Choosing titles by diverse authors with BIPOC characters can not only help your students of color see themselves in the books they read in class, but also allow your white students to learn more about people and places that are different from their lived experiences. Therefore I wanted to share a few texts that you could add to your classroom library.
American Street by Ibi Zobol is about a Haitian immigrant named Fabiola who has come to live in the United States with family in Detroit. As Fabiola and her mother enter the country, Fabiola moves through customs because she is an American citizen, but her mother is detained because she overstayed her visa years ago when she gave birth to Fabiola. Through the story we learn about the Haitian culture, how Fabiola navigates her new environment, and her struggle to get her mother out of immagration custody. This story could compliment or be part of a text set with other stories about the American Dream such as The Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman, Nickeled and Dimed, or Behold the Dreamers. Teachers using this text should familiarize themselves with the Haitian culture and the earthquake in 2010 because Fabiola is still traumatized by living through that event, and makes comparisons to American life.
Internment by Samira Ahmed is set “15 minutes in the future” of an America that lives in fear of Muslims. As a result of this fear and rhetoric from the President, the government decides to send Muslim Americans to an internment camp. In the story Layla and her family are taken from their home because someone has made a report about poetry written by Layla’s father. At the camp, Layla and her new friends try to navigate life in their new “home” while figuring out how to get their freedom. Ahmed intertwines this story with current references to the debate on immigration and the fears expressed in the media, while also referencing Japanese internment camps in the United States during World War II. This novel could be paired with news articles to help your students see how fear mongering and stereotyping can lead us into the fictional world portrayed in this text.
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo is about Emoni who is naturally talented as a chef, and truly gets to bloom in her high school’s culinary class. Throughout the novel Emoni works to balance her responsibilities as a student and mother, and her dreams of becoming a restaurant chef. This is a captivating story that will have you rooting for Emoni because of her hardworking drive to meet the needs of her family while doing what she can to achieve her dream.
Teaching with Equity 