Are Kids' Books Reflecting Apartheid or a General Lack of Color?

Below is an interesting and thoughtful piece on children's books in general and books with people of color in particular.  Have a look.

A survey of children's literature by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center has found that of 3,200 books surveyed (out of an estimated 5,000 books published) in 2013, only 93 were about African-Americans.African-American children’s book authors Walter Dean Myers and his son Christopher Myers are both concerned about the lack of diversity in children’s literature. (Malin Fezehal)

That dismal statistic prompted African-American children’s book author Walter Dean Myers and his son Christopher Myers to write side-by-side op-ed pieces for The New York Times.

Dean and Christopher Myers

Walter Dean Myers’s piece asked “Where Are the People of Color in Children’s Books?” while Christopher Myers characterized the situation as an “The Apartheid of Children’s Literature.”

I am determined to use my life as a template for these kids. If I can do this, so can they. ---Walter Dean Myers
                                   
As Christopher Myers tells Here & Now’s Robin Young, the issue is not only that children of color need to see people who look like themselves in these books, but also that “these books are used as fantasy, these books are used as ways that kids can make road maps for their own lives, and if we don’t give them proper road maps, where are they going to end up?”