A guest blog post from JeanNicole Rivers author of Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers.
Are You A Racist Reader?
Days ago I was reading an article discussing the dissatisfaction of several fans of the book, “Hunger Games”, with the casting of African American actors/actresses in the recently released hit film based on the book as some of their favorite characters:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/hunger-games-racist-tweets-rue_n_1380377.html
This along with all of the racially charged current events that are happening in America right now made me think of the ways that race has played into my actual life as a new author and how it concerns the life of my characters themselves.
An African American friend of mine was reading my book and must have read some minor implication as to the race of a character, when she turns and looks at me with an expression of total shock and says,
“These women are black?”
People have become so used to seeing black characters as lead characters only in stories where the plot focuses on the condition of being black that it is often difficult for people to wrap their head around main characters being black in a story that has no racial agenda. Even I am guilty of this at times when I read a book and automatically picture the characters as Caucasian in my mind.
In my book I made a conscious effort not to put too much emphasis on the race of my characters, but that can be difficult when you want to create a three dimensional character that the readers feel like they know and can relate to. For the most part, I tried not to give so many details that the race of several of the supporting characters are not arguable, but the question is why is it so important to argue over?
The main character of my book, Regina Dean, is African American for the same reason that my stories usually take place in the mid west or in cities in which I have lived, for the same reason that the occupation of the characters is usually one that I am fairly familiar with…because it is what I know and it is easier to write a believable story when you are writing about things and people that you know. I am African American, therefore I know the culture and the history and clichés and it is uncomplicated for me to write a character from this perspective even when the story does not center on race relations of any kind.
On another note, outside of the actual pages of my novel I had to make decisions about the cover art for the book and I had to decide if I wanted to place my picture on the back with the blurb. It was a decision that was not as easy to make as it should have been. I spoke with my publicist who is African American and she suggested, as I suspected on my own, that I should wait until my second or third novel before disclosing my race so as not to lose readers who may decide not to read the book based on that alone. After that, I spoke to another African American entrepreneur who had recently started a business in the arts and she confided in me that she struggled with the same dilemma and ultimately decided that there was no reason to hide her race. She decided that she was talented and should be appreciated for that talent alone and I agreed. You not only have to be proud of who you are, but you have to let others know that you are proud of who you are and if you end up losing some money along the way…well, self respect and dignity is much more valuable.
In my mind, I see the main character of my new novel as a young African American woman, but in my next book or the one after that, if the art calls for the main character to be Caucasian or Asian or Hispanic, that is how I will write them, ultimately not because race matters, but because it doesn’t, it’s only about the art, and if I lose readers because I or any of my characters are black then they were readers that I didn’t want in the first place.
I am trying to remember where I read it, but there was an author who liked to spring the race of a character well into the book, knowing full well that most readers would assume the character was white. I know Heinlein did this a few times.
And I have to admit, I have done this a few times myself. I don’t know if it was accidental in m case, or did I just like playing with people’s assumptions. As I get a little kick out of it, probably the latter.
Hey Jonathan!
Do you find that revealing the race of your characters at some point in your narrative is necessary for you to completely express your thoughts and the story as a whole or do you find that you can do without that detail?
JeanNicole Rivers
@JeanNicole19
For most of my major characters, I rarely state their race outright, but there are hints or descriptions. Names are one way, for example. One of my major characters in two books is described as a typical California surfer dude–but his last name is Niimoto, so you can surmise he is an Asian-American. Another character is described as having red hair, so most people would gather she is white.
Most of my characters could have their race or ethnicity interchanged without affecting them at all. But for some, it does make a difference. I have a Sikh character in a book, and his “Sikhness” colors who he is and how he acts.
Bu to get right to your question, after thinking about it, I would say that for most of my minor characters and even some major ones, I may not have indicated race nor ethnicity.
Human characteristics, human conditions, human foibles, human yearnings, all apply to humans of all races and good stories can be populated with humans of all races. There are some issues that are race-related and it is nonsensical to cast actors in roles that do not fit. But, when this is not the case, we will probably see the characters in our heads similar to our own perceptions of humanity. However, a film maker is perfectly correct in casting the best actor when race is not an issue.
I completely agree with you Jack, sometimes the association of race with a character is necessary.
JeanNicole Rivers
http://www.jeannicolerivers.com
@JeanNicole19
Jean Nicole, I totally get what you mean about disclosure or not. I had this discussion with my critique partners where they were surprised about the ethnicity of my characters well into the draft. People do build up mental images of your characters and bond with them. So when you spring something on them later, it knocks them out of the story.
I grew up and live in a multicultural environment, Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area, and lived in International dorms through my collegiate years. But I have to remember that a portion of my readers will simply assume that any unnoted character is Caucasian.
What I do, and not saying it is right, is to describe a new character in the point of view of the narrating character. If the point of view character would note the race, then I note it. If not, it is not noted until a different character examines that character, or the backstory reveals.
The protag in my work in progress is a biracial man. My heroine describes him without reference to race. The description is ambiguous because he has characteristics of both races. An astute reader would pick it up, but a few chapters later, in conversation, the hero talks about his parents. It is then revealed that the heroine’s background is even more mixed. Since the story is not about race relationships, it did not need to be front and center.
I also get what you mean about disclosing your own ethnicity. There used to be a time when ethnic writers only wrote about ethnic issues. I don’t believe that is the case today. My characters are just the way they are, and I don’t go out of my way to make them a certain race or cultural background. The interesting thing is I’ve not written any main characters of my own ethnicity because for some reason I don’t feel comfortable writing my own supposed culture. I think it’s because I’m the American version of my culture and feel that the real people of that culture would scoff at my misunderstandings.
So I write what I know, of people I grew up with and had deep relationships with, and I post my picture at Amazon and don’t worry about it. My hope is my stories will stand on their own regardless of the author’s name or face attached to them.
Great article, by the way, and the short answer is, weave it into the story as a part of characterization. Do what works for you and your readers.
Hi Rachalle,
What a great idea! Only noting the race of the character if the point of view character would notice and note their race.
Disclosing my own race was an issue because I did not want to be immediately viewed as a “black” writer who writes about “black” stuff and “black” issues. I just want to write about stuff and I want my race to play into that as little as possible with the things that I am writing now. One day I may want to write about “black” stuff, but not today.
Thanks for your feedback, it is always great to be able to identify with other writers. Good luck with your new story!
JeanNicole Rivers
http://www.jeannicolerivers.com
@JeanNicole19
WOW! This all sounds like something I would hear from people I lived around in Hampton Roads Virgina. I am a military brat, and former military wife. My girls were raised mainly in California and Hawaii, we moved to Virginia and boy did we get an EYE opener! They were called horrible names for hanging out with races that were not Caucasian. Like me they never saw race they saw a person, they saw their character.
I will say that books like the Help and the Color Purple wouldn’t have had the same impact had they been full of Caucasian characters. I believe that because they were about African Americans they impacted people.
As a reviewer I think it’s pretty sad that a black author can’t put their photo on the back of the book for fear that they will be put into a box.
Thanks for your viewpoint Andi. I grew up in a small town in the Midwest and there were ONLY black people and white people, however when I moved to Houston as an older kid, when I met children of other races, it never once dawned on me that those kids were not a particular race. Race was never an issue in my family, it was never something that we used to discuss or characterize people.
I wish the world was more like your family! Sounds like you have amazing kids that will blossom into even greater adults.
Jean Nicole,
I think the reason my kids grew up the way they did is because their dad was in the Navy and we moved around a lot. Race was not discussed the only time that it even happened was in Virginia and it was very hard for them, and we were the ones helping them deal with it as positively as we could. They are all adults now and I couldn’t be prouder of how they have turned out.