It never occurred to me that almost every book I read for a literature class was written by a white person, specifically a white man. If one of my literature classes taught a piece of writing by a person of color, it was never a full novel, always a short story or a poem. It was not until my junior and senior year of high school that I experienced a curriculum that showcased talented authors of color. My AP Literature teacher taught works by almost all authors of color or female authors. In light of Black History Month, it is imperative that we have a conversation about teaching literature regarding the African and African American experience.
A few novels we read in class really stood out to me. Before senior year, I had never laid my hands on a Toni Morrison novel, which is really a shame. Morrison’s Song of Solomon has a beautiful command of language and tells an African American man’s emotional story from birth to adulthood. After reading this novel about a man’s quest to get in touch with his roots, I felt inspired to read more of Morrison’s novels, including The Bluest Eye. Morrison’s work is definitely not what you would consider ‘light reading,’ but her stories tell African Americans’ heartbreaking struggle in a racially divided world.
In a recent conversation with my high school AP Literature teacher, we discussed the importance of diversifying the literary canon. One of the main reasons for including books by authors of color is that literature teaches empathy and morals. If a student only reads novels by white authors, how will they develop a deep sense of empathy towards the struggle of people of color? She noted that many of the classic novels could easily be replaced by works of black authors. For example, both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk discuss the highly desired American Dream.
Shifting a decades-old curriculum to teach books by black authors is not an easy task. In 2021, you would expect that most schools have already begun this shift. However, purchasing new books is expensive, and creating new lesson plans requires effort. My former teacher disclosed that most teachers are unwilling to rewrite an entire year’s curriculum to switch out a few novels. This change is important because it inspires students to remain open-minded and even read works by authors of color in their own free time. I personally felt inspired to diversify my reading after being exposed to talented authors like Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, and Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing.
Authors of color have powerful, important stories to tell. It’s about time that we amplify their voices and invite them into our classrooms.