I am no expert on racism. I know in my heart, soul, body, and experience it is real. Running away from any discussion of it or keeping it inside of you is not honest, and it is not teaching our children how to cope with our feelings. My children's book writing focuses on feelings. Coping, facing, experiencing, and discerning your feelings will make you a more resilient person. Banning books that make us feel uncomfortable will only make our society weak. We as a society need to face things that make us feel uncomfortable at developmentally appropriate ages. Our society needs to teach children to be citizens of the world.
The idea that institutional racism does not exist anymore and hearing that word makes you feel bad and that you should never feel bad is delusional. Living in a world where people only feel good in their own little bubble of existence and refuse to consider the feelings or experience of people who are not like themselves might feel great, but it is not sustainable. If there is only one way to experience and look at your world, your world gets smaller.
To be the best and better than all of the rest we need to include everyone no matter what their gender, race, or creed. That is what America is about, so why can't we try to understand one another? When fifty percent of Americans are reading on a fourth grade reading level or below, I choose to write my books on a basil reading level in thoughtful ways.
Motivation to care about others starts early from the desire to communicate with others. Education can be the great equalizer. So I am beginning a basil reading series that helps children express and know their feelings. Feelings aren't right or wrong, they just are. Respecting others, listening, taking turns, sharing, expressing needs, and considering the feelings of others are basic skills we need to teach. If our lawmakers of today were taught compassion for the feelings of others forty years ago, they would not be banning powerful books that instruct them and their children on the experience of people who are not like them. Running away from uncomfortable feelings the suffering or experience of people who are not like you will not make you a more resilient person. It will weaken the fabric of your world.
