https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj Antonette Gum, Brianna High, & Dorienne Lyn en-us 2018-06-21 19:56:14 UTC 2018-06-26 12:29:31 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Hotsun.png bzh1 https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj/wish/268145358  Scholars, such as Bishop, began examining the world of children's literature and the role of African Americans within it more critically, and the 1960-70s, saw a increase in literature that more accurately presented a depiction of African Americans intended for all children. The idea that African Americans should tell their stories in their own words is a strong idea within Bishop's work, not only for the sake of authenticity but as a means of rectifying previous portrayals of African Americans.

Nearly 50% of books featuring African Americans are written by non-African Americans. Bishop mentions there were disagreements associated with the "author's cultural background or perspective" and the effects its has on the works they produce. What are your opinions of this? Do you think that non-African Americans can effectively create stories that reflect the experiences, culture, and perspectives of African Africans?]]> 2018-06-21 19:56:14 UTC https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj/wish/268145358 bzh1 https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj/wish/268146137 Rudine Sims Bishop's research explores the presence of African American literature throughout the history of children's literary arts in the United States. Until the last half of the 20th century, nearly all mainstream children's books were written by and for Caucasian children. This left African Americans with little choice but to consume books that did little to represent their personal culture, challenges, values or experiences. When African Americans were actually represented,  they were grossly misrepresented in a stereotypical, mocking or pitiful way.
The root of the problem being that Caucasian people were writing about African Americans as they viewed them, not who African Americans truly were.

Think of the texts you had access to and read as a child. Were there a wide range of individuals featured or did you find that the available stories were monocultural?

When you do read stories featuring African Americans, how are they being portrayed?

]]> 2018-06-21 20:07:05 UTC https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj/wish/268146137 bzh1 https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj/wish/268146614 Bishop maintains the importance of considering literature created by African Americans in relation to the time period in which it was written, taking into account historical, social, cultural and political events of the time. Bishop concluded that African American children's literature is unique in its focus on the following key points: the significance of family, respecting and valuing one's elders, being part of a community, understanding African American history including the accomplishments within it and being confident and proud of who they are.

Why do you think elders play such a key role in African American literature?
Why might community be an important aspect in African American literature?]]> 2018-06-21 20:14:46 UTC https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj/wish/268146614 bzh1 https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj/wish/268159470 Although this particular article focused the development of African American children' literature, Bishop does mention that there have been an increase in studies on other multicultural groups in literature  (i.e. different Native American, Latinx, and Asian cultures as well as the LGBT community).

Why is it critical for studies to be centered on diverse literature?

How might these studies benefit you as an educator?

How would you personally incorporate literature to encompass the diverse backgrounds that make up most classrooms?


]]> 2018-06-21 23:32:43 UTC https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj/wish/268159470 bzh1 https://padlet.com/bzh1/31wb7ikfa0xj/wish/268160197 This section will be used to compile a list of African American children's literature that your classmates may want to incorporate in their own classrooms. 

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