Love Letter to Diversity

At the first library conference I ever went to, I sat on the floor in a packed room while Andrea Davis Pinkney gave a lunch lecture to a crowd of Wisconsin librarians. She talked about the importance of diversity in picture books, and “showing the face” of black and brown children up front and center on the covers of books. Her presentation was engaging, visual, and included a call to action:

Write a love letter to diversity. Here is mine.

In general, I try to make a habit of surrounding myself with people who might have something to teach me. I'm firmly of the philosophy "I want to be the dumbest person in the room." In seeking out environments filled with people who are smarter than me, have been made aware of how much I have to learn, how much I still do not know how much I do not know. In moving through these experiences, I learned the importance of educating myself so as not to put the onus of educating me on people of color, of disabled people, of LGBTQ+ people. And the learning that has followed continues to be the most complex, the most compelling, sometimes the most painful, and the most valuable of my life so far.

To me, at it’s best and truest, diversity is
Exciting.
Comforting.
Opportunity.
Respect.
Empathy.
Equity.
Innovation.
Strength.
Creative.
Complicated.

As a librarian serving young people, much of my focus on diversity is funneled into children’s literature. Rudine Sims Bishop’s theory of literature as “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors” is such a profound metaphor for its succinct way of describing exactly why diverse kidlit is important.

I love how the world opens up to me through reading diverse books. I love the feeling of community that comes from reading a book with diverse voices. I love the thrill of danger that truly diverse stories pose to the status quo. I love diversity because I love truth, even if it makes me uncomfortable while I learn.

As is so often true, wisdom comes from the mouths of drag queens. On season 10 of RuPaul's Drag Race, contestant Eureka responds to a question on the importance of drag with these words:

“I think in this political climate right now, we’re all afraid. For us, to escape maybe the trials and tribulations we went through in our lives, we do drag to celebrate ourselves, our femininity. People celebrate drag with us because it’s a way for them to escape, and a way for them to belong. In the political climate we’re in right now, none of us feel like we belong, truly.”

Applied broadly, this sentiment eloquently describes why I love diverse literature (and drag!). The intersection of my identities places me firmly in the majority of Western culture. I am centered, I am privileged. And yet, what Eureka was saying in the above quote applies for me too, beyond politics, and deep into what books have always done for me. I have often felt afraid. Too weird to fit in, or too far behind, or too ______. A diverse world that priorities equity and justice benefits everybody. Diversity embraces uniqueness. It means not having to shave off parts of ourselves in order to belong.

Diverse voices and characters in children’s literature increase the likelihood that you see yourself represented and reflected. The quote “We read to know we’re not alone” rings truer. Diverse literature improves your chances of reading about the life of someone much different from you and being inspired to empathy rather than fear. What a world could be possible if we learned to truly empathize rather than fear each other from the time we are very young?

Reading Pet by Akwaeke Emezi has been one of my favorite experiences of reading an #OwnVoices novel to date. It presents such an authentic blend of intersecting diverse identities. It is a cry of hope, a cautionary tale, and a call to action. In an interview with Kirkus, Emezi says “The first step to making a lived reality is to imagine it, and when you have stories like Pet you can start imagining it.”

Let that stand as a reason for diverse children’s literature to flourish and grow, ushering a future of beloved community in with it.