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Classics that avoid racism.
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I am putting together a twaddle-free book list for my 6th grader. I would like to avoid books where racist ideas or language is used. I know there are those who say that we should just dive into the racist classics, and have great discussions about them. I don’t agree with this. In our house, not hurting my child is more important than any one book. We teach him the love of God, and deliberately hurting him would not exemplify that idea. This is non-negotiable for me.
This list is difficult for me because as a child, I was not led to read the classics, and don’t really know when I may encounter racism in reading these books. It seemed easy in the earlier years, the booklists tended to naturally avoid racism.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
I guess what I wonder is what is your definition of “racism”??? I don’t know many classics that intentionally set out to be racist. Do you mean by “racism”
1. Books with any current attitudes that do not match with today’s?
2. Books with ANY mention of slavery?
3. Books with any racial terms used that are not in vogue today?
4. Do you object to a) anti-black b) anti-white c) anti-Jewish d) anti-English e) anti-French f) anti-Catholic g)anti-Protestant h)anti-Mormon i)anti-anything, anyone, anywhere?
5. Books with any character of one race that is portrayed negatively? Or only books with one particular race with a person portrayed negatively?
6. Books that SHOW racism but clearly disapprove of it?
7. Books that do not have equal amounts of characters of all races imaginable, all portrayed positively?
It will depend on what you mean by “racism” what I answer.
Hi, thanks.
Question 1 is difficult to answer as the current attitudes are not defined.
Question 2: The mere mention of slavery itself is not a deal-breaker, as long as the storyline doesn’t revolve around specifics relating to slavery.
Question 3: Books in which racist terms are used casually, and disparaging remarks based on skin color or nationality appear to be accepted by the adults in the book, or in general in the community they live in.
For example, Laura Ingalls Wilder books, GA Henty Books, the Secret Garden, How to kill a Mockingbird or Huckleberry Finn, Doctor Dolittle.
Question 4. Yes, to all excluding f, h, and i. I am an introvert, so I almost didn’t add (i) to the list but for the sake of this conversation… 🙂
Question 5. As long it is obvious that the one character potrayed negatively is a ‘bad seed’, and not indicative of the characteristics of a community as a whole, I have no qualms.
Question 6. I generally do not have issues with this. That being said, I want to avoid books that have an insidious use of racist language even if the perpetrator is villified. To Kill A Mockingbird comes to mind.
Question 7. Yes and no. Diversity is important, but not necessary. Most classics, I have come to accept, do not have much diversity in the human characters. In many cases the lack of it is of no regard, for example Where the Red Fern Grows or Charlotte’s Web.
Much of it is in the intention but that is not the whole of it. It is painful to read racist language specifically related to Jews, Native Americans, Muslims and Blacks (and others…these four just seem to be the ones that get the most mention) and I don’t feel comfortable doing that with my children, so even if intention is honorable, I will still be avoiding those in which the language is overwhelmingly racist.
Thanks so much for responding.
The Thornton Burgess books have a character blacky the crow for example and as I recall use anthropomorphism to imposes races on the animal characters such that the “black” animals have negative traits.
I have a few questions:
1. How is The Secret Garden racist? Because of the different accent of the Yorkshire people? Because of the way Indian servants are spoken to?
2. How are Little House books racist?
3. Will you never teach your child about the Holocaust? Or the Civil War? Or the Revolutionary War? Or the Trail of Tears?
4. You don’t object to anti-Catholic or anti-Mormon language?
I think what these ladies are getting at is that it is not possible to escape sin. The heart is deceptively wicked. While I don’t endorse books that are blatantly and intentionally racist, the fact is racism on many levels exists. I would prefer my children encounter their first experience with many sins through well-written, living books discussed with loving parents than in their faces without a clue how to deal with it. I have a Chinese son. He will deal with this. I want him to be prepared. C.S. Lewis said it was dangerous and deceptive to only give children sugar-coated books because it paints a picture of a world that doesn’t exist. Living books teach real life and since that’s where we live, that’s what I want my children to read.
I’m wracking my brain for ideas, but as I was considering your list I also wondered if you have any concerns about sexism and classism.
Ladies, she knows her student, and you do not. Perhaps the student isn’t ready to handle this topic yet. She was asking for book titles not a lecture on what is or isn’t right for her specific child.
Would something like Anne of Green Gables work?
You might check the free curriculum guide for grade 6 suggestions. Read reviews. That sort of thing. Some of the books you’ve listed as not to be read, our family enjoyed. I don’t recall issues with them, but it’s been a while.
What about the different horse books by Marguirite (sp?) Henry. I have read Justin Morgan Had a Horse & don’t recall anything along racial lines.
Haven’t read them yet, but we recently (after having seen so many solid reviews on the content and the quality of the writing) added Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series to our list (there are at least 8 in the series and they are BIG books). Again, I have no details on whether it meets your criteria but perhaps it’s worth checking?
Thanks for the responses. This is not an easy question I know.
I will try to answer the questions.
Lindsey-
Questions 1 & 2: Those books do have accepted racism in them. In the Laura Ingalls books, the family that accepts the racism is otherwise admirable, and I don’t want my young child to be confused as to how that could be so. It might hurt him. And not hurting my son is more important than him reading those books. I read Little House on the Prairie and watched the show. I remember as a child, being confused and hurt by how they treated brown people on the show. If Ma and Pa Ingalls were rapists or theives, and portrayed in the positive light that they are in those books, I would not read them to him. I would rather my boys admire folks who are actually admirable.
Question 3: Yes, I will. Yes, I will. Yes, I will. Yes I sure will. He’s learning about all of those all the time. But in the proper context. Those books are not the proper context. The racism in them is accepted.
4. I do not have issues with my boys learning about any particular religion not being accepted, even Christianity. They are learning about GOD and the story of our human history, and I trust that GOD will guide their hearts in truth in that matter. Those issues are not personally painful for him. He knows if someone doesn’t accept Christianity, it’s between them and GOD.
Robin, my issue here is not with the sin in those books. My son sees sin. I sin alot. He sees that and he sees my distress over my nature. He sins and we talk about it. He knows that other people sin, and he sees consequences. We are reading through the Bible, and he knows that one of my favorite people, David, sinned. ALOT.
My goal here is to avoid hurting him. He’s Black. And while he will confront people who are racist during his life, he is ten. I don’t want to have to try to explain to him why racism is so accepted in this country. I don’t know the answer myself.
I don’t understand why kids of any nationality are being taught that books are ‘great books’, when, in the books, the ‘honorable’ characters demean people based on skin color. And I can’t explain that to him.
There is a difference between a sugar-coated book and one that is personally painful. I’m assuming you know the history with Black people in America. He is learning about it too. Reading those books would be akin to being a bully – I will not poke him with a needle, to teach him a lesson.
Rebekah, I have issues with hurting my son, if that answers your question. OH Mom – Thank you. I appreciate that. You’re abolutely correct, with all points. And Anne of Green Gables is on my list, definately.
TailorMade – often reviews don’t mention that sort of thing. Bethanna – thanks, I will check those out.
Angelina – Thanks, I have wanted those books for quite a while. Unfortunately my library doesn’t carry many of them so they always have an awfully long hold and I keep forgetting to buy them from Amazon. I’ve read that Peter Duck does have the word ‘nigger’ in it, but it’s not meant to be offensive – it doesn’t actually refer to humans at all, but to colors..it’s meant only as ‘black’. My kids know that ‘nigger’ is the illiterate’s way of saying ‘negro’, which does actually mean black in Spanish.
Just want to say, first, that I think you are handling some tough responses in a very gracious way here.
Second, I am white…and one of my best friends is black. Until I knew her, I had no idea how these subtle differences were accepted in our culture. My friend is one the most educated, erudite, talented, Godly and compasssionate people I know. I am priveledged to have her for a friend. But I do see the subtle differences in how she is treated (and even how I am treated) when I am with her…it may not be ‘overt’ but it is definitely there. So I ‘kind of’ get it – as much as an Irish girl can ;0).
I also started noticing and being bothered by the racism in these books when all this occurred to me – and we got rid of them. I don’t allow my kids to read stories where there are no repercussions for racism or prejudice – where it is ‘normalized’. And I think that may be what has gone on with these ‘classics’. The racism is subtle, so those who aren’t effected by it don’t really see it.
I would challenge everyone to really consider this question, and maybe re-read some of the books we consider ‘classic’. Where you see attitudes of racism, etc. try to substitute a quality that YOUR child possesses, and see how it sits with you. For example, if your child has brown hair, try plugging that attribute into the story in the place of ‘negro’ and see if you would be comfortable reading that to your child. I think we would all be surprised at what an exercise in compassion that might be.
Personally, I think there are few of these books that your children MUST read to be considered well-educated. “To Kill a Mockingbird” comes to mind as a very important book for social themes (including racism) that are involved, but it certainly doesn’t have to be read…at least not until high school. I would find authors that you like and ‘trust’, and read through their series. And while you don’t find that professional reviews generally mention racism, religious intolerence, etc., I find that if I read Amazon’s customer reviews thoroughly I can generally find the ‘ugly’ in a book before we decide to read it.
I sympathize with your desire not to hurt your son’t heart.
I was interested to know which Laura Ingalls book had racism in it? I consider this an important thing for me to know. We read the books to my older kids when they were little and I don’t recall that issue coming up. They listened to some of the books on tape so I might have missed it that way.
Please let me know as we plan to read them but I want to be able to point out to my children that this is a bad example of behavior.
TailorMade – often reviews don’t mention that sort of thing. 
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