This weekend I finally got to read Kelly DiPucchio’s newest
picture book, Super Manny Stands Up!, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
(Atheneum). Given the current political
climate, this book really resonated with me.
I have been searching for the perfect book with which to start the
school year, and upon reading this book, I’ve decided that I will use it as the
first read aloud in my library. I will
read it to every student during the first week of library classes. Together we will learn that it’s ok to say “Stop
it” when we see people treating others unfairly. Together we will learn to say
”Stop it” when we see or hear hateful actions or comments.
And most importantly we will learn to LISTEN when someone
says “Stop it!” to us. That if someone
tells us to “Stop it”, instead of getting mad, instead of getting defensive we
will, indeed, stop. We will take a
closer look at our words and actions. We
will try to see things as others see. We
will try to hear things as others hear.
We will try to feel things as other feel.
I know that this is something that I’m always striving to
do: Let’s face it, I’m a white,
straight, Christian, middle class male.
I’m about as privileged as they come.
I have never been marginalized because of the color of my skin, my
gender, who I love or where/how I worship, and I absolutely need to be cognizant
of this. I need to been keenly aware
that the lens through which I see life is not the lens available to many
people. So I always want to learn more. I
always try to be better. But here’s the
thing….sometimes I’m not. Sometimes my
privileged life causes me to clumsily say or do something that could be
interpreted as hurtful by someone. And
when this happens, I count on other people to tell me…to "stop it and do better”. When they do, I have the opportunity to stop
and reassess something I’ve said or done.
I have the opportunity to see why someone might have been offended. Most importantly, I have the opportunity to
make it right…to do better.
Last spring I was commenting on social media about the
amazing lineup of authors that had come to my school for author visits. I was fortunate to have had five
authors/illustrators come visit my school and talk with my students. After reading many replies like “Wow!”, “Lucky
kids!” or “What an amazing group!”, I received this reply from an author
friend: “Next year you should have some
women or people of color.” Upon
reading that comment I didn’t get mad. I
didn’t get defensive. I became
reflective. Someone had basically told
me to “stop”…and I did. Upon reflection
I realized that the fact that my authors were male was, indeed, a conscious
choice. In all the previous years, I had
only invited female authors and illustrators to our school, and I wanted to
make sure that my students were getting a balance. So, I invited two male authors to visit. (The
other three were sent by publishers…which I know is another issue!) However, my
author friend WAS absolutely right…My students weren’t being exposed to culturally
diverse authors. This was something of
which I needed to be aware. I needed to
do better.
Lately, my Facebook feed has been spotted with things
like: “Get over it.”, “Just move on”, “I
didn’t own a slave…” and to that I say “Stop it!!”. Those are ignorantly, privileged
statements. They are hurtful. I ask you to reflect upon what you’re
saying. Better yet, reach out to someone
who is not as privileged as you are and try to understand why it’s ignorant,
why it’s hurtful.
This past summer there were some very heated racial issues
in the kid lit world being discussed on Twitter. I didn’t agree with them. Upon reflection
though, I realized that the reason I didn’t agree with them was due to the fact
that I didn’t understand them because of my privilege. My disagreeing (without
understanding) was unfair and quite frankly ignorant. I needed to learn more. I needed better understanding. So, I sat down with a dear friend, a friend
who is part of the marginalized group that was taking issue, and we
talked. I asked questions. I dug deeper.
I was empathetic. I left the
discussion with a richer understanding.
It was an understanding that my lens alone would have never brought into
focus. I know that I can never fully
understand because I haven’t lived that life or had those experiences. However,
I will always strive to gain as much understanding as I possibly can.
It’s very easy block or unfriend people who continually say
or post hurtful, privileged things (and at times I have). It’s easy to not go to a particular gathering
because things will be said with which you disagree. Let’s face it though, the
easy thing isn’t usually the right thing…and we need to do the right thing.
To those of you who are part of marginalized groups (or have
kids that are part of marginalized groups), I see you. I care about you. I want to learn more about you and your story. I want to be like Manny and protect you by
saying, “Stop it!”…and I promise that I will. I know that I can always be better!
