- Why does Black representation matter in children’s books? The image above, which is based on 2018 U.S. publishing statistics, reveals a powerful reality.
- 50% of all children’s books published in 2018 featured White children.
- Following this, animals were featured in 27% of children’s books.
- All visible minorities combined were featured in 23% of children’s books.
In the image above, children of colour gaze skeptically into small and cracked mirrors while, nearby, a White child and a bear smile happily into full-length ones.
You can read more about children’s books publishing statistics at the following link: CCBC Diversity Statistics – Cooperative Children’s Book Center (wisc.edu)
Why Black Representation Matters for Children of African descent
While children can learn important values from characters of any colour, black children benefit from books with characters who look like them for the following reasons:
· Representation – Books are mirrors, reflecting an aspect of our own lives, hopes and dreams back at us. Reading is therefore a form of self-affirmation. The ‘mirror’ experience is exactly why representation matters. When children see themselves reflected in their reading material, they feel validated.
· Affirmation – Many of the books with Black main characters celebrate a child’s brown skin and afro-textured hair. This leads to self-acceptance and builds a child’s self-esteem, self-image and confidence.
· Inspiration – Many books with Black main characters feature children in leadership or STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) roles. This gives Black children inspiration to believe in themselves and become high achievers. When children see someone who looks like them doing something they never thought of, it makes them think ‘This could be me someday!’.
If you want your children to aspire to become astronauts, engineers or surgeons, the first step is to buy them books with characters who look like them in such roles!
Why Black Representation Matters for Children of other ethnicities
Children of other ethnicities also benefit from being exposed to books with Black main characters.
Exposure to people of other races encourages empathy, acceptance, and perspective-taking. In addition, children truly enjoy reading books about people and families different from themselves.
When you encourage diversity in your children’s books, you facilitate their social skills and guard them from succumbing to harmful, negative stereotypes.
Right here in Trinidad & Tobago, we have seen many incidences of people losing their jobs or harming their businesses after making racist comments. Exposing children to books with Black main characters at a young age would make them more likely to be open and accepting towards others, which would benefit them socially and professionally throughout their entire lives.
My Own Testimony
As a child, I had a voracious appetite for reading. I used to tag along with my mother on her weekly trips to the supermarket to try to encourage her to buy me new books. I read every book written by Enid Blyton and Judy Bloom and got hooked on book series such as Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew and Sweet Dreams. In all the books I read throughout my entire childhood and most of my adolescence, I never encountered a character who looked like me. All the characters in my books had red hair or blond hair, green eyes or blue eyes, pale skin and freckles. Although I enjoyed those books thoroughly, I always felt sad and left out because I could not see “my reflection” in my books. As a result, I grew up with a poor self-image and wasn’t always happy with myself.
In 2020, when George Floyd was so callously murdered by a member of the protective forces, I had to face the reality that my son is growing up in a world where people of colour are often treated as if they don’t matter. I wanted to do something to make sure my son and other children of colour felt as if they mattered. For this reason, I registered and launched My Reflection Children’s Bookstore.
My hope is that by being exposed to books, toys and puzzles with characters of colour, the new generation of children of colour will grow up loving themselves and valuing everything about themselves, from their skin tone to their hair textures, from their facial features to the shape of their bodies. My hope is that they appreciate their ethnicity and are proud of who they are. My hope is that they believe in themselves and their abilities and proudly and bravely reach for the stars!
More to Explore
For more on why representation matters and building self-esteem and empathy in children, read the following posts:
Take action
We live in a vibrant and beautiful world. What better way to help children explore the world than through the magic of books?
Regardless of your ethnicity, take steps to increase diversity in your children’s bookshelves today. It will benefit them for years to come.
My Reflection Children’s Bookstore provides children’s books with diverse main characters to promote self-love and a love for reading among children.
Shop online at www.myreflectiontt.com for delivery to any address in Trinidad & Tobago.
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