Hello, and welcome back to my blog. If this is your first time visiting, my name is Rebekah Lion and I am the creator of Lion Weekly. If you haven’t already make sure you subscribe to my blog and check back weekly for updates. Also, don’t forget to like, comment, and share on all social platforms.
Quote of The Blog
“Is it really for me, if no one looks or thinks like me?” - Rebekah A. Lion
#DiverseAuthorMatter is a movement I came about while in one of my MANY college english classes. Although we only spent a week or two on the topic, it brought to light somethings that I never thought about. While going over this part of class I started to reflect back on my experiences with books while growing up. As a middle or upper middle class black girl, it was hard to find books that not only had black characters but, characters I could relate to in my school and public library. Not because they didn‘t stock those type of books but simply because there were VERY few.
Most of the books with black main characters were written by old white men who thought that everything they saw on TV was the reality of ALL black children. So, most of the books were about the main characters parents abandoning them to take care of their siblings while trying to stay away from gangs.
However, books were the main characters was white, were about normal teen drama or a girl determining how she would tell her crush she liked him. So for me, a lack of connection with the characters, caused me to read books less and less as I got older. I wanted a book were the main character looked like me with similar problems as me. However, I didn’t realize this until I was sitting in my college english class discussing the #DiverseAuthorsMatter movement. The lack of diversity in the mainstream books caused me to lose my love for reading simply because none of the characters were like me. This being because none of the books were by people like me.
I can just imagine what other minorities must have felt like with even fewer books with characters who look, feel, or think like they do. #DiverseAuthorsMatter at the simplest level to keep people engaged and connected to the books they read. However, is this the most important thing ..... To Be Continued!