Diversity, not division

Let me start this by telling you an embarrassing story about me. When I first started as an agent, I never wore my hair in its natural state. This is because, like most black people, I had been taught from a very early age that natural textured hair is seen as unruly and therefore unprofessional. Now I am not going to bring you the long-tortured history of black hair, but needless to say no one in the workplace, saw my hair as anything other than straight and my edges as anything less than laid. And then one day, my hairdryer broke – right after I washed it. Continue reading at 'The Bookseller'

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-08 21:57:21 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Diversity, not division"


Belgian comic book withdrawn amid outrage over racist depictions

Publisher ‘profoundly sorry’ for hurt caused by Spirou and the Blue Gorgon as it recalls 30,000 copies from shopsA comic book has been withdrawn from sale by its Belgian publisher after an outcry over racist depictions of black people and “hyper-sexualised” images of women.The publisher Dupuis... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-11-05 13:10:34 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: April 26, 2023

“I learned at a very early age that I wouldn’t be getting from my mother what most kids get from their mothers.” Lucinda William recalls the turbulence of growing up with a sick mother. | Lit Hub Memoir Diksa Bashu on learning to cook as an adult—and how returning to her grandmother’s Delhi... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-26 10:30:07 UTC ]
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Richard Charkin: ‘Vestigial Organs’ in Medicine and Publishing

Drawing on his medical-student days, Richard Charkin examines some of the ‘vestigial’ traditions in international book publishing. By Richard Charkin | @RCharkin ‘Because We’ve Always Done It That Way’ nyone of my generation from a recently naturalized family such as mine–who showed any talent... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-07-21 17:15:59 UTC ]
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Liberation is having a space to call your own. L.A.'s Reparations Club proves it

For founder and owner Jazzi McGilbert, the concept bookshop and creative space is a physical offering for Black people in L.A. to be themselves. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-06-17 19:58:19 UTC ]
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How Are Libraries Recognizing Black History Month?

Libraries can celebrate BHM with displays, events, and more — but it won't mean much if the library isn't a safe place for Black people. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-02-03 11:31:00 UTC ]
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An abolitionist’s hope meets a president’s hypocrisy

Frederick Douglass pushed for progress for Black people, but Andrew Johnson erased it. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-03 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Zakiya Dalila Harris: ‘Publishing is such a spoofable world’

The author of a debut novel about diversity in the workplace on how black people act around white people, embracing her hair, and what’s changed a year after George Floyd’s murderZakiya Dalila Harris was born and raised in Connecticut and is currently based in Brooklyn. Now a full-time writer,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-06-05 17:00:15 UTC ]
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What the Black Writers’ Guild did next

One of the things that Black people know to be true is that when we lift up our voices to celebrate our joy, share our pain, or warn of the injustices levelled against our communities, we are often silenced—either by being denied the necessary platforms to elevate our voices, or by wilful... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-09 17:56:08 UTC ]
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Stop being ‘nice’, start doing good: 15 steps to doing better

Having collected views from Black people across the publishing industry for the past year, the Black Agents and Editors’ Group has outlined 15 steps for how those in the trade can do better. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-09 07:18:36 UTC ]
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Diversity, not division

Let me start this by telling you an embarrassing story about me. When I first started as an agent, I never wore my hair in its natural state. This is because, like most black people, I had been taught from a very early age that natural textured hair is seen as unruly and therefore... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-08 21:57:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this


George Orwell is out of copyright. What happens now?

Much of the author’s work may have fallen into public ownership in the UK, but there are more restrictions on its use remaining than you might expect, explains his biographerGeorge Orwell died at University College Hospital, London, on 21 January 1950 at the early age of 46. This means that... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-01-01 11:00:08 UTC ]
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A Theologian Finds Black Culture, Struggle and Hope in Scripture

Easu McCaulley takes on the 'barbershop or barbeque questions' Black people have about how the Bible addresses their lives —and reveals God's love. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Vice Media Urges Marketers to Reassess ‘Antiquated’ Blocklists  

In the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice, marketers and agencies that work with Vice Media have added terms like "Black Lives Matter," "protest," "Minneapolis" and even "Black people" to blocklists. As a result, the publisher's news coverage related to... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-06-24 17:00:52 UTC ]
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Oprah’s next book club pick is Deacon King Kong.

Oprah Winfrey announced today that her next book club selection would be Deacon King Kong by James McBride, a novel that she says resonates at a time when America is facing a reckoning over race and violence against black people. “In a moment when our country roils with righteous anger and grief... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-16 20:04:23 UTC ]
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Adeola and Wilson-Max call for trade transparency on race

Illustrators Dapo Adeola and Ken Wilson-Max have said the industry could be on the cusp of change over diversity but it requires more black people in sales teams and greater transparency on race. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-16 15:01:56 UTC ]
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Bookshops need to be representative too

I want to acknowledge that my experience as a South Asian is not the same as those of Black people in this country. Although it’s important to note that we may have some shared experiences, the current BLM protests are about Black Lives, and it’s crucial to know the difference.  However, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-15 19:31:29 UTC ]
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Ida B. Wells Awarded Posthumous Pulitzer Prize For Lynching Investigations

The pioneering Black journalist is revered for her reporting that exposed lynching as a white tool of political terror against Black people. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2020-05-04 22:44:29 UTC ]
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Why Is Dying in America So Expensive?

In Megan Giddings’s debut novel Lakewood, desperation leads to a loss of self in a capitalist medical system bent on taking advantage of Black people and their bodies. After the death of her grandmother, Lena, a college student struggling with overwhelming medical debt and taking care of her... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-03-24 11:00:00 UTC ]
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‘What’s taking so long?’: children’s books still neglect BAME readers, finds study

Although picture has improved since 2017, research shows that last year only 4% of books for the youngest readers featured a minority ethnic heroIn most children’s books, according to one London primary school pupil, “people are peach”. Another feels there are “no black people” in the stories... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-09-19 11:15:59 UTC ]
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A Handbook for Fighting Racism in America

Ibram X. Kendi opens his latest book with his worst memory as a high school student competing in an oratorical contest. Having spent his short lifetime internalizing negative messages about Black people from Black people, from white people, and from the media and culture at large, Kendi... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-28 11:00:52 UTC ]
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