Reading While Black

I came across Dona Sarkar’s name in the Seattle Weekly article that passed through the romance blogosphere last week. Intrigued by the title of her book, I of course, Googled her. How To Salsa In A Sari is, according to her website, “the story of Issa Mazumder and Catalina Morena, two arch-enemy teenage girls who must learn to put their differences aside and accept a life together after their single parents decide to marry…making Issa and Catalina step-sisters.”

Sarkar’s book is being released under the Kimani Tru imprint, which shows the uneasy way an author who is not black and is not white–and doesn’t write white characters–fits into the publishing game. Based on what I know at the moment, (Barbara) Caridad Ferrer’s YA novels featuring characters of Cuban descent is published by MTV/Pocket. Kim Wong Keltner, whose books starring the slightly sardonic Lindsey Owyang I thoroughly enjoyed is published with Avon A, as is Sonia Singh. I do agree with that Seattle Weekly article when the topic of non-black minorities within the genre navigate crops up. African-American imprints were borne from publishers’ sudden realization that yes, black folks do read, and further exploded with the success of Terry MacMillan, Eric Jerome Dickey, Zane, et al, but what about other non-white and non-black ethnicities? With an apology for making a blanket statement, I theorize that the lack of desire or clamor for imprints, or even just a larger slice of the pie, from non-black and non-white Americans is because for the most part, they’ve “assimilated”, or assimilation is the goal.

Because of slavery and Jim Crow, blacks formed a separate culture that existed within American culture, and as a result, we’re more adamant about having our “own” things because to be honest, a lot of black Americans view white Americans with suspicion and mistrust. However, with a growing Hispanic population (16% compared to 13% for African-Americans), will this soon change? Will Hispanics/Latinos want their “own” imprints etc that reflect themselves and their culture within the context of mainstream society? What of Asians? Or even Muslims of all ethnicities? Or will black Americans continue to have their “own” things because of past hurts and resentments? I think I’m rambling here, but I do wonder whether using every opportunity to separate has more cons than pros, or is it a somewhat “wise” move in the wake of Jena Six, nooses and Buckwheat? For non-blacks, who view assimilation as the key to being “American”, being immigrants, does it have more pros than cons in the scheme of just going to the romance section and not having a separate imprint for your own ethnicity? Or is there a bit of resentment that your voice is “smaller” than the African-American voice?

I don’t know…I struggle to reconcile the history of black Americans with how I live today, while also wanting to understand the voice of people whose history in America is a lot different than my own and deciphering how it fits into popular culture…

I threw my December copy of Romantic Times across the room when I saw one ad in particular.

Apparently this new release by Melanie Jackson features the vampiric incarnation of Alexandre Dumas, pere. Hmm…sounds interesting right? Then I saw the cover, and saw red.

Are they serious? Nathan-frickin-Kemp?

Nathan Kemp on the cover as this man? A mixed-race author whose black ancestry kept him from being treated like the talented author he was in his own time?

Give me a break.

But that has nothing on the ad for Camy Tang’s chick-lit release. A look on wikipedia lists Tang as a Chinese surname, but I’m not going to assume Tang’s ethnicity based on her family name. I will however recount the incredibly insensitive and racist marketing Zondervan has given her. I’m sure the marketing department thought they were so clever to come up with lines like “Tang cooks up a light, spicy, hilarious tale” and “God is in control of both the sweet and sour times of life“, if not the title “Sushi For One” and the series tag “Sushi Series”. I don’t know about you, but sweet and sour is what, a Cantonese or Hunan dish? Those are Chinese provinces—as far from Japan and sushi as possible. But what the hell, all Asian people and cultures are alike anyways, aren’t they? And anything to do with Asians must mention their food and hee-hee, witticisms concerning them. And oh look, the girl on the cover is wearing a qipao. Way to stay in line with the Asian fetishists Zondervan.

The romance genre really scores one for the diversity team.

The main thing that bothers me about the segregation of romances written by black authors and the lack of non-stereotypical diversity within the romance genre, period, is the fairy tale factor. This past week I finally voiced my frustration with commercials. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but when the show is geared towards minorities–most likely the African-American demographic–the commercials feature blacks. Flipping to a “white” show, the commercials for the same products featured whites. There are two movies being released this month, both with a holiday/Christmas theme and both featuring an African-American cast. Wanna bet when they aired the trailers for those movies? Yeah…during Girlfriends and America’s Next Top Model. Yet, last years hit, The Holiday, a movie with a similar theme, but featuring a white cast, was promoted in all sorts of slots. I remember seeing it while watching Gilmore Girls, when I turned to watch the news in the morning, when watching America’s Next Top Model. All of the sudden it hit me and I had to laugh: why can a movie or TV show with a white cast be promoted to everyone, but the moment the cast is made up of a minority group, it is only for that particular group? Why is a show like The Game called a “black comedy”, but a show like How I Met Your Mother, is for everyone?

Why is a romance novel with a white couple, or one white protagonist, for all sorts of readers, but two minorities, or a book featuring one minority protagonist, and most likely written by a minority author, shelved in that section designated for their ethnicity and targeted to them only?

Why is white for everyone, but minority for minority?

“it’s nearly impossible to find an African-American face. Nor any Latina features, nor any Asian figures, nor any sign that love exists for nonwhite women.” — Seattle Weekly

Disney’s little tagline for their Princesses is, as seen above, “there’s a princess in every girl”. I guess that means I’m white on the inside since Belle from Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney Princess. Kidding. But all kidding aside, it’s rather telling that in the sixty plus year history of Disney and their animated fairy tales, the only women of color featured were Mulan, Pocahontas and Jasmine. And the first two aren’t considered to be “princesses”, and while Jasmine is some fetishized, Western “I Dream of Jeannie” Arab woman stereotype, the characterization of Pocahontas was all bad, all around.

Okay, so the history of minorities hasn’t been all “happy” or “fairy tale-ish”, but if Disney could create fake kingdoms (and one under the sea!) for Cinderella, Ariel, Aurora, and Snow White, and a Disneyfied version of the Middle East for Jasmine, why do minority princesses like Mulan, Pocahontas and the upcoming Tiana have to have their stories told against some sort of “historical” backdrop? Isn’t the point of a fairy tale to read about a fantastical, dream-world of a place where dreams could come true? I may be looking too deeply at this, but why couldn’t a black Disney princess be the princess of some magical “African” kingdom set long before 1920? Where is the Mesoamerican princess, perhaps a Mayan or an Inca or an Amazon princess? What about a Korean princess? Or a Persian one? A Russian one? For that matter, why do they have to pull only from Western European fairy tales?

I finally received my issue of Romantic Times and flipping through, I stopped at the Harlequin/Silhouette section to read some Kimani reviews. Then my eye caught on the reviews for Harlequin Presents. I was struck by the wackiness of the titles and then the wacky stereotypes these books–whether the content does or does not–play into. And then I thought, what, with all the Shiekhs, Millionaires, Greeks and Sicilians(why Sicily? Isn’t that were the Mafia originated?) running around, where’s the love for other nationalities?

The byline of their website is “Bringing excitement, passion and romance to readers all over the world“. By this I take it to mean that an Ethiopian Sheikh or a Korean tycoon or a Mexican billionaire( fyi the third richest man in the world is Mexican) can’t offer “excitement, passion and romance to readers all over the world”?

Where is The Nigerian’s Virgin Secretary? or perhaps, The Russian’s Defiant Mistress ? What about The Japanese Prince’s Virgin Bride?

Come on guys…the love needs to spread further than Italy, Greece, Westernized sheikhs and Texan billionaires.

A nationally syndicated radio host is urging black Americans to refrain from spending money Friday, and his efforts are garnering support from some of the civil rights movement’s heaviest hitters.

Radio host and organizer Warren Ballentine hopes a “national blackout” of businesses will send Washington a message that blacks are fed up with racism and injustice, and he rejects criticism that his campaign is un-American.

“The history of our country is about what I’m calling for,” Ballentine said. “If the federal government is not doing what it’s supposed to do, we protest. There’s nothing more American than what I’m calling for.”

The inspirations for the boycott are many: a flurry of nooses hung in public places; the case of six teens charged as adults with attempted murder in Jena, Louisiana, after a racially charged school fight; the conviction of Genarlow Wilson, a black teen charged with child molestation after having consensual oral sex with another teen; and the rape and torture of Megan Williams, a West Virginia woman forced to eat animal feces by six whites who berated her with racial slurs.

Ballentine’s hope is that if elected officials aren’t hearing the voice of black America, maybe they’ll listen when money talks. His efforts have drawn the support of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and several other groups.

By some estimates, the U.S. economy could lose millions of dollars if the more than 40 million African-Americans keep their wallets in their purses and pockets Friday. But it’s difficult to pin down the boycott’s impact because it depends on who takes part and to what extent.

A study by the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth says blacks are expected to spend about $845 billion after taxes this year, or more than $2.3 billion a day — but using that number to gauge the boycott’s effectiveness presupposes that every African-American participates and that no other races join in.

The Top Ten

These states led the nation in terms of black buying power in 2006:

• New York — $75.6 billion
• Texas — $58.1 billion
• California — $55.7 billion
• Georgia — $54.4 billion
• Florida — $52.7 billion
• Maryland — $47 billion
• Illinois — $39.4 billion
• North Carolina — $35.9 billion
• Virginia — $35.1 billion
• Michigan — $31.8 billion

Source: Selig Center for Economic Growth

The number is skewed, too, because it doesn’t account for expenditures such as mortgage payments and utility bills, said Selig Center Director Jeffrey Humphreys. Housing-related expenditures, which account for 36 percent of money doled out by black consumers, are “unlikely to be affected by a one-day boycott,” he said.

Dr. Claud Anderson, president of the Harvest Institute, a Washington-based think tank devoted to black empowerment, applauds the idea of “group economics.”

Asians, Arabs, Hispanics, Jews and whites in the United States generally spend money among themselves, “bouncing” dollars an average of six to 18 times before the money leaves the communities, he said.

“The black dollar does not bounce, not one time in America,” Anderson said. “The only way to eradicate these problems in the black community is to help these people do what everyone else does.”

Racism, Anderson said, is more about socioeconomics and controlling resources than about bigotry. Blacks must resolve to bounce dollars eight to 10 times in their communities to build them up and fix them from within, he said, adding that he’s skeptical of the efficacy of a one-day boycott.

“It’s grabbing for a symbol and a gesture, but I guess that’s better than nothing,” Anderson said. “I guess one step forward’s better than a step backwards.”

Though the potential impact is uncertain, several civil rights icons and organizations are backing the blackout — including Martin Luther King III and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference — all of whom say “the system” is failing the U.S. The groups also are trying to rally protesters for a November 16 march on the Justice Department in Washington.

Sharpton said in a statement that until recently the federal government had a good record of combating racism over the past 50 years.

President Eisenhower defended the Little Rock Nine, President Kennedy protected the Freedom Riders and President Johnson stood up for voting rights, “but this federal government has done nothing for the Jena 6 or to stem the rising tide of hate that includes a proliferation of nooses and swastikas,” Sharpton said.

Ballentine, who goes by the radio handle “the people’s attorney,” said he also is dismayed by issues like shoddy imports from China, the outsourcing of jobs overseas, the housing market’s flood of foreclosures and President Bush’s request for $196 billion in war spending and his veto of a children’s health insurance bill.

The latter two issues are particularly disappointing, Ballentine said, because they send a message that the U.S. doesn’t care about its next generation.

“I think it’s almost embarrassing that Congress puts together a bill that’s already funded and [Bush] says, ‘No, that’s too much for our children,’ ” Ballentine said. “In the same breath, you ask for $190 billion for a war?”

Though the endeavor predominantly targets the black community, Ballentine said injustice is colorblind and he is “appealing to anybody who’s humanitarian, anyone who believes in justice.”

Ballentine said he realizes it will be impossible for everyone to make it through the day without spending a dime. If you have to spend money, Ballentine said, be conscious of where it’s going.

“Spend it with people or organizations that are actually doing things to help us and our community,” he said. “My hope is that we can all come together. Part of our healing is working together.”

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