On
April 14, 2021, the NCSCL was delighted to host Dr Ebony Elizabeth Thomas’ for
her fantastic talk “We Have Always Dreamed of (Afro)Futures: The Brownies’ Book and the Black
Fantastic Storytelling Tradition.” With over 100 people registered, we were not
the only ones who were so excited to have Dr. Thomas virtually visit SDSU.
Situating
her talk in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and current anti-Black violence
and racism, Dr. Thomas explores the portrayal of Black characters within
children’s and young adult books and how these characters indicate a future for
those who are represented. Dr. Thomas introduced the concept of “storying,” the
ways in which Black writers have forged their own identities and freedom within
these texts. This act is especially prominent since “we are in a cultural
moment where speculative storytelling reigns supreme.”
As
Dr. Thomas writes in her book The Dark
Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to The Hunger Games,
there is a lack of positive representation of people of color in speculative
fiction. Although there have been excellent fantasy novels written by authors
of color as of late, Dr. Thomas focuses her research on the presence of Black
characters in texts authored by the majority population for two reasons: first,
because some of today’s popular texts written by Black authors were not
available at the time of she wrote The
Dark Fantastic and second, because the texts written by the majority
population are the ones that make up the mainstream, which is read across
diverse populations. For those reasons, she examines characters such as Rue
from The Hunger Games in order to
identify what kind of portrayals frame Black characters, concluding that “our
reading and imagination are as segregated as our lives.” Black characters are trapped
in the “Dark Fantastic cycle,” which Dr. Thomas defines as a pattern of
“spectacle, hesitation, violence, and haunting.” Black girl characters
especially are seen as “monstrous, invisible, and always dying;” their stories
mirror the high rate of Black deaths outside of literature. Despite the
oppression and violence they face, Dr. Thomas reminds us Black people have
always dreamed of (Afro)futures. She spotlights the act of “rememory,” using
the example of Toni Morrison who creates an Afrofuturistic world in Beloved wherein the protagonist, Sethe,
recalls memories of the past. Like Morrison’s Sethe, imagination creates a new
world, an Afrofuture.
The
above graphic demonstrates that only 10% of characters are Black while 27% of
characters are non-human as of 2018 according to the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Since that time, the diversity “renaissance” in children’s
literature publishing has excited Dr. Thomas. She recognizes that she has been
cautioned against too much optimism, but wants to give credit where it is due.
Dr. Thomas acknowledges that quality is not guaranteed simply because
representations are present. As Black storytellers forge their own identities
and liberation, there is still much more to be done in the field to address the
books -- and the experiences -- missing from bookshelves. These absent stories
of the everyday experiences of Black readers are labeled “shadow books” for
their invisibility among mainstream readership.
In
light of the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the current trial of
Derek Chauvin and the discussion of anti-Black violence in our country, Dr.
Thomas reminds us, “the persistence of anti-Blackness in pandemic space-time
cannot be overstated.” She recognizes that the rates of Black deaths in novels
mirror the deaths of the COVID-19 pandemic; that is, they are
disproportionately higher than majority population deaths. Future dreaming
allows an escape for Black readers from this reality. Books written especially
for Black audiences, like The Brownies
Book, allow for a look into the life of a Black child, but these books are
few and far between.
To
repair for the lack of representation, Dr. Thomas offers the concept of
“re-storying:” how marginalized readers can read themselves into the stories
that have historically excluded them. Re-storying, Dr. Thomas says, is a way
for underrepresented POC to feel seen. The rise in representation follows a
period of time that has been called “The New Jim Crow.” In some of these texts,
narratives of Black pain are the focus, creating a burden on young readers
seeing their own identities being brutalized and murdered.
Some
portrayals of enslavement create what Dr. Thomas calls a “sanitized view of
slavery.” These books often position Black characters beside famous white
figures for the comfort of white readers, like in the book Unspoken: A Story of the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole, a
white author. Many of these books are written from a third person perspective,
distancing the reader from slavery. Dr. Thomas labels this pattern
“#slaverywithasmile” and argues that humanizing depictions of people in bondage
can reshape the images that dominate Black historical fiction.
Dr.
Thomas concludes with the following question: “If even Black authors of youth
speculative fiction are haunted by the afterlife of slavery, what might it mean
for our Afrofuturistic Dreams?”
We
would like to turn, now, to the Question and Answer Section in which Dr. Thomas
answered questions posted in the chat. Here are just a few of the thoughtful
questions that were posed, as well as Dr. Thomas’s responses:
How do you see multicultural picture
books fitting into this conversation?
Dr.
Thomas responded that the territory is vast. She turns to friends doing work on
multicultural texts, recognizing that there is much to be read and written on
the works produced by members of the African diaspora, such as Black British,
Caribbean, and African authors. She powerfully claims that “the Afrofuture should
be an inclusive future” and advocates for cultivating scholars with deep
insider knowledge and direct experience with the communities who are producing
those books.
Are there any texts that are
encouraging, enriching, and empowering Afrofuturist narratives out there at the
moment?
Dr.
Thomas points to resources compiled by colleagues such as ReadingBlackFutures.com and the work done by Dr. Rukmini Pande (in fan studies from India).
Do you think that the obstacles to
honesty in children’s literature about black life in America (or abroad) is on
both sides—the dangers of all books being about slavery and horror and trauma
of racism, Jim Crow, etc., thus fetishizing pain and trauma, and leaving out
more positive, nuanced tales. And the problem of too much utopianism without
the realities of racism, trauma, and pain being there to treat black American
(or African) life honestly? If so, how do the best works treat pain and hope
both?
Dr,
Thomas candidly admitted that she had “been wrestling with this.” She was
frustrated by growing up being told the same Black history by authors, but now
it is “what I breathe.” After studying such a complex issue for so long, she
acknowledges that “it takes a genius to break the Dark Fantasy cycle, and
that’s why so few of us publish.” She also made reference to texts such as NK
Jemison’s The Broken Earth trilogy
and Ty Frank’s The Expanse. Ultimately,
there is a knife edge between Black pain and Black joy -- not just joy or pain. Black people have a range of
emotions which should likewise be depicted in the texts that portray them.
We
would like to extend our gratitude to Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas for making the
time to present such a fascinating and thought-provoking lecture, and to all
who were able to attend. Please follow the National Center for the Study of
Children’s Literature on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to hear about the
events to come!
