Hey readers,
On May 31st I began my Sunday newsletter like this:
To be quite honest, it feels very weird to sit here and write about books right now. The murder of George Floyd weighs heavy, protests have broken out all over the country, and in the midst of this there’s still a pandemic taking far too many lives. Today’s newsletter will look both very familiar and a little different.
Well today it once again fills wrong to gush about books while ignoring yet another police shooting of a Black man.
FictionMatters began as a project to explore what we gain from reading fiction. One of the basic principles I’ve always held is that reading fiction fosters a sense of empathy in readers by allowing us to vicariously experience lives we will never lead. I still believe that. But I’m starting to wonder what the purpose of empathy is if it doesn’t lead to action.
In May and June, antiracist resources and fiction by Black authors skyrocketed to the tops of the best seller lists. That’s great! But now I’m asking myself, what am I doing with this learning? And, furthermore, am I treating my consumption of Black literature in a way that centers myself and sees it only as learning?
I’m going to take a break from sharing my reading this week. I certainly don’t expect to have all the answers in a week, but seeing so many people pressing pause on “normal” has inspired me to do the same. Instead, I’m sharing some posts about books, empathy, and (in)action that made me think this week and pairing some books that opened my eyes with action items.
From Traci of @thestackspod:
With all that’s going on: vigilante murder in the streets, police brutality, the targeting of Black bodies, a movement for Black lives, children being torn from their families at the border, a pandemic, anti-Asian rhetoric around said pandemic, a hurricane, wildfires, the federal government executing a Native citizen, a racist national convention, a labor strike in the sports world, teachers and students being put at risk, the continued murder of Black trans womxn, historically low employment numbers, a ravaged economy, USPS being under attack, voter suppression, COVID outbreaks in prisons, a lack of protection for essential workers, a defunct congress, and a media hell bent on gaslighting the people. I, for one, am impressed with your ability to continue to post about your books like nothing is the matter.
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Your books can not save you.
August 27, 2020
From Jaime of @absorbedinpages:
"If we want to put an end to the history of the racial caste in America ⏤ we must lay down our racial bribes, join hands with people of all colors who are not content to wait for change to trickle down, and say to those who stand in our way: Accept all of us or none." Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow⠀
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I just finished The New Jim Crow on Wednesday and I really have to sit with my thoughts, the quotes and it all. It is a powerful book. The quote up above really spoke to me, and how she ended the book really spoke to me. It just was a constant reminder of the way Black women are constantly disregarded, harmed and failed to be protected. The way Black men are constantly dehumanized and locked in chains. You see, you cannot separate the two, human and Black. Black and human.⠀
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Jacob Blake was shot by a police officer just a few days ago. His kids were in the car. The white man do not care. They don't care about Black babies, Black kids, Black people. It's truly a lot right now, Black people’s mental health is constantly being threatened and we are going through it! To see the lack of acknowledgement from a lot of people, it is despicable, it puts a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Going back to normal? Look at how normal failed us continues to fail us. This is a fight for human rights. For Black people to be treated as human. ⠀
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August 28, 2020
From Anna of @never_withouta_book:
Race and racism is a reality that so many of us grow up learning to just deal with. But if we ever hope to move past it, it can't just be on people of color to deal with it. It's up to all of us — Black, white, everyone — no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting it out. - Michelle Obama
August 28, 2020
From Lupita of @lupita.reads:
I have been thinking a lot about empathy & all the emotions we experience as Readers when we read outside our own lived experiences. They say, I don’t know who exactly but I think there’s some scientific literature that exists on this, that the power in fiction lies in the possibility that it helps generate empathy. That it can help you feel what it’s like to “walk” in someone else’s shoes. That it can possibly change your mind about a certain thing you thought you knew everything about or maybe something you knew nothing about.
I remain skeptical. I personally need to know there’s action to the emotions generated in fiction. I need to know that beyond shedding a few tears, understanding that a journey is “harrowing” and feeling “hopeless” that a general set of actions exist. That the power of empathy pushes you to having conversations with those that don’t see the issues or rally you to join a protest or move you to make donations, question what the media feeds you or push against any injustices the current or present administration upholds through policies they place for the sake of your “protection”. In order to believe in the power of an emotion generated through fiction such as empathy, I need to believe that it moves beyond you. I want to believe it does. I want to believe it’s more than “entertainment” or a “journey” you finally “witnessed” for yourself.
Or else why do we even acknowledge the emotion? What good does it serve society if you read about an immigrant’s “harrowing” journey to the US? What good does it serve society if you read about what it’s like to be othered in this country?
This thing we think is a “power” might actually be something that works against us. We feel something, it makes us feel like we understand & so we move on? I’m not looking for a discourse on this or for you to share all the ways in which fiction has actually helped move you into action. These are my thoughts & I am sharing them here because I am working through them. As a brown queer woman in America I don’t want to pretend there is “power” beyond the power that exists in the form of actual storytelling, in keeping the varying human lived experiences alive in books.
August 26, 2020
While my reading of these books shouldn’t center myself and my learning, it’s undeniable that each of these titles helped me realize how little I know about the issues presented and perspectives outside my own. If you feel the same, here are some action items you can take.
The Affairs of the Falcóns by Melissa Rivero. Donate to Kids in Need of Defense to provide legal help to children separated from their parents at the border and sign the ACLU petition to speak out against family separation.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. Donate to the Equal Justice Initiative.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Sign the ACLU petition to divest in excessive policing of communities of color and invest money in those same communities.
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. Help with hurricane relief by donating to a local rescue organization like The Cajun Navy or a recovery fund like the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Stay inside, wear a mask, and support artists whose jobs have evaporated.
Donate to Justice for Jacob Blake.
Contact the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Donate to a bail relief fund in an area where Black Lives Matter protests are occurring.
Donate to Black Lives Matter.
Volunteer as a poll worker.
Sign the Color of Change Petition.
Check to make sure you’re registered to vote (voter registrations are frequently purged).
Adopt a battle-ground state to support.
Bookmark this card for easy access to the evolving ways to support BLM.
Watching: Thirteenth and When They See Us.
Listening: 1619 podcast and The Stacks episodes on White Fragility.
Making: Plans to vote and volunteer this election season.
Until next week, readers.
Sara