Co-Learners in Lifelong Learning
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
Langston Hughes
What do you think Langston Hughes was thinking of when he wrote “grown deep like the rivers?” What do you think made his soul grow deep? Longing, pain, suffering, enduring, what he had witnessed, the circumstances that were his life? And what about the visual of rivers becoming deep? I did not pay attention well in science, but I do believe the speed of the water flowing, the tides, the waves crashing all have something to do with the different depths you find in the rivers.
The application of this quote, of many favorites by Langston Hughes, is this: we all individually have our souls, hearts, lives shaped as we grow. We also are molded as a family, a community, a region, a time in history, and the list goes on.
If I haven’t already made it abundantly clear, I am an avid collector of children’s books! And when I say children’s books, I’m talking all people’s books that happen to have colorful illustrations and tend to be mistaken for children only. This is a HUGE misconception. And a great failure to recognize brilliant literature!
I love all kinds of books- from silly to classics, from “banned” to will be “banned,” (don’t get me started) from biography to history, from US history to World history, and from non-fiction (thanks to being a library helper in Middle School- I am proud to be able to tell difference between fiction and non-fiction 😂 not sure why they had to put “non” in front of books that were true- maybe I can find a book on that) to kids fiction (I don’t do well with adult fiction). I love them all!!!
I was reading this week and ran across the word “co-learner,” and I like this. I am a big cheerleader for lifelong learning, that education only stops when you stop learning. So if we are constantly sharing our stories and histories, we are all co-learners in this big thing called life. And I’m also a lover of history. Not to dwell there, but to learn, reassess, and strive to do it differently or sometimes the same but it takes more guts!
Let me share a few stories that I am talking about, since it is Black History Month and also Black Children’s Book Week, I chose some of my favorite Black History Books:
- Henry’s Freedom Box, by . History of the Underground railroad.
- Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman, by . After surviving polio as a child, which left many people without full use of their legs, she went on to break records of all kinds!
- Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library, by Carole Boston Weatherford. Arturo Schomburg loved collecting books, letters, music, and art of African descent. When his collection began to take over his house, he turned it into the New York Public Library.
- Ruth and the Green Book, by . A family sets out on a road trip from Chicago to Alabama during the 1950s, when Jim Crow laws still existed. Ruth’s family has to depend on The Green Book for gas stations, hotels, and restaurants that would serve her family because of the color of their skin.
- Mae Among the Stars, by Roda Ahmed. Mae Jeminson was a young woman who made history by being the first African American woman to travel with NASA to space.
- Crown: Ode to the Fresh Cut, by Derrick Barnes. Experience the Barbershop. (unfortunately I have seen that this book is on the banned list in many states)
- Firebird, by Misty Copeland. Misty was the first African American to be a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. These Illustrations are AMAZING!!
- What Color is my World? The Lost History of African-American Inventors, by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Do you know who invented the ice cream scoop? Or who was the mastermind behind the Blood Bank? Ever wondered about open heart surgery? TONS of inventors in this fabulous book! Highly recommend!
- The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist, by Cynthia Levinson. At the age of 9 years old Audrey became the youngest person to be arrested in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama.
- Trombone Shorty, by Troy Andrews. New Orleans born and raised. Musician Family. Self-taught. What more can I say?
- Nelson Mandela. by Kadir Nelson. (FYI one of my favorite authors/illustrators) As president, Nelson Mandela was a strong leader in the face of long suffering.
- The Undefeated, by Kwame Alexander (Illustrated by Kadir Nelson) A celebration poem of those who fought hard, persevered through chaos, and still chose to rise up.
- Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Fashion Designer Ann Cole Lowe, by Deborah Blumenthal. A little known fashion designer who became one of society’s top designers.
- Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super Soaking Stream of Inventions, by Chris Barton. Can you guess what he invented? The Super Soaker!!
- Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Jazz music brilliance.
- Fredrick’s Journey: The Life of Fredrick Douglass, by Doreen Davenport. “Slavery is not abolished until the black man has the ballot.” – Fredrick Douglass
- Coming Home: for the life of Langston Hughes, by Floyd Cooper. The Story of Langston Hughes
- Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy US Marshal, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Someone said of Bass, “one of the bravest men this country has ever known.” Another said, “most feared US marshal that was ever heard of.” A Champion of the American West.
- Brick by Brick, by Charles R Smith, Jr. The Story of building the White House and the many hands that contributed literally, brick by brick.
- I, Too Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry, by Catherine Clinton. Gwendolyn Brooks, W.E.B. DuBois, Countee Cullen, Phyllis Wheatley, Nikki Giovanni, and many more!
- The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Lewis Henri Michaux held a deep belief that books could change the lives of black people. He opened his book store and referred to it as, “The House of Common Sense and the Home of Proper Propaganda.” Although everybody called it “Michaux’s” Now the National African Bookstore, a Harlem Landmark.
- The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth: Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free, by Alice Faye Duncan. The story of Opal Lee’s decades of work to make Juneteenth a celebration, a holiday to remember when freedom from slavery came to Texas!
My list could go on for days, but I won’t do that to you. I will just touch on the “banned book” movement, I guess you would call it. And this is just my thoughts. First, there are definitely some eyebrow raising, what the world, wouldn’t buy it books out there. Second, I’m not sure the “why” behind all the bans, but I have read in the databases that most have to do with religion, gender, and history. I am willing to be wrong, let me make that clear before I proceed. Hear me out for one second, if we refocus our energy to teaching our kids values, virtues, morals, and the fact that they are safe to ask questions and make mistakes, then why are we scared of books? If we equip them with these things, they will 9 times out of 10 will ask questions, kids have a PhD in this, it’s what I love about them! Instead of pouring energy into removing a single book, why don’t we say “check out the book, bring it home, and let’s discuss.” Or “What’s the title? I would like to look it up and we can talk.” Now more than ever it’s super easy to get a book on audible or a digital copy or even a brief summary. And a plus to approaching books this way is you are seeing what the culture is consuming and what may be new and popular that you may not know of yet. Bottom Line Question: If (your name) want to ban books that (your name) don’t agree with, then can (your name) stop others from banning books that they don’t agree with? And then, what books will we be left with?
Life Book of the Week: Sugar Hill: Harlem’s Historic Neighborhood, by Carole Boston Weatherford
