Change Can Start with a Book

“The tales told by darkness, by the shadows, by the Dark Ones are never completely erased or removed, but are simply ‘hidden in plain sight.’ For it is not only history that has been irrevocably inscribed by its victors, but also memory and imagination itself.”
by Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games

Yes, the world needs to change. It must learn to adapt to its new environment. And it will be a challenge, but it can be done. But that will not happen if we do not make changes at the individual level. We must first change ourselves. Once we have changed our views, we can help bring clarity to our friends, family, communities, and then the world.

How can we do this? Simple, read a book.

How can reading a book help change the world? It can’t be that simple.

Good question.

Have you read a book that was outside your race, gender, and/or point of view (POV)?

No?

By reading a book that is outside you race, gender, or POV – it allows you to connect and understand the different perceptions of people not like you. There is a lack of diversity in the standard books and stories. How can we promote change when we don’t know or understand the struggles of others?

As adults we have the freedom to decide what we take in and read but as teenagers and young adults, we are shaped by others – before having our own choice – on what is required and allowed by the adults in our lives. Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, author of The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games touches on the conversations about the media and in the publishing world to be more diverse and “advocate for greater inclusion of people of color within stories” but that it goes beyond just getting more works published or televised. It is getting people to read or watch it – “to voluntarily choose” those stories and media.

Dr. Thomas points this out the power of differences for a reader in some of the most famous young adult literature – explaining why this is an issue that needs change:

          Readers of color realize that the characters I am rooting for are not
          positioned like me in the real world, and the characters that are
          positioned like me are not the team to root for? How do these readers
          respond to this absence? Do they assume an assimilationist stance?
          People are people – I can relate to any character. Do they assume a
          stance of resistance? This story contains no one like me – therefore, it
          is not for me (19).

Reading is such a simple step in this path to change. There are so many other things you can do to make change within our world, and I encourage you to do all the things. But the best way for change to happen is to learn, to understand, but to also step outside what you are comfort with – this allows you to be a better, more effective conduit of change

Words are powerful and books have plenty of words. Imagine the power you can get from reading and then sharing that story – those words. It is a simple step in the right direction and now I challenge you are a reader.

“Stories are magic.
Every time one person shares a story with another, that energy grows –
The energy of stories is the magic that connects all the worlds.”
by Emily McKay, Storybound

I challenge you to view your bookshelf. By viewing your bookshelf, see who is representative, who is writing your stories? Who are the characters you are reading? Take a photo of your bookshelf and share the authors, books, and characters that are different from you.

Do you have books that are written by a different race from you? Are there characters in the books you do read from a different race? Do you have authors that are from a different gender? Find a new book or an author that is outside your race, gender, and/or POV to read. Share this book with us, your family, friends, and other online communities. I ask that you use #viewyourbookshelf to share your views but also to be able to see what other people are reading to make change.

Who am I that allows me to speak about change starting with a book?

I am currently the Staff Co-Chair of the Women’s Faculty & Staff Network (WFSN) for the University of Texas at Arlington. WFSN is not only here to empower women but also to provide a platform to be inclusive and advocate the opportunity to teach and learn across multiple areas.

As part of the WFSN I help coordinate and run the WFSN book club. I also have over fourteen years of running and coordinating two personal book clubs that meet presently, a genre book club (2007) and a romance book club (2010).

The WFSN’s spring 2021 book is The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. And Dr. Thomas states this book is about “opening the conversation” and it has opened a dialogue for change.

As I started to read The Dark Fantastic, I was thinking about the books that I have on my own self and who is represented. I do have representation of other races, genders, and POVs but most of my books are written by white people with white heroes/heroines. And thus, this article and challenge was created. I wanted to know who I had on my selves and I am curious to know what other readers have as well. And what new stories I need to add that I am missing out on. This is a great way to engage with others, it all starts with support and sharing.

These views are my own, thank you for reading.

Warmly,
Mistie Maskil

Works Cited

McKay, E (2020). Storybound. Entangled Publishing, LLC
Thomas, E. E. (2020). The Dark Fantastic: Race and the imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games. NYU Press.