M. Yvonne Taylor taught AP English in Texas, where she was one of the few–if not the only–Black AP English teacher. In this post, she explains how Toni Morrison’s books changed her life. Morrison’s books are frequently banned in red states, but Taylor discovered that they were not only important to her but to black students, even to white students. The lesson, she implies, is that students may get excited about reading if they are allowed to read the books that are likeliest to be banned.
Read her article in full. The following is an excerpt.
She writes:
It was 2009. The country had just elected its first actual black president. (A famous quote from Morrison, often misunderstood, has her naming Bill Clinton as our first black president.) I was teaching high school AP English. The school was diverse, but as is common even in diverse schools, the AP English classes were not. And I was the sole black teacher of AP English at the high school. The sole black AP English teacher in the district. And when I attended an AP English conference at Rice University earlier in the year, I was the lone black AP English teacher out of at least 100 teachers from across the state of Texas. When I’d attended that conference, the sole Latina in the group rushed over to me, “I’ve been coming to these conferences for eight years. This is the first time I’ve seen another teacher of color,” she said, quickly exchanging information with me and inviting me to lunch.
Upcoming on the syllabus for 12th grade AP English that spring were two books, Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights. Students would have a choice between them. I sighed. We’d read no books by people of color at all. I scanned the list of approved AP English texts. I spotted Morrison’s name, and though at the time The Bluest Eye wasn’t listed among them, I felt compelled to teach it. I believed the story would be accessible to high school students. I believed it was also important, as Americans were so quick to see the election of Barack Obama as the beginning of a post-racial era, to show a history that was not so far from, and still influencing, the present.
I petitioned to have the book included on our reading list, and though it was permitted, I was the only one who felt comfortable teaching it. The white teachers felt they couldn’t tackle the subject matter and because the book, which has been banned by school districts in various parts of the country at one time or another, dealt with issues of abuse, I had to allow students to opt out if they chose and get permission slips signed from parents if they wanted to dive in.
As I’d expected, black and brown students flocked to my class to read it. However, unexpectedly the controversy had an interesting consequence. White teenage boys, uninterested in what they saw as sappy 19th-century love stories, chose to read The Bluest Eye in droves. Conversations in class were fruitful, layered, nuanced, and complex. I explained colorism to them, brought in my parents’ high-school yearbooks to show them how close segregation and Jim Crow actually were to me and to them. We dissected the book as a literary work and shared empathy over the sadness of an innocent black girl whose only desire was to be seen and loved by a society that refuses to recognize her humanity.
Reading research has always confirmed that self selected reading is just as helpful to students as receiving reading instruction. That is why so many reluctant readers enjoy reading graphic novels and humorous books. When students can find enjoyment and engagement in reading, they are more likely to become life-long readers.
Integrated classes provide students with opportunities for students to explore different experiences, and develop empathy and tolerance for others For most of my teaching career as an ESL teacher, I was white teacher in class of mostly Black, Brown and Asian students. Even though representation is important, diversity is also an opportunity to learn. Students respond to an environment of trust regardless of color differences.
I don’t find it at all strange that white students can respond to Toni Morrison’s books. They will respond to good writing and the humanity of the story regardless of the color of the characters. Banning books by Mark Twain or Toni Morrison or other writers that dare broach the topic of race relations and racism is monumentally stupid when we live in a diverse world. My students from all over the world taught me so much about racism, poverty, war and political conflict. They were often brutally honest about their experiences, concerns and frustrations. Humanity isn’t only white and only speaks English. It comes in all colors, cultures and languages.
I feel my own study of Black Lit as a 10th grader pulled me out of the culture that surrounded me as a child. Even though my parents had raised me with the idea of attempting to understand people who were not like me, it took Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and Pail Lawrence Dunbar to open my eyes to the fact of a rich culture in African-American experience.
“White teenage boys, uninterested in what they saw as sappy 19th-century love stories, chose to read The Bluest Eye in droves.” Not surprising!!
That might have been the case in 2009, but now AP teachers in all subjects are diverse, not just people of color, but also multi-national. Teaching AP is a wonderful opportunity. Also taking an AP class is voluntary, and College Board is not comfortable with banning books and teaching ideas that are oppositional to science and research, or politicizing teachers and students. I’m proud that they have chosen to stand against what is happening in places like Texas and Oklahoma.
I remember spending the summer of 1968—between my soph and jr yrs of college—reading every black author I could get my hands on. The ones that stick out: “Soul on Ice” by Eldridge Cleaver, “Native Son” by Richard Wright, and “Black Like Me” by white author John Howard Griffin. There were others; for sure something about or by Huey Newton, and more.
It wasn’t until I was in my late 20’s that I read Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” [& immediately continued to complete her trio of incredible novels of the late 1970’s]. I was drawn up short to find “The Bluest Eye” was on hisch reading lists (and often banned). It struck me as a novel best understood when older—but it may make sense; I’ve not re-read it to imagine it from a 16- or 17yo POV. Morrison is a very challenging writer; I wonder whether half her nuance would be lost on teens. But I can certainly imagine 1983’s “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker being an excellent choice for high-schoolers, as well as Baldwin’s “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” They are no doubt avoided due to material on violent domestic abuse, and gay stuff, and rape/ incest.
So many wonderful novels are assigned in middle school and high school that are beyond the comprehension of kids their age. Case in point: in high school, everyone was required to read “Silas Marner.” Boring.
Years later, I read it as an adult and the book made me cry.
What happened? I had the life experience to understand it.
I don’t think I ever picked up another book by the authors I was forced to read in high school. Old white men had very little I cared to pay attention to much less understood.
In the short time I taught, when the decision was made that I could quit using textbooks to teach, my standard was: I want books that they can put on their bookshelves and come back to if they want when they are adults. Some did, based on some messages I have received.
I’ve taught The Bluest Eye to [mostly of color] incarcerated college students and presented it to [mostly white] reading groups. Beloved, even more often.
Thanks for this wonderful helpful blog!
Richard Wright’s Native Son, or any of his books, would never pass the censors. How tragic. And an American education without Huck Finn would certainly not even be close to pass proficiency.
Dear Dr. Ravitch, thank you so much for covering my Daily Beast article about my experience teaching Toni Morrison’s work. I participated in CRT Summer School earlier this month and heard you speak. I’m profoundly moved that you’ve shared excerpts of my article on your blog. I’m also learning from the insightful comments.
Dear Yvonne Taylor,
Thank you for a wonderful
article. It was inspirational.
Diane