The danger of a single story

Chimamanda Adichie makes several important points in this talk, but here are a few excerpts that really struck me:

• “So that is how to create a single story, show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.”
• “Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person. The Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti writes that if you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story, and to start with, “secondly.” Start the story with the arrows of the Native Americans, and not with the arrival of the British, and you have and entirely different story. Start the story with the failure of the African state,and not with the colonial creation of the African state, and you have an entirely different story.”
• “All of these stories make me who I am. But to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten my experience, and to overlook the many other stories that formed me. The single story creates stereotypes. And the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”

I think this is a conversation we need to have, as many times as it takes, until it becomes more than a thoughtful sentiment. As a journalist, I find it frustrating to know that people and places will always be more complex than my representations of them … but if I can someday become skilled enough to represent nuance itself, then at least I complicate the single story.

As for the speaker herself, it’s worth highlighting that Chimamanda is a well-spoken, humble and brilliant women who has the unique gift of capturing so much in so few words. In many ways, I consider her a kindred spirit (if I may be so bold) when it comes to her worldview. One of my favourite examples is her answer to the question, “how would you like to be remembered?”

She answered: “As a person who tried to be honest and who tried to be kind—and who often realized the difficulty of being both at the same time.”

Does this library poster promote storybooks or stereotypes?

Jungle image featuring dark, near-naked children paddling in a canoe ‘lacks cultural sensitivity’

Originally published in the Toronto Star

Fabiola Carletti
Staff Reporter

Some people will look at the picture and simply see curious children exploring a tropical habitat.

But the jungle-themed poster for the 2010 summer reading club is also attracting criticism mere weeks before its distribution to roughly 30,000 young users of the Toronto Public Library.

The debate hinges on whether or not visible minorities are poorly represented in the program’s showpiece, an illustration by award-winning artist Stéphane Jorisch.

“The people with darker skin are shown as in their ‘traditional’ state, with ‘traditional’ garb or little clothing at all,” said former club literacy worker Emily Burns. “The paler characters are dressed like tourists.”

Many noted the only black person, a woman wearing a colourful dress and big earrings, is not wearing a backpack or shoes like the other characters.

Others thought the near-naked children pictured in a canoe, which the artist described as little boys “in their native habitat,” looked like part of the scenery.

“The tapir and frog are especially endearing” said library blogger Catherine Raine, “but the images of the people in the jungle lack cultural sensitivity.”

The Montreal-based artist said the criticism was surprising.

“Everybody is entitled to what they think. I can’t decide for them,” he said. “I was trying to achieve something that the kids would enjoy. It’s as simple as that.”

Jorisch said the children in the canoe, wearing necklaces and loincloths, were meant to be “beautiful” and it would have been “uninteresting” to put the little boys in t-shirts and Adidas.

The black woman was “back where her ancestors came from” and she could have been in “native dress that can or cannot be from there.”

In past years, the reading club posters have featured less contentious themes, including secret agents, pirates, spaceships and superheroes.

“The jungle theme is dangerous,” said Adebe DeRango-Adem, a writer and former club member. “It seems to suggest that reading, as a means of exploration, is not in control of these indigenous and African groups.”

The TD-sponsored program will run in most major Canadian cities, and in every one of Toronto’s 99 library branches.

At the Albion Library in Rexdale, people wondered how the theme will be received in their multicultural neighbourhood.

Staff members declined to comment, but did discuss it with representatives from head office.

“Since this concern was raised, a number of meetings with staff have been convened,” said Anne Marie Aikins, the manager of corporate communications at the library.

Aikins said staff members openly addressed their concerns about the poster and the process of choosing images during the sessions.

Ken Setterington, the library’s advocate for child and youth services, was one of the representatives that met with Albion staff.

“It’s most upsetting that this illustration has upset some people,” said Setterington, who has worked on the annual project for 15 years, “but as soon as an issue is raised, what’s important is how we discuss it.”

But many are happy with the illustration, and think the jungle poster will simply do what past illustrations have done.

“Children will see the picture and be excited to read,” said Daniela Domfeh, a former library club member who has fond memories of the program. She said children won’t find anything but adventure in this year’s theme.

Mark Hughes, the Brampton-raised son of a librarian, was also a fan. He described the poster as “excellent” and “whimsical.”

Gregory Harrison, speaking for corporate sponsor TD Canada, said: “the artwork is consistent with the theme and it targets our key audience of children aged four to 13.”

Individual libraries will highlight relevant books and run jungle-inspired activities.

“I think that library workers need to be careful when planning events surrounding this theme,” said Burns, who is completing a master’s degree in library and information science.

She explained that the setting may be an awkward one, and that kids should be cautioned against “innocent” racism and stereotyping.

The conversation is far from over, as thousands more will see the image after the final bell rings.

“In a crazy way, this thing is thought-provoking,” said Jorisch. “It brings discussion.”

The Good Sport

Scheme Magazine is currently featuring my story “The Good Sport.“ My piece is kicking off the second run of their series on cultural identity “But where are you really from?”

Excerpted from the original story

I still remember the bright yellow menus, the ubiquitous TV screens and the lingering smell of chicken wings in my hair. As an undergrad, I spent many nights serving tables and scouring my apron for extra packets of dill sauce.

A sports bar may seem like a strange entry point for a reflection on race, so I should mention that my ethnicity came up all the time. My customers asked“where are you from” about as often as they asked about the actual hotness of the hot wings. When they tried to guess, they would point to all kinds of obscure indicators, like my ethnic-looking earrings or my vague resemblance to a friend of theirs from Peru, India or Lebanon. I was the kind of server who wore a smile as if it were part of the uniform, entertaining customer curiosity without question.

The first time I played this guessing game at the restaurant, I was serving a table of four men.

“How are you guys doing over here?” I asked in my patented chirp. We engaged in light banter as I collected their empty pints and ravaged nacho trays.

“Just curious,” said one man.

“We’ve been wondering–where are you from?”

Although there was no game on that night, these men still seemed like they had their wagers set. I scanned the restaurant, which wasn’t too busy, and stood there holding a non-committal grin.

They placed their bets: Persian? Brazilian? Filipino? Portuguese?

“I speak Spanish,” I hinted, ”and I was born in a small country in Central America.”

One man responded with a tentative, “mmm-Mexico?”

“El Salvador,” I finally said, ”I was born there and moved to Toronto when I was two-years-old.”

This brief explanation felt worn-in like a well-read novel. I had shared it for as long as I could remember, and I didn’t feel much of anything when I repeated it.

Over the years I had somehow internalized that this was a geography game, not a history lesson, and that talk of the civil war and my fleeing family wasn’t good repartee. Particularly when on the job, I’d never say “Canada,” “Toronto,” or some other version of “here.” I’d let customers indulge in distancing my Canadian-ness: I would be agreeable and they would be satisfied. I admit, by temperament, habit, and job-description, I wanted to people-please. And I usually didn’t mind playing along if the customers seemed well intentioned. In fact, if they asked about my last name, I’d even mention my far-flung Italian roots.

I was loath to think this laid-back attitude was anything less than a personal choice. No big deal, right?…

If you enjoy the following excerpt, you can read the rest on Schema’s website.
You can also check out other stories in Schema’s “But where are you really from?” series.

Closing ceremonies should reflect multiculturalism: critics

Adapted from photo by Flickr user rosswebsdale //BY-NC-SA

The opening ceremonies happened a week ago, and the closing ceremonies are just over a week away — but a contentious question connects the two.

In a city where “visible minorities” have become the majority, some are asking whether VANOC failed to showcase Canadian multiculturalism.

Alden Habacon is the founder of Schema Magazine, an online publication for “cultural navigators.” He described the Feb. 12 kick-off as “the whitest-looking opening ceremonies.”

“Vancouver won their bid on the argument that Vancouver is the most diverse place on earth,” wrote Habacon. “The ceremony was hardly representative of Canada’s (and especially Vancouver’s) multicultural diversity.”

The comments section below Habacon’s editorial reflects the diversity of opinion on the matter. Although some comments were predictably incendiary, a few readers attempted to composedly express their views.

“There certainly was a lack of cultural representation and though I don’t think the producers intentionally organized a predominantly “white” ceremony, they probably could have made it a LOT more interesting by putting together a more diverse and/or multi-ethnic production. And why not?” wrote a user named Claudia.

She referenced poet Shane Koyczan, who performed at the opening ceremony, “We are cultures strung together \ then woven into a tapestry \ and the design \ is what makes us more \ than the sum total of our history.”

Full story here