I know some folks have been writing to the ALA president and organizer for MW, but we need to redouble that effort BIG TIME.
#ALAcouncil is now discussing what happened yesterday. Thanks @silent_d for moving to ask Council to discuss yesterday’s #CouncilForum incident. Folks have asked for ten minutes in smaller group discussion, but others have asked for more background/context. #ALAmw19
#ALAcouncil: Calls for more information about history of the two individuals involved (April & Chris), two of those present at #CouncilForum say that they didn’t know individuals’ backgrounds so didn’t feel comfortable intervening. Calls for civility & CoC reminders. #ALAmw19
#ALAcouncil: request for more investigation into CoC violation and suggestion that the formal complaints to ALA need to happen privately. @edrabinski urges Council not to allow this moment to pass without conversation, which will only serve to reassure white people. #ALAmw19
#ALAcouncil Suggestion from POC member that 10-minute small discussion groups may not feel safe for minority Council members. Long pause from Loida. #ALAmw19
#ALAcouncil: There’ve been multiple white people who were present yesterday at Council Forum who have apologized to April for not responding in the moment. Request to discuss in small groups, not about what happened yesterday, but how to treat each other with respect. #ALAmw19
#ALAcouncil: @The_Bookaneer points out that Council has spent a long time discussing whether they need to discuss this issue, saying that indicates to her that Council, does, in fact, need to take time to discuss. #ALAmw19
#ALAcouncil: Vote to continue the discussion in small groups for ten minutes has been defeated by show of hands. Continuing with agenda as planned. #ALAmw19
#ALAcouncil: point of order about whether to continue discussion as a body or whether to continue to agenda as planned. Motion passes to return to agenda. @jcdesantis reminds that Council can continue discuss via Council email list. #ALAmw19
#ALAcouncil: Back to regular discussion. Recognizing memorials to notable library people who have died in past year. Additions of Amber Clark & Jaime Humet, the librarians who were murdered while at work. #ALAmw19
Shannon DeSantis@gileslibrarian
Replying to @violetbfox @silent_d
Thanks for live tweeting Council. Some of us had to leave early due to impending travel complications. I appreciate seeing what I missed!
What followed was about 15 minutes of gaslighting and victim-blaming that left me paralyzed in my seat. Several councilors, including some who were actually present at the time I was verbally attacked, made excuses for their silence, claiming they “didn’t know who was being referred to” and “didn’t know the history or background of the two individuals.” I don’t see how any of that mattered. What was done and said in that moment was completely unacceptable and a violation of the ALA Conference Code of Conduct. What is more, there is no history! I barely know this person. But even if there were history, there was no excuse for that behavior and others’ complicit silence. None.
The discussion then devolved into a conversation about looking into “civility and professionalism.” But I could read the white supremacist undertones, same as they aways are. I know there are members of our profession—mostly white, though not all—who do not like me, do not like that I write and talk about race, do not like the direct and unapologetic way in which I call out systems of racial oppression. They find my work “divisive,” “uncivil,” and “unprofessional.” Some of them are leaders in our profession. Some of them were there sitting quietly as I was being harassed. When they talk about having conversations about “civility and professionalism,” they’re not talking about the inexcusable behavior that happened to me; they’re talking about tone-policing and silencing me. It’s a common tactic in white supremacy’s arsenal. But I won’t have it. April posted on this incident on her blog: ALAMW: What Happened, and What Should Happen Next
What Can You Do To Support April Hathcock?
“take action, and support librarians of color who experience deliberate or unconscious discrimination, by taking all accusations or concerns regarding racism seriously. It requires further investigation and is a dialogue that must expand upon the program on ‘White Fragility’.”
“while people of color may reach leadership positions, we cannot dismiss the hostility and inequity that comes with being a person of color in a predominantly white profession, as well as the ways oppression impacts all minority groups.”
REFORMA Statement Against Racism and Discrimination in the Library Profession https://www.reforma.org/content.asp?admin=Y&contentid=415… #ALAMW19 #familia @reformanational
anna j. clutterbuck-cook@feministlib
My pre-coffee thought about ALA racism is that white people in library work believe deeply in their own progressive goodness and that mythology is a HUGE barrier to actual anti-racist action.
anna j. clutterbuck-cook@feministlib
Trying to follow my own advice above, I have written to the director of conference services at ALA to voice my concerns and request an apology and clear plan of action. Anyone who wishes to poach my language may do so.
Letter of Support for April Hathcock 2019-01-29
Why were APALA and Sydney Taylor Honor Book Omitted from ALA Presentation?
Note that Asian/Pacific Islander librarians make up 3% of the ALA.
Total Asian/Pacific Islander librarians: 3,260
Asian/Pacific Islanders make up 5.3% of US Population, so we need 6,289 Asian Pacific/Islander librarians, or 3,029 more than we currently have, to be representative.
Important thread for ALA/librarian friends. Whether it was just a lack of communication or a conscious decision, this is just BAD. I had literally no idea there were honors for the APALA and ST awards, I just assumed it was the way they showed it. 1/?
This is the thought that has been plaguing me for the last 24 hours, and it’s not just because I was an honoree anticipating hearing my book called. As yesterday went on, I realized it would bother me just as much for anyone else. So here’s a thread.
Almost exactly a year ago, ALA announced that they were going to make a point about the importance of books by diverse authors / about diverse cultures by highlighting the APALA, AJL, and AILA’s selections in the 2019 awards.
(Mia Wenjen: note that AILA is announced every two years on even years.)
I thought to myself: I’m glad that works about these identities and experiences are at last being honored alongside the Coretta Scott King, the Stonewall. Alongside the Newbery and the Printz. Here’s a significant step in the right direction. It gave me hope.
When I got the phone call about my APALA Honor, my wonderful School & Library team at Little, Brown emphasized how this should be kept secret and celebrated just like any other ALA award, how amazing it was going to be to see it announced along with all the other YMA awards.
Well, if you weren’t watching the awards yesterday, here’s what happened: They didn’t announce it. They announced the winners of the APALA award, and cut the honorees. They announced the winners of the Sydney Taylor award, and cut the honorees.
I heard the rumor that they were short on time. I guess they didn’t want to trim some of their longer descriptions of other books. And lucky thing that the Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award did not have to suffer the same—those honorees got to receive applause.
And consequently, people thought there were no Sydney Taylor honor books. People thought there were no APALA honor books. They didn’t realize what was missing until those titles were shared on social media.
Do a search online for any press release or other write-up covering yesterday’s awards, and you’ll find that the vast majority of those don’t mention the APALA or Sydney Taylor honorees either. Only what was broadcast was covered. Only what was broadcast was considered important.
To emphasize the importance of celebrating diversity and abolishing cultural invisibility—and then to decide that those awards could simply be truncated? Was the hope that nobody would notice?
Was that 2018 announcement about the inclusion of these awards just another performance of allyship? And what a sting, too, for those committees who worked so hard on their selections, excited for the mark they would make in support of these marginalized identities.
Looking back at last year’s press release about the “enhanced” YMA, I realize also that it only says these announcements would be added to the 2019 awards. It doesn’t say anything about the future. I’m very curious to see what happens next year.
I often feel like Twitter is this overwhelming, suffocating place. But yesterday, when nobody else was celebrating the APALA and Sydney Taylor Honor Books, I was so grateful to see the excitement here for those honorees. Thank you publishers, librarians, teachers, fellow authors.
I’ve heard that some publishers plan to bring it up directly with ALA to point out the misstep here. I really hope they do.
ALA response: Reflections on the 2019 ALA Youth Media Awards. A few things that ALA did not include:
- Why were Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media (EELDM) Award 2019 Honorees announced at the expense of APALA and Sidney Taylor Honorees? Who made this decision? What was the process? Did APALA and Sidney Taylor committees know tht EELDM honorees were going to be announced but not their honorees?
- Why were the APALA and Sidney Taylor honor awards not included in the ALA press release?
- How did the ALA plan to announce the APALA and Sidney Taylor honor recipients this year as an alternative to the award event? Was this discussed? Was there a plan for these honorees?
- Did APALA and Sidney Taylor sign off on press release from ALA that did not include honor books? If so, why did they do that? What was the process for their approval of the press release?
White Fragility Exhibited in Selection of ALA Caldecott?
Note that there are 0% Nativ American including Alaskan Native librarians when you round. The issue that Dr. Debbie Reese is bringing up is particularly relevant because there would seem to be no representative voice of Native American librarians to bring up issues of erasure and children’s books that do this to Native American history. It would lead me to believe that erasure of Native Americans in picture books would never even come up in a Caldecott Committee discussion.
Total Native American (including Alaskan Native) librarians: 185
The US Population is 1.2% Native American (including Alaskan Native), meaning a representative librarianship would include 1,424 Native American (including Alaskan Native) librarians – an increase of 1,239 over current numbers.
1) Yesterday, the American Library Association announced its award winners for books that came out last year (in 2018). Like publishing itself, the award winners have been an almost all-white-world. In recent years, that’s changed a bit.
2) This year’s Caldecott winner was, to put it mildly, a disappointment.
3) I was hoping to hear “Dreamers, by Yuyi Morales” when the Caldecott-winning-books were announced.
4) I was, quite frankly, taken aback to hear “The Lighthouse, by Sophie Blackall.” Now I know some of you out there are saying “Debbie hates white people” (I don’t) or “Debbie is biased” (as if they themselves are not biased).
5) Two books: Dreamers, and, The Lighthouse. They embody so much. They symbolize so much. Dreamers is about hope. Lighthouse is about nostalgia. Interesting, isn’t it, in this particular moment?
6) I think we (scholars in children’s lit) will be talking about Dreamers, for a long time because of what it offers. Unfortunately for Lighthouse, it will be part of those articles, but not in the same way.
7) Why did Lighthouse win the big prize? How did Dreamers get set aside? We won’t know. Those conversations are confidential. So, we can only speculate.
8) Yesterday I noted that some books trigger a sense of erasure for me. Erasure of Native people, that is. Lighthouse definitely does that. It is set on an island that was the homeland of the Beothuk people. Till the Europeans came.
9) Today, this land–currently called North America–is occupied and controlled by people whose roots are in Europe. And who do they not want to cross the southern border? See how these two books are connected?
10) I know some people disagree with me. I’ve already seen that, but that’s ok. It is par for the course when we’re raising questions about power. I’m still thinking through this. Those are some thoughts, today. If you’d like to talk, privately, that’s fine. I get it. 
11) Noting that in this thread, I said “The Lighthouse” which is a mistake! The book title is “Hello Lighthouse.”
Replying to @debreese
The book that won? Beautiful, bland nostalgia. Dreamers? So lush and with an actual message about which a family, a classroom can learn from and have vibrant conversations. It’s a damn shame.
Also, I am a children’s bookseller who has seen which books sell and customers request. Sometimes awards are awarded by those who dominate an industry. Need we point out that publishing is so white, and many kids books are published yet are out of touch?
Will the Geisel Award Be Renamed? Wait, Is Dr. Seuss’s Relative on the ALA Council? How will that play out?
What’s In A Name from Horn Book
American librarians defend renaming Laura Ingalls Wilder award from The Guardian
The ALA is now looking to examine its other prizes, including the Geisel award, to see if further changes need to be made. Geisel, named for Theodore Geisel or The Cat in the Hat author Dr Seuss, has also come under recent scrutiny, with a US librarian arguing last year that his illustrations “are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes”.
BIG NEWS: A possible change in name of ALA’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Award! from American Indians in Children’s Literature
Prestigious Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Renamed Over Racial Insensitivity from New York Times
Also, they try to pass off racism as “a product of the times.” If Laura Ingalls Wilder award is renamed, why is there still the Theodor Geisel award? Katie Ishizuka of The Conscious Kid Library presented her analysis of Dr. Seuss’ body of work to the NEA: FINALNEAReportDr.SeusssRacismandRAA
As a result, the NEA removed Dr. Seuss from Read Across America.
p.s. I’d like to crowdsource a book list on #WHITEFRAGILTY #KIDLIT: BOOKS FOR WHITE PEOPLE TO DISCUSS #RACISM WITH KIDS. Can you help me out with suggestions? Thank you all for your suggestions!
My idea is from WHITE FRAGILITY: WHY IT’S SO HARD FOR WHITE PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT RACISM. “Educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine).
Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue.
In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.”
Might be helpful for #alacouncil #alamw19 too.
p.p.s. Someone has hacked WordPress identities and used two different librarians’ WordPress avatar identity to leave comments on this post. Both comments were in defense of Chris Corrigan, and one of them was threatening. If Chris Corrigan has access to WordPress through ALA, you might want to lock it down.
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award longlist
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
I love DREAMERS too. Adore it. And have done my share to sponsor and write on it.
The author of that humanist gem is a sweetheart of a woman. Yes the message it projected is timely, stirring and as I stated in my own review a repudiation of the current administration in more ways than one. I will hold this picture book to my heart for the rest of my life and was thrilled it was among the winners in my school’s Mock Caldecott conducted two weeks ago. I also of course applaud its much-deserved Pura Belpre win.
The 2018 Caldecott committee did not award it the Caldecott Medal nor one of the honors. Of course the Caldecott is not given for “message” but for art integration. The question of ethnic diversity was answered resoundingly by said committee who honored a Chinese-American, an African-American, and a Hispanic-American among their five winners. I do not find HELLO LIGHTHOUSE remotely “bland,” nor do I find its win as an example of “white fragility.” I find it stirring, spectacularly beautiful and lovingly orchestrated. A book to last the test of time. Three of the five books chosen were about nostalgia, not just Blackall’s book. The equally as magnificent THANK YOU OMU and ALMA AND HOW SHE GOT HER NAME were also nostalgia full face but again books that will have legs indefinitely. The other two winners by Grace Lin and Brian Lies are extraordinary, deeply moving works, both also gorgeous. Two years ago, Javaka Steptoe, an African-American and a Prince of a man won the Caldecott Medal. I am so thrilled that these awards have been moving towards a diverse distribution, your telling employment statistics above notwithstanding.
BOTH Dreamers and Hello Lighthouse are masterpieces. If DREAMERS won and had others questioned its win I would have lined up behind it as I am now doing with Hello Lighthouse.
As to your lead-in, this is the first time I have read about it. I condemn this ugliness and am shocked we would have anything like that still going on. Yes it must be dealt with firmly. The victim Ms. Hathcock seems to be the loveliest of persons. I find it mind boggling that anyone can feel they are “in the minority” when 88% suggest otherwise.
I plan to order Robin DiAngelo’s today on Amazon. Thank you for the link.
Important and illuminating analysis. Thanks for posting.
It’s horrible what April experienced and so sad that no one came to her defense. The statistics are pretty startling, and speak for themselves, don’t they? The unbearable whiteness of it all.
I was excited that the APALAS were featured, as they should be. It would not have taken much time to just show a slide of the honor books, even if each were not individually announced, though really, how much time would that have taken? The same goes for the Taylor honorees. They deserve to be directly lauded.
I guess I should not be shocked that it’s still the Geisel award, givien that money is a driving force. I did wonder as it was announced why it was still being called that, when the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award name was changed. They should follow suit.
I too was surprised by HELLO LIGHTHOUSE winning, and that DREAMERS did not receive any kind of recognition at all. I’m of the persuasion that the awards love should also be spread–Blackall already won a Caldecott–she already has a ton of name recognition. Her work is lovely, but imagine what a Caldecott could do for an up and coming illustrator whose work is equally excellent and visually stunning–something like CROWN last year–a powerful and unique book that many had not heard of or read until its win.
Pragmatic Mom:
I just felt I needed to add one last comment on this thread.
The Newbery and Caldecott committees chose to honor eight (8) books in total for 2018. (FIVE by the Caldecott committee and THREE by the Newbery committee.
The ethnic diversity demonstrated by both committees was quite clear and heartening.:
3 whites and 5 non-whites were honored.
The Newbery Medal winner is Cuban-American, one of the two honor winners is Indian/Asian-American. I already documented in a previous comment that the Caldecott committee honored two whites, one Hispanic-American; one African-American and one Asian-American. If we had this ratio every year we could say the committee have been extraordinarily diverse when you consider the racial make-up of the actual published books. Hence taking into account the two MAJOR awards I really don’t see any white fragility or unbearable whiteness. That perception isn’t validated by the facts. I too adored, adored, adored, adored, adored DREAMERS, but we had too fabulous books, and a diverse committee made its choice based not based on color, nor on previous wins as their rules rightly insist. (Many artists have won multiple times).