One thing that has struck me in the weeks leading up to the inauguration of President Biden is the diversity of his Cabinet picks. This may be the first Cabinet in history to accurately reflect “America.” Half are women, half are people of color, and LGBTQ people are openly represented. This diverse group seems deeply committed to a common goal of working to better the lives of Americans. While they will not always be successful, they will be unified in commitment to the Constitution and America’s founding principles.
There are those who think that discussions about representation are harmful, or that talking about multiculturalism or systemic issues somehow creates the problem. Ezra Klein writes in “Why We’re Polarized”: “The alternative to polarization often isn’t consensus but suppression. We don’t argue over the problems we don’t discuss. But we don’t solve them either.” Michael Kimmel, in Privilege: A Reader, states: “To be white, or straight, or male, or middle class is to be simultaneously ubiquitous and invisible. You’re everywhere you look, you’re the standard against which everyone else is measured. You’re like water, like air. People will tell you they went to see a ‘woman doctor’ or they will say they went to see ‘the doctor.’ People will tell you they have a ‘gay colleague’ or they’ll tell you about a colleague. A white person will be happy to tell you about a ‘Black friend,’ but when that same person simply mentions a ‘friend,’ everyone will assume the person is white. Any college course that doesn’t have the word ‘woman’ or ‘gay’ or ‘minority’ in its title is a course about men, heterosexuals, and white people. But we call those courses ‘literature,’ ‘history’ or ‘political science.’” While it would be nice if someday we didn’t need Women’s History Month or Black History Month, we won’t get there if we don’t acknowledge the issues that create a default setting. Is there some moral, religious and cultural singularity that can be called “American?” For too many people, the answer is yes, and that singularity is white US-born Christian man. Perhaps some of the difference is in how we choose to define and interpret words. The same word can be used as insult or compliment, depending on the situation and the intent. We have certainly seen that lately as heated rhetoric has exploded into actual violence. The Capitol was stormed by people carrying flags of the Nazi regime, the Confederacy, and replacing the Stars and Stripes with a TRUMP flag. They have the support of many Christians and even carried “Jesus loves Trump” signs. They consider themselves patriots. Are they “America?” It is still a time of self-examination as individuals and as a country. We have a brand-new opportunity to define what it means to be American. How can we live up to our commitment to the Constitution and ideals? How can we help to create a more perfect union—without the need for it to look or worship or celebrate or speak just like we do? Representation matters, but sometimes that is seen as multiculturalism and has been ridiculed and resisted. In my childhood books and television shows, there were few people of color, and they were rarely in main roles. When authors and TV writers began to add diverse characters, they were often tokens or stereotypes. Some of the early “multicultural” children’s books made sure to put an African-American, a person with a visible disability, an Asian, a girl, etc. into prominent places in the pictures, even when they weren’t discussed in the story. It was almost a mathematical equation that if you put one of each kind of person, it was inclusive. This was not the solution, but it was a start. Today, there is a joyful celebration of diversity in children’s books. Children (and grownup children) can see themselves realistically portrayed as central to the action, no matter who they are or where they are on life’s journey. Today’s children have never seen the world with only white characters even though it still takes effort to find diverse examples. They can aspire to anything and see someone who looks like them. The Supreme Court, the White House, the ballet, the lab, even outer space have come to life. We have “discovered” people like Katherine Johnson, the human computer from Hidden Figures, through books and movies. I say discovered, even though they have been there all along. American history is full of heroes and heroines of many colors, religions, cultures, sexual orientations, and more, and celebrating this fact doesn’t seem antithetical to our founders’ dreams and plans. I challenge you to examine your definitions. Look at your unique circumstance. Look at the world around you. During February’s Black History Month and March’s Women’s History Month, learn about a part of American history that you may have missed in school. The Smithsonian, PBS, and the History Channel are places to start. Our young poet laureate Amanda Gorman stated, in her inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb,” that “while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption we feared since its inception. We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour, but within it we found the power to author a new chapter to offer hope and laughter to ourselves.” What will our history book say about our choices in 2021?
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AuthorMichelle Dettmann is the volunteer head librarian for the ABCDLibrary project. Michelle graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, with a degree in Elementary Education and a passion for children's literature and literacy. A lifelong member of the United Church of Christ, she is dedicated to their principles of justice, accessibility, and embrace of diversity. Archives
June 2021
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