A Dream Deferred: Brown Girl Dreaming

I was a voracious reader as a child, but I realize now as an adult that my exposure to books was extremely white-washed. All of my favorite novels were about white children, written by white authors. James and the Giant Peach, A Wrinkle in Time, Where the Red Fern Grows... you get the idea.

And while I may have learned a lot from those books, as a teacher and librarian, I strongly believe that it is not only important for minority students to see themselves in the books they read, but also that white students read stories about diverse characters.

So I am on a personal journey to diversify my reading of children's and young adult literature. This is how I came upon Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, and all I can say is...WOW.

I'm not the first person to recognize this book as extraordinary. It is the winner of a Newbery Honor Award, the National Book Award, and the Coretta Scott King Award. So it's a wonder that I had not heard of it before. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I think it's one of the best young adult novels I have ever read, and I believe it should be added to every 9th grade English curriculum in the country.

Brown Girl Dreaming is autobiographical and tells the story of Jacqueline's childhood, growing up in South Carolina and then Brooklyn, with her single mother and siblings in the 1960s. Each chapter is a free-verse poem, gorgeously written like snapshot photographs of her childhood.

One minute you're eating lemon ice cream with her grandfather, the next you're eavesdropping on the grown-ups talking about Dr. King and nonviolent protests, and the next you're feeling her grandmother straightening her hair with a hot comb while her older sister reads to her, trying to distract her from the burn.

Why is it that we teach students about segregation and racism through the eyes of a white child in To Kill a Mockingbird? Why do we place so much glory on the head of Atticus Finch when he doesn't even invite Calpurnia (the woman who is raising his children), to eat at the table with the family?

What if we taught students about this same era through the eyes of a black child? What if we listened to her parents instruct her how to behave around white people, eyes down, "yes sir, no sir"---but also reminding her, "we're as good as anybody"? What if we read about the conflicting feelings of fear and anger and pride that led some people to protest, others to stay home and pray?

Wouldn't that be more powerful?

Wouldn't that be a better way to instill empathy in our white students?

Wouldn't that be more inspirational and affirming for our black students?

Brown Girl Dreaming is also the perfect companion for any study of Langston Hughes. The novel begins with one of his many poems about dreams: "Hold fast to dreams/For if dreams die/Life is a broken-winged bird/That cannot fly. / Hold fast to dreams/For when dreams go/Life is a barren field/Frozen with snow."

Hold fast to dreams. It is those dreams that created great change during the Civil Rights Movement. Today, we see the Black Lives Matter movement demanding justice, the dream still deferred. Jacqueline's grandmother says, "We all have the same dream.../To live equal in a country that's suppose to be/the land of the free" (89).

Jacqueline's grandfather says, "First they brought us here./Then we worked for free. Then it was 1863,/ and we were supposed to be free but we weren't./And that's why people are so mad" (72).  It's been over 150 years since slavery ended, yet the struggle continues.

In my experience, efforts to include "multiculturalism" in schools are well-intentioned, but misguided and incomplete. For example, studying ancient Native American myths while ignoring the reality of modern reservation life; or studying the Harlem Renaissance, while failing to discuss the appropriation of black culture in music and film today.

Truly diversifying our school curricula and libraries is only a small step toward empowering black and brown children, and teaching white children about how to recognize their privilege and use it for positive change. Perhaps if more students are exposed to diverse ideas, perspectives, and stories, then we won't need movements like Black Lives Matter in the future. Educators have a responsibility to take a hard look at the texts they are using, and ask if there are better options available. For me, Brown Girl Dreaming is an obvious choice, and I look forward to using it in my classroom or library soon.