To Celebrate Diverse Voices: African American Writers [S2 E41]

Welcome back to the Celebrating Diverse Voices Series!

As we at Brave New Teaching have committed to do the work to model anti-racist and anti-biased educational best practices, we have also committed to share ideas that can help others join us on this journey. This month, we’d like to highlight some African American writers that you might consider adding to what you’re already doing or replace something that’s getting worn out. While the series aims to celebrate diverse voices during national heritage months, please know that we teach and examine these writers all year round. September is the month to celebrate, but from August to May, there are ample opportunities to read their work.

Have you read anything from Octavia Butler?

Butler is an author that belongs on your upper level (11th and 12th grade) curriculum maps. Whether you look at her full works (the Parable series, Kindred) or can pull excerpts to pair within a dystopia unit, Octavia Butler is a science fiction writer that is frequently overlooked. Here’s a synopsis of Parable of the Sower from Goodreads.com:

In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future.

Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.

When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.

How about a children’s book AND award winning short film?

If you haven’t seen Hair Love yet, now is your chance. From the story arc to figurative language to pairing with other texts such as A Raisin in the Sun, this beautiful children’s book and film is a stunning text to add to any unit. Check out the film here!

And don’t forget the POWER of memoir

Memoir offers something special when we think about celebrating voices from BIPOC authors especially — hearing about the world from their own experiences in their own voices. Here are some of our favorite memoirs to consider for a lit circle unit or to pull from for close reading:

diverse voices, season 2Amanda CardenasComment