Filmed July 2009 at TEDGlobal 2009
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story.
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice - and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
There's a TED Talk I've been showing my students for the last couple of years called "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Adichie. In this amazing TED Talk, Adichie warns us how stereotypes are formed, prejudices take root, and discriminatory behaviors occur when "one story" is told about a group of people with whom we have limited contact or understanding. Although it is convenient to accept a single narrative as a "universal truth" to be applied to all members of a group, it is very dangerous. So dangerous and powerful, in fact, that entire genocides have been committed using this very tactic.
After listing as many Australian Indigenous representations in the superhero worlds, I noticed that many of the early characters' powers are connected to the conceptual 'Dreamtime'. Although this is presented in different ways, it's often done using separate dimensions within the extended comic multiverses. Very little have any mention of actual Aboriginal nations, and do not seem to have had much research or thought towards any level of authenticity.
However, the more recent characters appear to have had much more understanding put into these characters; their origins, and their characteristics. But sadly, very few entries here are designed by Aboriginal artists or written by Aboriginal authors themselves, but given the positive development from the 1980s to today, hopefully this is something we will see more of in future.
"That tension between Seuss and Seuss-free classrooms is emblematic of a bigger debate playing out across the country - should we continue to teach classic books that may be problematic, or eschew them in favor of works that more positively represent people of color?"
This post explores current US trends in building diverse collections and considers seven pitfalls to avoid when deciding what to leave in and out, accompanied by more than 50 title recommendations based on conversations in this piece to help kickstart the journey."
"We investigated the diversity - including ethnicity, gender and sexuality - of the 118 shortlisted books in the early childhood category of Book of the Year between 2001 and 2020. We also examined diversity among the 103 authors and illustrators who have made the shortlist over the past 20 years."
"A strong sense of justice can form in a young child's mind when they read books that tell the truth. When they grow into adulthood, that sense of justice can guide them in how they vote and where they work."
An interview with Debbie Reese on the dangers of presenting white centric perspectives in children's literature