I never have to wonder why I write what I write…here’s a recent review posted by a teacher on Amazon:
1.0 out of 5 stars Just the Thing to Stir Up Racial TensionJune 30, 2012By Biblically Informed ReaderThis review is from: A Wish After Midnight (Paperback)I won this book as part of a prize in a drawing for teachers. Frankly, I am appalled. I would never use it with my students. It’s nothing but poorly written, mind-in-the-gutter, depressing trash destined to incite racial tensions, rather than to encourage unifying discussion. Surely there is something better than this to offer the youth of our nation.
I read seven more Ruth Chew novels yesterday and continue to find striking similarities between her books and mine—except I’m sure the above teacher would *love* Chew’s sanitized version of historical events…
Fledgling 
I have heard the “why do we need to keep talking about this” discourse many, many times from whites of all ages. Many seem to believe that talking about race in anything other than a benign “celebrate diversity” way is damaging because it incites division. I just finished field research in a suburban high school and, sadly, this discourse was prevalent among white students and even among a few students of color. As I mentioned to you when we met at ChLA, white publishers found my novel, which explores present day institutional racism in education “anachronistic.” Hmm.
Well, she certainly has a right to whatever opinion she wants about the subject, but to say that the writing is poor shows a woeful lack of intelligence. You write some of the most beautiful prose I’ve ever seen. Clearly, her emotions were blinding her objectivity, which I find disturbing in a teacher.
I feel nothing but sadness for that teacher and every student that she has taught. It must have been a real stretch for her and maybe she will someday seek to find a way to approach the subject material and figure out a positive way to express the time and situations. Zetta, keep on expressing it in the way you did so to keep the kids reading and learning.
Ditto everything above. Brush it off.
Thanks, ladies—though I should have made it clear that I never take those kind of comments to heart…in fact, I wish this review had been posted before I delivered that conference paper in Boston last month. The exclusion of writers of color is at least partly based on the discomfort many whites feel when it comes to issues of race—esp. white supremacy and white privilege. This “Biblically informed reader” makes that argument better than I ever could! My cousin’s husband suggested that teacher may be from Texas—which is entirely possible. S/he sure sounds like those nuts in AZ—“this book incites racial tension!” as though said tension doesn’t already exist! But s/he could also be from Vermont or New York City. I thought it was likely s/he was Canadian! The real tragedy is that this teacher has probably spent a lifetime shaping young minds…gatekeepers aren’t just the editors at publishing houses who write the rejection letters–they’re the parents and teachers and librarians who feel they’re protecting kids by choosing “safe” books…God forbid we actually teach the youth the truth!
“Biblically Informed Reader”? Welp, that says it all about how the reviewer would relate to your book.
This has me thinking about how history textbooks in Texas and other Southern states can’t use the word slavery or talk about it in a negative context.
Right? I wonder if this teacher’s boss knows his/her religious approach to selecting classroom material. Bill Moyers had Khalil Muhammad on to discuss the rewriting of history: http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-confronting-the-contradictions-of-america%E2%80%99s-past/