Black Lives Matter- research and awareness

Representation in Entertainment

It's something that I hadn't payed much attention to.

I mean, my whole life I've been able to see myself on screen, in books, and in entertainment in general. It never felt like something was off. Unless it was a horribly represented female character (in which case I could simply drop the book and move on or just cope with it), I could always see myself. I always had relatable role models growing up.

    I'm starting to realize how lucky I am to have had that.

    Now just from the experience of walking through the YA section of the local bookstore, I've found that the majority of authors, well...

    They're white. Which isn't a problem. Until you realize how little proper representation that allows for.

    If the majority of authors are white, then either A. Black people are just stuck to just a limited amount of representation in literature on the main shelves or B. White authors really have to step up their game.

    It's B.

    If the majority of our entertainment is by white people, then white people need to do their research to reach a wider audience. They need to see how to put proper care into creating a black character and what sorts of things will make people see themselves in that black character. As a novel writer myself, who has a black character in the piece, I'm realizing the little details that I should add to her that will make her more three dimensional and relatable. The things that will make people see themselves in her. I assure you she's not perfectly crafted so far, and it's simply because I wasn't educated. Now I'm seeing the things I should add to her personality to make her more real. I aspire that by the time this novel is completed and edited, I have a girl that other girls see themselves in. I really do love her character so far, but I'm noticing that the places where her character falls flat are the places that make her truly relatable and real. I'm going to have to fix that. And I'm glad I'm learning this as a teen writer.

    And I also admit that in Part VII in I Wish I Had a Story to Tell You, I missed an awesome opportunity to talk about being black in the 1930s. Ms. Marchand, the co-owner of the hotel with Ms. Page is black. And I missed the chance to learn about what it might've actually been like to be a black hotel owner in 1937 Nevada. She might've not been allowed to legally co-own the building with a white woman (Ms. Page) (or maybe not, I'd have to look up the laws from Nevada regarding segregation and the oppression of black people from 1937), and I wouldn't doubt that some customers would have had a problem with staying at the place with Ms. Marchand. It was a great opportunity to talk about racism and segregation in the first half of the century, and I totally missed it. I'll learn from this mistake and keep that experience in mind for future chapters.

    Anyways, I felt that I should admit my own experiences and flaws with writing my black characters. Back to the other creators.

    Black characters shouldn't fit in a box. They should have diverse personalities like you know, real black people do. They don't all just like one type of music or style of clothing. And stereotyping is a definite no no. If your black character is based in stereotype, you need to go back to the drawing board.

    TV and movie producers should start having more black led entertainment. Not only would more kids have characters to look up to and see themselves in, I just think it would be awesome to see. And it would help people see more of an accurate depiction of the black experience, instead of the stereotypical view of a black person through the white creator's eyes. A more accurate portrayal of black people would also help with problems concerning the stereotyping that can result in jamming racist ideals into viewers' brains.

Not only that, it would give the black creators in Hollywood the recognition and funding that they deserve. It would create more opportunities for aspiring black artists.

We need black entertainment. And for us as white authors, we have a lot to learn. Myself included.

I want to see proper black representation in the future. Black people deserve to be able to see themselves on screen, and not just a stereotype.