Finding Lit for Black Folks. (part 1)

Here are some things to:

KEEP IN MIND
African-American experiences are diverse and unique. The black experiences of the South do not necessarily reflect those of the North, nor do inner-city situations parallel rural settings. Make sure your classroom library reflects this diversity, as well as that of blacks living in places such as the Caribbean, Africa, and Great Britain.
Reject books with offensive expressions, negative attitudes, or stereotypes. You'll know them when you see them-trust your instincts.
Don't ignore these books because there are no children of color in your class. Books depicting African-American experiences are valuable for all children.

(from How To Choose The Best Multicultural Books http://classiclit.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=classiclit&cdn=education&tm=750&gps=118_246_786_419&f=00&tt=14&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/instructor/multicultural.htm)

If we are going to teach literature to Minorities we must find sources in our current, everchanging, body of literature to bring to our classrooms. One site offering insights into what we should and should not choose is the Scholastic website. Above is the link to the complete article found that illustrates some of the choices we must consider for African American students. Let's take a deeper look.

• Relevance - This should be one of the first considerations for any group of students that we are teaching. We should be looking at our entire classroom as diverse and we should not assume that a student that is Black, living in the urban North, will understand the rural south anymore than his white or asian classmate that has little or no experience in this part of the country. Also, we need to consider the times (or setting of our chosen pieces of literature). We must realize that we may have to do some explaining about ideas of overt racism, or ideas about segregation, or marches, or even Jazz. This should be a rich opportunity to bring new ideas to light for your students. On the other hand if we have students that do have first hand knowledge then that should be used to benefit the group's collective learning.
• Global - This area is very interesting because we are being told here that this is important but we don't have this attitude when looking at mainstream English lit in America. We don't take a global view there so why is it important when looking at African American Lit? I think this is a very valid question. The idea contained here is one that is hotly contested even among African American elite. The Black Diaspora, while containing all people in the world with African roots, can be a little ambiguous for American students since we, Americans, do not take a world view yet when educating our children. If this is the case why is it necessary to choose books from all around the Diaspora? While some think that this is important when we look at the issue of relevance for Black students to have a world view and others may find it unecessary for Black students and the rest being American. I find that it is important to take a world view when looking at all literatures. Therefore, this should not be stressed for just our Black Students but this strategy should be employed when choosing literature for all of our students. I think Democracy can handle it.

This is the end of part one check back for part 2.