ILIIIIILNWQNIMIWIIIHHIIIINIILIILVLHII 293 LIBRARY ”Saue- viva-b7 This is to certify that the thesis entitled BLACK TRADITIONS IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: A CONTENT ANALYSIS 1 OF THE TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS 0F PICTURE STORY BOOKS ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES TO DETERMINE HOW SELECTED BLACK TRADITIONS HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED AND TO DETERMINE WHAT IMPACT THESE PORTRAYALS HAVE ON THE SELF-CONCEPT OF CHILDREN WHO ARE EXPOSED TO THESE BOOKS Presented by LiIIiAnn BurweII Williams has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. 6 eein Elementarx and Specia] E ucation flaw (' ). (igméwé Major é/ofessor Date W2 0-7639 OVERDUE FINES ARE 25¢ PER DAY PER ITEM Return to book drop to remove this checkout from your record. \Jk’rrlf;€”j} ‘9 _ r; gtt'fiT'Tf/ ‘1’ Ar -}I:\ r/ L, ' Q v-v 5-1377; ”1 r ' W": m 9 1 $91. 4 i 4+"! _ . .. (:) Copyright by LilliAnn Burwell Williams 1977 ii BLACK TRADITIONS IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF PICTURE STORY BOOKS ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES TO DETERMINE HOW SELECTED BLACK TRADITIONS HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED AND TO DETERMINE WHAT IMPACT THESE PORTRAYALS HAVE ON THE SELF-CONCEPT OF CHILDREN WHO ARE EXPOSED TO THESE BOOKS By LilliAnn Burwell Williams A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Elementary and Special Education College of Education 1977 ABSTRACT BLACK TRADITIONS IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF PICTURE STORY BOOKS ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES TO DETERMINE HOW SELECTED BLACK TRADITIONS HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED AND TO DETERMINE WHAT IMPACT THESE PORTRAYALS HAVE ON THE SELF-CONCEPT OF CHILDREN WHO ARE EXPOSED TO THESE BOOKS By LilliAnn Burwell Williams The purpose of this investigation Was twofold. One purpose was to determine if and how selected Black traditions have been portrayed in picture books about Black people living in the United States for children from seven to nine years of age. The study was also designed to deter- mine what impact these portrayals have on the self-concept of children who are exposed to these books. The problem was deemed significant because of the amplified concern among Black people with their cultural identity or ethnicity. This heightened interest led them to examine how they were portrayed in all facets of the media, including children's literature. Two avenues of expression which many educators, librarians, and children's literature specialists voiced and responded to when evalu- ating and using children's literature were 1) a more realistic repre- sentation of Black people in the text and illustrations of children’s literature for the benefit of Black children, and 2) a focus on multi- cultural education for the benefit of all children. LilliAnn Burwell Williams In Part I of the study, the researcher read and evaluated 133 books identified as picture books through several professional biblio- graphic sources. The books selected were contemporary realistic fiction and biographies about Black people written for children seven to nine years of age and were published from 1956 to 1976; the protagon- ist in each story was Black. Content analysis was used as the data collected technique to determine if and how selected Black traditions had been portrayed. The three Black traditions investigated were Black music, Black family traditions and race pride. The Black Traditions Questionnaire, a rating instrument, was designed by the researcher espe- cially for the content analysis aspect of the study. The salient shared experiences of Black people in the areas of music, family traditions and race pride were extracted from sociological and historical literature and formed the basis for the Black Traditions Questionnaire. This instrument was used to systematically answer the research questions generated for this study. In Part II, the pilot experimental study, two systematically applied treatments were administered to 315 third grade students in the Lansing, Michigan area to determine whether the reading of picture books with a high rating in Black traditions (Treatment 1) tended to improve the self-concept of Black and non-Black children more than the reading of picture books about universal experiences (Treatment 2). The Piers- Harris Self-Concept Scale, a self-report instrument, was administered twice in the pilot experimental study to the students in each classroom in order to obtain pre-test and post-test scores for each student to LilliAnn Burwell Williams answer questions for the pilot experimental aspect of the study. The major findings with reference to the content analysis questions were: Race pride was the Black tradition most frequently portrayed, family traditions was the second and Black music was the least frequent- ly portrayed. The component of the Black music tradition most frequently por- trayed was Item 6 on the Black Traditions Questionnaire (Music shown as an intricate part of Black person's 1ife--during work, play, relaxation, prayer or entertainment), Item 8 (Family members being openly supportive of each other) was the component of the Black family traditions most frequently portrayed and Item 11 (Mention of a Black standard of personal beauty--hair, physical features, etc.) was the race pride component most frequently portrayed. Black traditions were portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors; Black traditions were portrayed more frequently by Black illustrators than non-Black illustrators; Black traditions were portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations; Black traditions were portrayed more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969; and Black dialect is used more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969. The major findings with reference to the pilot experimental part of this study were: LilliAnn Burwell Williams There were no significant differences between Black and non-Black children on total score and on each self-concept scale at the .05 level. However, Black children scored significantly higher than non-Black children at the .10 level on Cluster 3 (Physical Appearance and Attri— butes). Only one finding was significant at the .05 level: both Black. and non-Black children who listened to stories from books which scored high in Black traditions improved more on Cluster 1 (Behavior) than children who listened to stories from books about universal experiences. None of the differences between Black and non-Black self-concept changes were significant at the .05 level. There were no significant interaction effects, no significant race effects and no significant threatment effect with one exception: there was a significant threatment effect when Cluster 1 was the dependent variable. DEDICATION To my deceased parents The late Annie Louise and Roy Howard Burwell, Sr. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer is indebted to many individuals who unselfishly gave of themselves to make the completion of this study a reality. A special expression of gratitude is reserved for Dr. Patricia J. Cianciolo, my dissertation director. Dr. Cianciolo provided encour- agement, understanding, guidance and humor throughout my doctoral program. She remains a friend and a constant source of inspiration. A warm recognition is offered to Dr. Glenn Cooper, chairman of my doctoral committee, for being supportive and understanding. Dr. Cooper afforded me the opportunity to pursue my educational inter- ests in an atmosphere conducive to personal and professional growth and development. Special thanks to committee members Dr. Don Nickerson, Dr. James Snoddy and Dr. Louise Sause. Their moral support and unwavering interest contributed to my sense of accomplishment and was greatly appreciated. An added thanks is offered to Dr. Robert L. Green, Dean of the College of Urban Development, Michigan State University. His advice, encouragement and supportive efforts are partly responsible for my matriculation and successful program completion at MSU. I will be for- ever grateful to him for having faith in my ability to excel. Many thanks to a host of friends, especially Dr. John M. Chapman for his cheerful but tenacious manner in encouraging me to comply with deadlines; Mrs. Katherine F. Dodson for providing motivation and sound advice at those crucial times in my personal and academic life, and to relatives for their encouragement and good wishes. Finally, I am most grateful to my deceased parents whose encour- agement and love during those formative years provided the foundation for later accomplishments. For them, this achievement would be con- sidered a dream come true. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER LIST OF TABLES .......................................... I. INTRODUCTION ............................................ Purpose of the Study .................................. Need for the Study .................................... The Role of Literature in Shaping Self-Concept ........ Images of Black People in Picture Books ............... Research Questions .................................... Content Analysis .................................... Pilot Experimental Study ............................ Educational Implications .............................. Definition of Terms ................................... Limitations of the Study .............................. Organization of the Study ............................. II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ................................ Sociological Literature About Selected Black Tradi- tions ............................................... Black Music/General Discussion ...................... Black Family Traditions ............................. Race Pride .......................................... III. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ............................ Professional Literature and Research Related to Children's Literature ............................... Children's Literature About Black People in the United States ....................................... Children's Literature Affecting Concept of Self and Others .............................................. IV. METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE ............................... Part I. The Content Analysis Aspect of the Study ..... The Instrument ...................................... Procedure for Analyzing the Data for the Content Analysis of Picture Story Books ................... Reliability ......................................... Research Questions .................................. V Page 93 93 105 122 123 123 126 127 133 CHAPTER Page Part II. The Pilot Experimental Study ................ 138 Sample .............................................. 138 The Instrument ...................................... 139 Data Collection Procedures .......................... 140 Statistical Analysis ................................ 141 Determination of Sample Books ....................... 141 Summary ............................................. 146 V. RESEARCH RESULTS ........................................ . 147 Results of Content Analysis of Children's Books ....... 147 Research Questions .................................... 152 Presentation of the Data .............................. 152 Content Analysis .................................... 152 Summary ............................................... 196 VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............... 199 Summary ............................................... 199 Part I .............................................. 200 Part II ............................................. 212 Conclusions ........................................... 214 Recommendations ....................................... 216 Reflections ........................................... 218 Summary of the Chapter ................................ 223 BIBLIOGRAPHY.. .................................................. 224 APPENDIX First Version of Black Traditions Questionnaire ......... 242 Children's Books Used for Content Analysis .............. 243 Piers-Harris Measure of Self-concept .................... 252 vi TABLE 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. LIST OF TABLES . Intercorrelation Between Book Ratings Given by the Principal Rater and Those Given by Three Raters ........... . Comparison of Ratings Given to Eight Books with Regard to Black Music ............................................... . Comparison of Ratings Given to Eight Books with Regard to Black Family Traditions ................................... . Comparison of Ratings Given to Eight Books with Regard to Race Pride ................................................ . Comparison of Overall Ratings Given to Eight Books ........ . Pilot Experimental Research Design ........................ . Books Rated High in Black Traditions Used with Treatment 1 Groups .................................................... . Books with Universal Themes (Low in Black Traditions) Used with Treatment 2 Groups ................................... . Analyses of Black Traditions in Picture Books Written About Black People for Children Seven to Nine Years of Age ....................................................... Mean Scores of Three Black Traditions in Picture Books About Black People ........................................ Books Scoring Highest in Race Pride ....................... Books Scoring Highest in Black Family Traditions .......... Books Scoring High in Black Music Traditions .............. Mean Score of Components of Three Black Traditions in Picture Books About Black People .......................... Comparison of Black Authors and Non-Black Authors with Regard to Three Black Traditions .......................... vii Page 130 131 131 132 132 142 144 145 148 154 155 160 164 167 172 TABLE 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. Books Written by Black Authors ............................ Books Written by Non-Black Authors ........................ Comparison of Black Illustrators and Non-Black Illustra— tors with Regard to Three Black Traditions ................ Books Illustrated by Black Illustrators ................... Books Illustrated by Non-Black Illustrators ............... Comparison of Frequency of Black Traditions in Text and Illustrations ............................................. Books Scoring High in Black Traditions in the Text ........ Comparison of Frequency of Black Traditions in Books Published Through 1969 and Since 1970 ..................... Books Illustrated by Black Illustrators Before 1970 ....... Books Illustrated by Black Illustrators About Black People Since 1970 ................................................ Comparison of Frequency of Black Dialect in Books Published Through 1969 and Since 1970 ..................... Books Published Through 1969 that Contain Black Dialect... Books Published Since 1970 that Contain Black Dialect ..... Summary of the Findings: Content Analysis Research Questions ................................................. Summary of Findings: Experimental Study Research Questions ................................................. viii Page 173 174 178 179 181 184 186 188 189 192 194 195 195 197 198 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION For nearly a decade now the position of the Black American has been a concern of American intellectual life and evoked a commitment on the part of some to improve that position. Accompanying this concern and commitment has been an outpouring of books and articles about Black Americans. The authors of the publications have attempted to define and explain the how, when, where, what, and why of the American Black man and his culture--past, present, and future. Children's book publishers, authors, and illustrators are included among those in sociology, psychology, anthropology, and all other areas of science that study mankind. Because of the Black man's history, culture, ideology, and unity, there have evolved certain traditions that are distinct and unique when compared to those of other ethnic groups in America. Whites and some Blacks too, are often surprised to find that even with the many variations in class and in levels of consciousness, Blacks share a core of attitudes which breed an unconscious unity. Tate offers an example of a neglected implication about the commonality of Black cultural attitudes and feelings among Blacks. She explains that although his- torical records show how the "house" servants supposedly felt superior to their field brothers and sisters, no attempt is ever made to translate the common "in-group" attitudes they shared with the field slaves. The overriding factor, regardless of the differences in the way they were treated, was that both groups, "in-house" and "out-house," recognized the fact that they were all members of the Black race, oppressed and slaves. Consequently, being part of a group which was aware of its separateness promotes attitudinal and cultural develop- ment.1 Blauner expresses his opinion on the conscious and unconscious feelings and attitudes shared by Black people. He concludes that: Afro-Americans share a consciousness of a common past (and a concomitant national or ethnic identification) that white Americans simply are not privy to. How could whites perceive. react, and relate to slavery, emancipation, to the South and its history of Jim Crow and lynching, to early twentieth cen- tury race riots, and even to Montgomery and Watts in the same way as Blacks? No matter how democratic our ideals and how sensitive our human capacities, we were on the other side sociologically and existentially.2 Haskins and Butts explain that whenever a group of people are accorded a subjugated position in a culture, in order to survive, it must band together and form a subculture. Hence, to survive in a culture that has historically excluded and dehumanized them, Blacks have developed different ways of dressing, eating, speaking and living. These dif- ferences in life styles and attitudes evolved in the first place because Blacks were not afforded a position which permitted them to learn the ways of the "prestigious culture," that is, because of their 1Binnie Tate, "Authenticity and the Black Experience in Children's Books: In House and Out House," School Library Journal, October 1970. pp. 3595-3598. 2Robert Blauner, Black Culture: Myth or Reality? relegation to a subculture. Haskins and Butts deduce that continued discrimination has resulted in Blacks' confinement to ghettos and consequently, the ghetto experience in turn perpetuates and reinforces that very subculture.1 There are some experiences that are applicable to all of mankind. Human beings undergo a host of similar feelings and events in the act of living--resulting in a universal motif being played out in life, regardless of their race, creed, or color, regardless of the time and place. These universal experiences, such as sibling relation- ships, identification of sex roles, parent-child relationships, moving from childhood to adulthood, and so on, are common denominators shared by all people. Many experiences can be categorized as universal, but the way an individual reacts to these experiences is dependent on his particular history and idiosyncratic behavior. To quote James Baldwin: The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally in all that we do. It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations.2 Thus, there are experiences unique to any culture group which have been shaped by the history of the people associated with that culture group. There are many aspects of the Black experiences that can be related to the Black man's African heritage as well as his reactions 1Jim Haskins and Hugh F. Butts, The Psychology of Black Language (New York: Harper and Row, 1973), p. 39. 2James Baldwin, "Unnameable Objects, Unspeakable Crimes,“ in Black World (Chicago: Johnson Publishing Co., June 1972), pp. 28-34. to the effects of oppression in the United States. Blacks have resorted to a variety of adaptations and maladaptations in order to accommodate, overcome, or cope with the individualized and institutionalized affronts. As a result of the synthesis of the Black man's African heritage and his oppressed plight in the United States, certain traditions have been created. Baldwin identifies a host of traditions that have manifested themselves through the experiences of Black people. He offers this statement about Black people and traditions: Afro-American, Black people have a tradition in music which includes the spirituals, the blues and the gospel and the jazz; in religion which embraces faith, love, morality, communalism, Africanism(s) spirit and flesh, and social service and militancy; of family which includes the extended family, reverence for elders, welcome to strangers, and prodigal sons and daughters, race consciousness and pride, premium value on work and education, solidarity, especially in times of crises, and a preeminent regard for human life. And of course, we have a tradition of common and collective experiences which creates a way of life out of our long painful experience, coming out of the battle we have waged to maintain our integrity . . . and out of our struggle to survive. . . . There exists a depth of involvement and unspoken recognition of shared experience which creates our way of life.1 Everett proclaims that Black traditions, the long and oftentimes painful experiences of a pe0ple, have been sufficiently articulated and delineated by Black people to such a degree that it is now possible to examine selected ones. Investigation into the Black man's history has established that in Afro-American life there does exist a field of manner, a possibility of ritual, such as may, for example, sustain the 1James Baldwin as quoted in Chestyn Everett, "Blueprint for the Black Aesthetic-Tradition in Afro-American Literature,“ Black World, December 1975, pp. 20-35. Jew even after he has left his father's house.1 An investigation and analysis of the belief-system of the Black population has been conducted by sociologists, such as Myrdal, Frazier, and DuBois. Such studies have established that in Afro-American life there does exist a residue of shared collective memories and frames of reference unique to Black people. In other words, there exists some identifiable traditions common to Black people. Literature, as an art form, serves a vital role in portraying human experiences and societal mores. Oftentimes, literature mirrors a reflection of the individual and collective efforts of a people interacting and responding to their environment. It may also reveal universal experiences lived by all people and unique experiences lived by different groups of people within a culture. Subsequently, the traditions created by the Black subculture will be reflective in literature along with the universal experiences of all people. In fact, Gross and Hardy claim that literature is the true reflection of a society's attitude: Our understanding of any significant movement in human affairs can hardly be said even to approach completeness until the evidence from literature is in. Because writers of fiction and poetry tend to grope for meaning rather than superimpose them . . . literary criticism can bring to the surface what otherwise might lie buried in the culture's subconscious.2 1Chestyn Everett, "Blueprint for the Black Aesthetic-Tradition in Afro-American Literature," Black World, December 1975. 2Seymour L. Gross and John Edward Hardy, Images of the Negro in American Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966), p. i. In recent years and for many diverse reasons, there has developed among teachers, curriculum specialists, librarians, and socially conscious others an interest in the portrayal of Black people in children's literature. These persons are also interested in seeking possible ways to integrate this "Black literature" into the school program. Although the most noticeable changes involving Black and multiethnic literature for children has occurred in the last ten to twelve years, these concerns were registered as early as 1932 when the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection stated in its report on Children's Reading that "Negro children need books even more in some respects than other children do. Their way is more difficult; they have further to go; defeat is frequent and success often dangerous. They need much, and so much of what they need only the best books can ill give. Concurrently, the poet and novelist Langston Hughes wrote in the Children's Library Yearbook advancing this position: "Faced too often by the segregation and scorn of the surrounding white children, America's Negro children are in pressing need of books that will give them back their souls. They do not know the beauty they possess."2 The need to give Black children "back their own souls" is crucial and overdue, for as Gross and Hardy state: "It is unfortunate for Negroes that the most powerful formulation of modern American fictional words 1Carl H. Millan, Chairman, Subcommittee on Reading, White House Conference on Child Health and Protection, Children's Reading: A Study of Voluntarngeading of Boys and Girls in the United States, New York, 1932, p. 45. 2Ibid. have been so slanted against him that when he approaches for a glimpse of himself he discovers an image drained of humanity."1 Historically, Black educators, historians, religious leaders, poets and others have generated concerted efforts to compensate for the pacity of books thought desirable and mentally hygienic for Black children. Muse refers to the contributions of A. E. Johnson (The Joy, Clarence and Corrine, or God's Ways, 1889), Paul Lawrence Dunbar (Little Brown Baby, 1896), Charles Wesley, Carter G. Woodson (African Heroes and Heroines), and W. E. B. DuBois (The Brownies, 1922-24). For the next 40 years it was the church that would assume the responsibility for most of the liter- ature published for Black children. Later, writers of the Harlem Renaissance such as Langston Hughes,2Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, Sterling Brown, and Claude McKay, to mention a few, also heeded the call to capture and continue to vitalize the imagination and spirit of Black children. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to achieve the following objectives: (1) to determine if and how selected Black traditions (Black music, Black family traditions, and race pride) have been portrayed in picture books written about Black people in the United States for children seven . 1Seymour L. Gross and John Edward Hardy, Images of the Negro in American Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966). 2Langston Hughes, "Books and the Negro Child," Children's Library Yearbook, Vol. 4 (1932), p, 110, to nine years of age during the 1956 to 1976 time period and (2) to design a Pilot Experimental Study to determine what impact these portrayals have on the self-concept of Black children who were exposed to these books. Need for the Study If Black traditions are portrayed in children's picture books, they could serve as a valuable criteria to several groups. First, they may be used by Black authors and illustrators to enhance their portrayal of Black people. Second, they may be used as a cultural gauge for non- Black authors and illustrators who portray and illustrate experiences outside of their own. Third, they may be used for young readers (Black and non-Black) to gain knowledge and understanding of the implications and ramifications that these traditions have on the lives of people, especially Black people. Johnson claims that all people need a defini- tion of history and culture to establish criteria for what should be reflected in books. She expresses her feelings on Black history and culture in the following statement: Black history is the record of what Black people have created, nurtured, produced in the past; black culture is the totality of Black people's mode of living, recreation, aesthetics, and government. From either of these, whatever is relevant to world history and world culture establishes the basis for our criteria. And since black people are persons of African descent living anywhere in the world, "African" vs. "Afro-American" distinguish between Old World and New World culture and history. Whatever in Old World culture has influenced the New World is relevant to young children because it touches their lives in various ways.1 1Edwina Johnson, "Black History: The Early Childhood Vacuum," School Library Journal, May 1969, pp. 43-44. Johnson concludes that what is part of the common life and comfort of all people in America and created by Black people should be reflected in books for the very young. McWorton comments on the teachings of Maulana Ron Karenga, who stresses Africanization and emphasizes that "to return to tradition is to take the first step forward." The emphasis on the role of culturally acquired values is important and will provide a framework of reference for the reorientation of Black people. Karenga feels: . Cultural background transcends education. Having a scope is different from having a content. 0 A value system has three functions: to give some predictability of behavior, it is an ultimate authority, and it serves as a means of security. 0 We stress culture because it gives identity, purpose, and direction. It tells us who we are, what we must do, and how we can do it.1 Everett subscribes to the belief that a people with no knowledge of their history are like a tree without roots; a tree without roots cannot grow new branches, nor bend in the wind nor stand in the storm.2 In the article by McWorton, there is stated a major argument against using the African concepts to develop a feeling of identity and self-worth. The reasoning in this argument is grounded in the belief that while Blacks are descendants of African peoples, they are American Negroes because they were born here. An over-simplified, 1Gerald McWorton, "The Ideology of Black Social Science," The Black Scholar, December 1969, pp. 28-35. 2Chestyn Everett, "'Tradition' in Afro-American Literature," Black World, December 1975, pp. 20-35. 10 but accurate answer to the question is given by Malilk Shabazz. He succinctly states, "If a cat gave birth in an oven, she wouldn't have biscuits, she'd have kittens." Hence, the notion that "the Negro is only an American and nothing else" is a myth.1 The most obvious refutation of this argument can be found in Black pe0ple's music, dance, style of dance, and the way most Black people look. Everett gives a statement supporting the inseparableness of tradition, literature and life in reference to Black people. He states: There is a tradition of Black life-view, lifestyles and of oral and written history and expression. All these entities form a basic and concentric weaving pattern in the culture, history and expression of Afro-Americans. To deny their historical reality and/or to ignore their contemporary validity is to cut away vital organs from the Black body political aesthetic. The body may heal but it will not be whole and will carry forever the marks of its wounds. For we shall have cut away a necessary dimension; this dimension being the relationship which [we] bear to one another; that depth by involvement and unspoken recognition of shared experience which creates [our] way of life.2 Everett concludes that: although literature and life are not the same, they are inseparable; and tradition is the holding center. And any literature which denies a tradition removes the necessary cultural cohesion of the form, sensibilities and integrity of the literature itself.3 Billingsley, in an article entitled "The Burden of the Negro in Modern Afro-American Fiction," reveals how the black man not only labors under the implicitly negative and materialistic definitions of 1Gerald McWorton, "The Ideology of Black Social Science," The Black Scholar, December 1969, p. 32. 2Everett, "'Tradition' in Afro-American Literature," p. 35. 3Ibid., p. 35. 11 value which this country sells to all its citizens, but the explicitly negative definitions by color and race definitions which proclaim the inherent worthlessness of Black people. He feels the only way Black citizens are to have a healthy life is to throw off swr‘ definitions. Black literary artists, like Baldwin, are committed to the task of throwing off negative definitions of Black people and forging positive ones. He states that: in a very fundamental sense one can say that a major burden of the Black hero, and indeed of all oppressed peoples, is to forge definitions of themselves which will allow them to live with dignity and the possibility for self-fulfillment.1 The point being, contemporary artists and especially contemporary Black artists could use Black traditions, the "concentric weaving pattern on the culture, history and expression of Afro-Americans" as a launching pad (catalyst), as the holding center, to portray the Black experience in children's literature. Everett reminds us that there are those who do have a sensibility sufficiently profound and tough enough to make this tradition articulate. He emphasizes that: if our body-burdened, illiterate, strong, long-suffering, soul-filled ancestors could create one of the world's most profound, poetic, and moving music traditions; if these same self-freed and hunted slaves could establish in their stories and slave narratives a "profound and tough" moral and literary tradition, carried on by a long, line of prophet/poets who came and keep coming after them, then certainly now--when the Black world is so many-spendored by some of the most gifted, creative and distinguished writers and artists, young and senior, that the race and the world have known--they certainly can nobly advance the best of this tradition and, as I heard a brother say "standing on the shoulders of our forefathers" set our rainbow in the sky.2 1Ronald G. Billingsley, "The Burden of the Hero in Modern Afro- American Fiction," Black World, December 1975, pp. 38-45. 2Everett, "'Tradition' in Afro-American Literature," p. 35. 12 Fuller contends that the literature of a people will reflect the experience of that people. He observes: The literature of a people will detail the travails of that people, if travails, is an over-riding characteristic of that pe0ple's experience. A Laplander will not tell tales of palm trees swaying gently to tropical breezes in some warm sunny place . . . and so, because the lives of Black people on the American continent have been characterized by great travail, the literature of Black people in America is reflective of that experience.1 If Fuller is correct in his statement regarding the travails of a pe0ple being reflected in their literature, the question this researcher is concerned with is: Are the traditions of Black people that evolved as a result of their travails reflected in children's literature books and if so, how are they portrayed? Perhaps if Black children could extract the meaning in and of Black traditions in the text and illustrations of picture books, it would enhance their present and future feelings, thoughts, and lives. Curtis and Walters believe the Black child must be able to feel secure and comfortable within his own black skin, at peace with himself as a person of value, irrespective of irrelevancies of skin shade and economic status.2 Tate proclaims that one way to build positive values is through literary works for children. She hypothesizes that the giving of more space in our books to the creative aspects of African technology, music, folklore, literature, and the arts in general, would give the Afro-American child a greater sense of dignity and belongingness, lHoyt W. Fuller "The Forms and Focus of Black Literature," Black Books Bulletin 3 (Fall 1975): 2Thomas Curtis and Colin Walters, "Ethnic Studies: How Black Is Beautiful?" Black Books Bulletin 2 (Winter 1974): 20-22. 13 and the American white child a more wholesome feeling concerning the accomplishments of Africans and their place in world society.1 Johnson offers a relevant example of how the giving of more space in our books to the aspects of African folklore and literature may help give a sense of belongingness and a sense of dignity to Afro-American children. She insists that young children, who enjoy Aesop's Fables, should know that Aesop was a Black African taken to Greece where he wrote these fables.2 Virginia cox, the author of the book The Story of the Alphabet agrees with Tate on what should be presented to children in books. She alludes to the fact that during her entire eight years in elementary school, Little Black Sambo was the only book about Black people she encountered. She remembers that she never liked the book and it took her years to understand the reasons. She states that fortunately for Black children of today they can read books and look at pictures that more honestly reflect their lives. In an effort to give Black children a sense of dignity and belongingness, Cox admits that the main reason she wrote the alphabet book was to show Black children that the roots of the alphabet used by the Western World originated in Africa. The need for Black children to see a positive reflection of themselves in the mirror of history and the importance of showing non-black children that their Black schoolmates have a cultural heritage that is important to the development of civilization is paramount in the development of 1Binnie Tate, "Authenticity and the Black Experience in Children's Books: In House and Out House," School LibraryiJournal (October 1970):3595-3598. 2Edwina Johnson, "Black History: The Early Childhood Vacuum," School Library Journal, May 1969. 14 present-day children's literature books.1 Through improved children's literature books portraying Black traditions, a better and more accurate understanding between Black children and between children of other races may evolve. These books. should be read by all children--not as special books, but because they are good books, meeting the basic criteria of children's literature and the rigid demands of children themselves, and should be presented to children as a part of their normal, everyday reading. Many of the prejudices, stereotypes and myths about Black people can be eradicated and replaced with knowledgeable and wholesome information. Books that portray Black traditions may help young readers open doors into the many faceted worlds of Black Americans. DeTrevino, author and Newbery Award recipient, accepts the premise that all children share the capacity for empathy, and therein lies the hope for a better, more humane understanding of individuals and situations, which could even- tually result in positive race relations in the future. She theorizes: In one Special quality common to all children, we may have the foundation stone on which we can construct a lasting peace. It has been there . . . handed down through the centuries; each generation of children, the world over, puts it into our hands anew. . . . I refer to the capacity for empathy. Children can identify with all things and all creatures. Brotherhood is natural to them. If, then, we foster and preserve and mature this empathy, the men and women they become will be able to know the pe0ple of the earth by sharing their being. Then, I think, we can build; we can really achieve that ultimate good, "peace on earth."2 1Virginia Cox, "The Story of the Alphabet," School Library Journal, May 1969, p. 32. 2Elizabeth B. DeTrevino as quoted in the foreword by Spencer G. Shaw, A Bibliography of Negro History and Culture for Young_Readers by Miles M. Jackson, 3?} ‘Published for Atlanta University by the Univer- sity of Pittsburgh Press, 1968, p. xxi. 15 If educators, librarians, authors, and illustrators of children's literature accept this premise, then the findings from this study may serve as another bridge to close the gap that separates the worlds of Black and white children. This pilot experimental study may help teachers, counselors, parents and others who are concerned with helping Black children acquire a positive self-concept. Data may be obtained that will reveal the influence of selected Black traditions in picture books on the enhance- ment of the Black child's self-concept. The Role of Literature in Shaping Self-Concept Comfortable answers to the age-old questions of "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" or "Why am I like I am?" can be provided for the Black child to identify with if Black traditions are revealed in picture books. Black children should be taught to understand that there are universal experiences shared by all people. For, as James Baldwin says, You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me the most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.1 Along with the understanding that there are universal experi- ences lived by all people, each ethnic group should be made aware of the experiences that are unique to their particular culture and race. Wolfe 1James Baldwin as quoted in Reading Ladders for Human Relations. Virginia M. Reid, ed. (Washington, D.Ci: American Council on Edhcation, 1972 , p. 11. 16 advocates that our children--Black, white, brown, red, yellow--should have to go no farther than the nearest classroom to learn about self- worth and human dignity.1 The writer is of the opinion that oftentimes minority group members are treated like non-persons in our society. Consequently, they feel lost and seek some kind of identity. This researcher feels that positive self-identification is a motivator in the teaching/learning process. Snyder suggests these feelings of self-worth have a definite bearing on learning and it is even thought by some educators that the way students see themselves and their abil- ities is the most important factor in achievement.2 Purkey (1970) cited the following research showing the value of self-worth toward achievement: Morse (1963) found that the reported self-concept of ability was a better predictor of classroom achievement than 1.0., and this was true for both Negro and Caucasian students. Haarer (1964) worked with ninth-graders and found that the reported self-concept of ability was better than the 1.0. as a predictor of the achievement of both public school male students and institutionalized delinquent boys. Keefer (1966) in a study of self-predictions of academic achievement of college students, found they were better predictors of collegiate achievement than high school grades and American College test scores. Purkey drew the following conclusion: "A student carries with him certain attitudes about himself and his abilities which play a primary role in how he performs in school.3 1As cited in Purkey (see footnote 3 below). , 2Doris C. Snyder, "Said the mirror, 'It is good,'" The. ReadingTeacher, December 1974. 3William Watson Purkey, Self-Concept and School Achievement (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970). 17 Furthermore, the Report on the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders suggests the adoption of the following educational practice to improve school performance: Recognition of the history, culture and contribution of minority groups to American civilization in the textbooks and curricula of all schools. In addition, school curricula should be adapted to take advantage of student experiences and interest in order to stimulate motivation. If Black children were able to identify with their traditions, their proud heritage and their great potential in a positive way, this could result in an increased desire to read and enjoy books. As far back as 1939, Kenneth and Mamie Clark found that Black children evaluated Blacks negatively and evaluated whites positively. It seems reasonable to conclude that Black traditions in children's literature is one means by which Black people can enhance the positive self-concept of Black children despite the constant bombardment by all phases of mass media reinforcing just the opposite. Research studies are needed to test such a hypothesis. Killens comments on the meager visibility Black people are afforded in all avenues of the mass media in America. He observes: The American Negro remains a cultural nonentity as far as books, television, movies and Broadway are concerned. It is as if twenty million Americans do not exist; twenty million people are committed to oblivion. . . . A Negro child can go to school and look into his school books and children's books and come home and watch television and go to an occasional movie, and follow this routine from day to day, month to month, and year to year, and hardly if ever see a reflection of himself. 1Miles M. Jackson, Jr., A Bibliography of Negro History and Culture for Young Readers (Pittsburgh n1v of PittSburgh’Press, 1968). 2John Killens as quoted in Jesse M. Birtha, “Portrayal of the Black in Children's Literature," Top of the News, June 1970, pp. 397-398. 18 The deductive reasoning exercised by Black children that results in their negative self-concept development is understandable in light of the many influences they are exposed to every day of their lives--racist word connotations, value standards that establish a criteria for such concepts as "good" and "bad" hair, and the glorification of all things non-black in the mass media. Conversely, it is understandable to see how non-black children as a result of mass exposure to the idea that "white is right" develop positive attitudes about themselves. Poussaint points out several of the many influences that help indoctrinate Black people in this country: Fairy tales sew the seeds of racism and sexism. The "beautiful, fair princess" concept has many implications and it is a tool of indoctrination. Santa Clause, the great white father and all those white religious images are similar tools. It's no wonder that Blacks grow up with warped images about what's beautiful and good. It is pounded into them. It is perhaps possible that the self-concept, the mental and emotional health of Black children can be nurtured on books that portray Black traditions. Smith offers this definition about self-concept and its role in self-perception: The self-concept plays a very significant role in the way a person views anything. The self-concept provides a person with an inner direction, a map or a compass as to which route one's life should travel. Stated another way, as you think you are--often you are.2 1Alvin Poussaint, "New Values Challenge Old Assumptions," Interracial Books for Children Bulletin 7 (1976): 2-3. 2Donald H. Smith, as quoted in Black Self-Concept, edited by James A. Banks and Jean D. Grambs (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1972 , p. 37. 19 Certainly, severe emotional disturbances may result from a youngster's sense of failure and low self-concept. Children's literature may be one means by which this unfortunate and unnecessary phenomenon can be halted. Tate quotes Julius Lester on his philosophy of improving self- concept. She states, "Writers like Lester make clear a statement that one way to build positive values is to destroy negative ones through literary works for children."1 Muse reminds us of the prized and coveted position of the Griots--traditionally the oral chroniclers of our history and its development--of our African communities. She states that in the days of our ancestors, both on the Continent and throughout the Diaspora, they constantly saw to it that our history and the legacies of our people were told and retold. Muse makes an analogy between our Griots of the past and our contemporary ones. Julius Lester, June Jordan, Gwendolyn Brooks, Tom Feelings, and Virginia Hamilton have been cited for recultivating and nurturing this tradition sensitively, realistically and with a true sense of spirited adventure.2 Images of Black People in Picture Books An examination of most contemporary realistic picture books for children about Black people reveals that many authors/illustrators invariably emphasize ghetto life and the glorification of poverty. 1Tate, p. 3595. zDaphne Muse, "Black Children's Literature, Rebirth of a Neglected Genre," The Black Scholar, December 1975, pp. 11-15. 20 For example, Thompson and Woodward in an article entitled "Black Perspective" are of the opinion that, identification for the young Black reader rests in the central character's intimate knowledge of Black subculture-- his use of informal grammer and idiom, his loosely structured family life, his sophistication and independence in worldly matters, and his brief sketches of the kinds of good times city children make for themselves. . . . "And that time we was playin in the park under the bushes and we found these two dead rats and one was brown and one was black."1 Although the book Train Ride by Steptoe is about Black youngsters living in their ghetto environment who decide to take a train ride and hence, discover that there is a "great big world out there," assures the ghetto child that he is important enough to be portrayed in literature, it does not portray any Black traditions. Rather, it emphasizes what Perkins calls the "Street Institution" and what other people view as the uni- versal experience of any urban child. In "The Need for a Pan-Afrikanist Alternative to the Street Institution," Perkins states: In America a Black youth--instead of being directed by a set of well-defined group values, finds himself gaining his knowledge in life in the Street Institution. The Street Institution constitutes an institution in the same way that the church, school and family are conceived as institutions. . . . The streets become his primary reference because other institutions have failed. . . . As influential in helping Black children to cope with a system of oppression, it must be abolished. The Street Institution only serves as a sur- vival artery, but does not help a child to go beyond its closed boundaries. The function of the Street Institution is to help a child cope with oppression, but not overcome it. . . . It cannot help a child plan for the future. . . . It cannot master an offensive because it is constantly being put on the defensive. The Street Institution recognizes 1Judith Thompson and Gloria Woodward, "Black Perspective in Books for Children," Wilson Library Bulletin, December 1969, pp. 416-424. 21 oppression, accepts it, and then develops a coping posture to survive in spite of it.1 An alternative to the emphasis on derogatory aspects of ghetto life about Black pe0ple in children's literature could be the positive high- lighting of a more constructive nature, such as: Black traditions, history, and cultural heritage which have their roots wherever Blacks have lived, including the ghetto. The resulting new themes in chil- dren's literature would prove liberating and possibly act as a purging agent, for historically, Blacks have been portrayed in a negative light. This upgrading of literary themes in children's books may help reduce racism and stereotyping of Blacks. Jordan recognizes the need for "alternative stories" for youngsters of every age: . . devoted, revolutionary, exceptional, plausible, necessary, urgently overdue, alternative stories, models, facts--alternative information that can feed and nourish the spirit otherwise overwhelmed by destructive, loathsome, painful images of ourselves. I am opposed to the apparent, overwhelmingly negative reality that consigns us to frustration, shame and impotence.2 Mathis found evidence that Black children, drawn by enticing book jackets, are being led to racist materials which are flooding the country and bombarding the Black child with carefully written, carefully edited words/messages designed to document that Black is not desirable but ignorant, clownish, and pathetic. Books laden with vivid self- hatred-producing images are being published for and about the Black child. For example, Theodore Taylor's award winning book The Cay gives this message to Black children: 1Eugene Perkins, "The Need of a Pan-Afrikanist Alternative to the Street Institution," Black Books Bulletin 2 (Winter 1974): 8-11. 2Sharon Bell Mathis, "True/False Messages for the Black Child," Black Books Bulletin, Winter 1974. 22 I saw a huge very old Negro sitting on the raft near me. He was ugly. His nose was flat and his face was broad. . . . His face couldn't have been blacker, or his teeth whiter. They made an alabaster trench in his mouth, and his pink- purple lips peeled back over them like the meat of a conch shell. . . . I knew he was West Indian.1 Mathis says her concern is that these words are being read and probably accepted by far too many Black children. Rosalind Goddard, children's librarian at the Ascot Branch Library in Los Angeles, in an article that made public the views of several librarians on a t0pic emphasizing the image of Black pe0ple in children's literature states: As a Black librarian working with Black children, I have been offended countless times by books which negate and "innocently" desparage the image of the black man on-text and illustrations. . . . Ignorant, well-meaning writers fail to capture and relate the truth of the black experience. . . Valid books for the black child must capture truth and the sense of a definite culture through authentic set- tings and character portrayals.2 The dearth of valid books that "captures truth and the sense of a definite culture through authentic settings and character portrayals" is a recognized and rectifiable problem. Thompson and Woodward claim that: The histories and biographies are illuminating the black experience; the fiction is not. The histories are providing identification and inspiring pride in self, in ethnic group, in African heritage; the fiction is not.3 1Sharon Bell Mathis, "True-False Messages for the Black Child," Black Books Bulletin 2 (Winter 1974): 12-19. 2Rosalind Goddard as quoted in "Authenticity and the Black Experience in Children's Books," Librarnyournal, 15 October 1970, p. 3596. 3Thompson and Woodward, pp. 415-424, 23 Eloise Greenfield, author of several books portraying Black people, feels children should know about the contributions of their elders. An appreciation of these contributions, which include the practical guidance, moral support, and wisdom that older people have given, are of valuable assistance in growing up. She continues by expounding on what she wants for Black children: I want to give children a true knowledge of Black heritage, including both the African and the American experiences. . . It is necessary for Black children to have a true knowledge of their past and present, in order that they may develop an informed sense of direction for their future.1 Greenfield also comments on one of the aspects of Black culture investigated in the present study--the Black family. She states: The median, especially, television, for the most part does not reflect the strength of the Black family. The mirror that they hold up for children is a carnival mirror, a fun house mirror, reflecting misshapen images, exaggerated or devaluated as the needs of the situation 2comedy demand. Love is a staple in most Black families. As late as 1965, Nancy Larrick stated that across the country 6,340,000 non-white children were growing up, getting their insights into the American way of life through books which either ignored them completely or scarcely mentioned them. When Larrick eliminated such books as African folktales and historical stories dating back to early United States history, the percentage of books which told a story about the Black American goes down to 0.8 percent. The percentage of books lEloise Greenfield, "Something to Shout About," Horn Book 52 (December 1975): 624-627. 2Ibid., p. 625. 24 which include today's Black American is 28 percent as compared with the 0.8 percent in Larrick's study.1 This study is now being replicated by Jean Chall at Harvard University. It will be interesting to compare the findings about images of Black people in children's books ten years later (study will be based on children's books published between 1965-1975). The importance of an accurate portrayal of Blacks in children's literature is crucial. The self-concept of the Black child is at stake. Birtha believes that everything a child reads plays its part in forming the adult which he will become. Children's minds are impressionable--ideas, attitudes, and ideals are being formed. . . . Children need books through which both black and whites can be educated to real life situations through accurate portrayal of life. . . . Liter- ature is an important factor in shaping the end result of this change, for everything that a child reads plays its part in forming the adult which he will become.2 She also feels: books should be chosen which can help the black child to realize his identity, his individuality, his proud heritage, and his great potential, books which can help the white child to recognize, understand, and appreciate the tremendous cultural and historical contribution of his fellow Americans. These books should be read by black and white children--not as special books, but because they are good books, meeting the basic criteria of children's literature and the rigid demands of children themselves, and should be presented to children as a part of their normal, everyday reading.3 lNancy Larrick, "The All-White World of Children's Books," Saturday REVIEW 40, September 1965, p. 63. 2Birtha, pp. 395-408. 3Ibid., p. 399. 26 Young offers a noteworthy statement about the new literature for Blacks: Perceiving the value of literature, authors must begin to write for Black children in ways that will deliberately attempt to eradicate the harmful influences that exist. In this way authors will begin to effect a change in the self- concept of Black children. In order to accomplish this task, it is essential that authors not only understand the histor- ical and environmental forces that affect Black children, they must understand the important psychological needs that arise out of the "black experience." With this in mind, authors will begin to evaluate past literature and to create new literature with a new understanding. Black literature must achieve three essential criteria if it is to be of value to Black children: Black literature must completely nullify the deceptive influences that prevent Black children from finding self-esteem; black literature must convey realism; and black literature must be authentic.1 Research Questions Content Analysis 1. Which of the three specific Black traditions (Black music, Black family traditions, race pride) is most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people? 2. Which component of each Black tradition is most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people? 3. Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors? 4. Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black illustrators than non-Black illustrators? 5. Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations? 6. Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published thro ah 1969. 1Jacqueline Lee Young, "Criteria in Selection of Black Literature for Children," Freedomway, Spring 1973, pp. 107-113. 26 7. Is Black dialect (as evidence of’Black pride) used more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969? Pilot Experimental Study 1. Are there significant differences between Black children and non—Black children on each selchoncept scale? 2. Do children who listen to stories from books which score high in Black traditions improve more on each selchoncept scale than children who listen to stories from books about universal experiences? 3. Do Black children who participate in such an experiment improve more on each self-concept scale than non-Black children? 4. Are there significant interaction effects between experimental treatment and race? Educational Implications 1. If it is up to the field of education to transmit cultural ideals, values, and attitudes, educators have often been derelict in their responsibility to accurately depict the ethnic heritage of minor- ity group members in a positive way. This is an opportunity for educators to rectify much of the adverse stereotyping that has been perpetuated and help other academicians who contribute to the study of mankind to do the same. \ Falcon holds the position that books are an important element of "the industry of culture" as well as "normative" elements in culture transmission. He postulates that as economic and social phenomena, books are subject to the forces which characterize two domains of life in society--the forces of the market place and those of social groups. 27 Books for children are not exempt from such basic considerations. Falcon also advances this position vis-a-vis books, economic and social processes: Because of the close relationship between economic and social processes, books as a form of cultural transmission reflect the prevailing values of society. . . . They tend to mirror the values of those groups which exercise control or authority. Hence, books are not neutral objects for the transmission of knowledge but are instruments for perpet- uating the existing distribution of power and privilege within a particular society.1 2. This study may well provide education with data it can use to evaluate accurately and precisely how Black traditions are portrayed in picture books. Thus, it may provide a basis for the formation of criteria that can be used by book selectors to evaluate the ethnic traditions of Blacks as they are portrayed in picture books. 3. Since books published from 1956 to 1969 and from 1970 to 1976 will be examined collectively and separately, a determination may be possible to decide if the civil rights movement in the late 19605 had any impact or influence in the treatment of selected traditions in picture books. 4. The influence of picture books about Black people in the United States on the self-concept of Black children could well help in the curriculum planning and the overall approach used in educating minority children. It is often said that integration may be the law of the land, but most of the books seen in our schools are white. Many 1Luis Nieves Falcon, "Children's Books as a Liberating Force," Interracial Books for Children Bulletin 7 (1976): 4. 28 of the available books portray Blacks with the same physical features as Caucasians or so tanned that it is impossible to identify them. With the new emphasis on the use of bibliotherapy--the directed reading of books to aid in modifying the attitudes and behaviors of children and youth-~teachers could integrate this strategy into their curriculums in hopes of enhancing the self-concept of Black children through identi- fication while acquainting the non-black child with the heroes, heroines, lifestyles and mores of a people similar, but also different from them. The role of children's literature in enhancing the self-concept of children and Black children in particular, has become a possibility with promising results. Baker highlights the need to eradicate all books that reinforce derogatory images. She contends that: It is therefore of paramount importance that books for children should not reinforce the stereotypes about Negroes that are still in force, to some degree at least, in American culture. Books ought to dispel such thinking, particularly in areas where everyday contact with members of this race are infrequent or entirely lacking. Books may serve as the only means some children have of knowing what individual members of the group are really like.1 5. It is apparent that children of both races with limited racial contact are in dire need of multicultural education. Books are not the most direct way of providing our children with a well-balanced picture of heterogeneous American groups and lifestyles, but it may serve as an indirect method of exposure. Henry posits the need for all children to be exposed to an accurate portrayal of every American. He argues: 1Augusta Baker, "The Changing Image of the Black in Children's Literature," The Horn Book Magazine 51 (February 1975): 88. 29 The reason I am concerned with the lack of Negro images in textbooks, in motion pictures, in every other educational tool that we use in the American school is not just because I want my son, or any other Negro son, to have a better image of himself, but because I want every American to have a sense of value for every other American. I feel this is exceedingly important in the development of the positive self- -image within each individual. 1 Werner advocates the use of children's literature in the formation of racial attitudes. Her recommendation is given in the following statement. Languages and prejudices are subtly developed. Perhaps subtle means can be effective in helping create better human relations, based on a black child with a healthy self-image and a white child with a healthy image of the black child. As we use literature consciously in other areas to develop imagination, tolerance of other religions, etc., should we not be aware of this subtle potential for changing race attitudes? Aware of the opportunity, can we not change it to power?2 The potential of using children's literature as a liberating force is hypothesized by Baldwin in the following statement: If . . . one managed to change the curriculum in all the schools so that Negroes learned more about themselves and their real contributions to this culture, you would be liberating not only Negroes, you'd be liberating3 white people who know nothing about their own history. 1Jules Henry as quoted in William C. Kvaraceus, John S. Gibson, Franklin K. Patterson, Bradbury Seasholes, and Jean 0. Grambs, Negro Self-Concept: Implications for School and Citizenship (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. , 1965), p. 49. 2Judy Werner, "Black Pearls and Ebony," School Library Journal 14 (May 1968): 67 3James Baldwin as quoted in William C. Kvaraceus, John S. Gibson, Franklin K. Patterson, Bradbury Seasholes, and Jean 0. Grambs, Neggo Self- Concept: Implications for School and Citizenshipg(New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. , 1965), p. 26. 30 Definition of Terms Picture book: Those books in which the picture and the text have equal significance in the portrayal of the story. Black tradition: The resulting beliefs, attitudes, and values of the majority of Black people as a consequence of their shared historical and cultural experiences that were created by the combination of their African heritage and their experiences in America. Universal experience: Those experiences commonly shared by man and not unique to any ethnic group. These are also books referred to by this researcher as "low in Black traditions." self-concept: A composite of thoughts and feelings which constitute a person's awareness of his individual existence, his conception of who and what he is.1 Illustration: Any drawing, painting, photograph, or other visible graphic representation found in books written for young children. Limitations of the Study 1. Treatment not the only reason for resulting changes. There could have been other factors over which this researcher had no control. a. Length of time was probably too short to bring about a permanent attitude change because the study was done only over a one year period. b. Children from Treatment 1 and Treatment 2 groups were from the same classrooms. Thus, there were opportunities for them to com- pare the experiences they had during the storytelling sessions. 2. Books used were picture books and were those addressed to children seven to nine years of age. 1Arthur J. Jersild, In Search of Self (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1960), p. 9. 31 Organization of the Study For the purpose of convenience and systematic consideration, this study is reported in six chapters. In Chapter I, an introduction to the study, the need for the study, purpose of the study, research questions to be answered, and definition of terms are stated. In Chapter II, a review of the research, sociological litera- ture, historical reports and documents related to Black music, Black family traditions, race pride, and self-concept will be presented. In Chapter III, a review of the research studies related to the image of Black people in children's literature will be reported. Chapter IV includes a description of the method used to create the rating instrument along with a detailed report on the methodology and procedures used in the content analysis and experimental aspects of the study. The findings are reported and analyzed in Chapter V. Chapter VI provides a summary of the study with conclusions, implications, and recommendations for future research. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Sociological Literature About Selected Black TraditiOns Black Music/General Discussion The United States consumes a great deal of music but as yet has not produced nearly so much as it consumes. Unlike other nations, it does not have a wealth of native music. In fact, probably the only native music it can boast about is black music. Music served as a means of survival for Black slaves in the United States. Haskin and Butts offer this explanation: Rhythm and intonation probably constituted the first survival techniques for the Black slaves. Here is not meant physical survival but the survival of individualism in an otherwise destroyed personality and the survival of the group through activity. These techniques first surfaced in the work songs of the slaves. Because of the nature of their work in the cotton fields, the hands and feet being busy, they could not be used to promote rhythm. That left the slaves' voices, and here intonation became all important. It was under these conditions that the single call-mass response form developed. Each man developed his own cry, by means of which he could express his own personal sound, his own individualism. In this sense, the work songs were revolutionary, enabling the slaves to join together and at the same time to remain individuals in the face of overt suppression.1 Patterson explained that the oral traditions of the Black people (songs, ballads, etc.) were their answer to or means of 1Haskins and Butts, "Black Song for Survival," The Psychology of Black Language (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1973), p. 67. 32 33 coping with the oppressive circumstances imposed upon them by non-Blacks. For a long time in many parts of our republic, it was a crime for anyone to teach the Black man to read and write . . . forcing him to lean heavily on his oral tradition, and thus out of repression the spirituals were born. These developed into other forms, such as the work songs, ballads, blues and street cries. In all these musical forms, the words were as important as the music.1 Brooks,in a study entitled "A Historical Study of Black Music and Selected Twentieth-Century Composers and Their Role in American Society: A Source Book for Teachers“ indicates and acknowledges the musical contributions of Black people. The results of his study indicates that, the Black man in spite of intolerable conditions under which he is forced to live, has been able to make very definite contributions to American society in the field of music. The Black man, through his own distinct musical characteristics has made an artistic contribution which is a product of his environment. He further states that "his race, in a biological sense, has had nothing to do with these characteristics and that they are sociological in nature."2 Historically, Blacks have a long history of fine expression through rhythm and music. It was traditional in the African civiliza- tion of Mali for its musicians to undergo long periods of professional 1Lindsay Patterson as quoted in "Communication in Black Culture," Essence, February 1977, p. 33. 2Telford Brooks, "A HiStorical Study of Black Music and Selected Twentieth Century Black Composers and Their Role in American Society: A Sogrce Book for Teachers" (Ph.D. dissertation, Washington University, 1972 . 34 training which included an elaborate range of string, wind, and‘ percussion instruments. This musical culture has survived in West Africa for at least a thousand years and because of its influence brought over by the slaves upon American music, the United States has been able to achieve an independence from European musical forms and traditions, resulting in new forms of expression.1 Through the course of history, Lydon states how the African became slave, became American slave, became freed American slave, became American black man. Although the trauma was as complete as anything imaginable, the fact that an identity--a point of view, a sense of positiveness rather than despair--did survive such agony is miraculous. Music has been the most tolerated and striking expression of Black American identity. Black people sang at work, at play, and at prayer; what a black person sang, he/she was. Consequently, as Black people's sphere of action and sense of self grew, and their experiences became more varied, so did their music grow and diversify.2 The late Mahalia Jackson, world famous singer of gospel music, reveals how gospel, blues and jazz are inextricably bound to each other and the underlying reasons why this is so: Gospel, blues and jazz are all interrelated aspects of Black American music--it would be impossible to consider one without the other. In African culture there had been no division of life into religious and secular moments-- any event of significance was an occasion for "praise" 1Haskins and Butts, The Psychology of Black Language, p. 67. 2Michael Lydon, Boggie Lightning(New York: Dial Press, 1974), p. 8. 35 songs: a child's tooth falling out, the onset of puberty, the arrival of visitors, the desire for a traveler's safe return. Musically, this tradition continued in America.1 The power of song in the struggle for Black survival and identity is apparent in the spirituals, blues, jazz and may be viewed as cultural expressions of black people, having prime significance for their community. The need for Black people to express their moods and feelings, their joys and sorrows and/or to simply "refresh their spirits in the sound and rhythm of black humanity" that is inherent in Black music serves several functional purposes for Black people who are both the experiencers and creators of that music. Cone expresses the belief that he is convinced that it is not possible to render an authentic interpretation of black music without having shared and participated in the experience that created it. He contends that Black music must be lived before it can be understood.2 Cone highlights several of the purposes of black music. First, black music is unity music. This is so because it unites the joy and the sorrow, the love and the hate, the hope and the despair of black pe0p1e; and it moves the people toward the direction of total libera- tion. It shapes and defines being black and creates cultural structures for black expression. It is also thought to be unifying because it confronts the individual with the truth of black existence and affirms that black being is possible only in a communal context. Second, black 1Hettie Jones, Big Star Fallin' Mama (New York: The Viking Press, Inc., 1974), p. 65. 2James H. Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues: An Interpretation (New York: Seabury Press, 1972), p. 4. 36 music is functional because its purposes and aims are directly related to the consciousness of the black community. The definition of func- tional is to be useful in community definition, style, and movement. An example of the functional aspects of black music are given by Black singer B. 8. King and the late jazz musician, Charlie Parker. 8. 8. King says: Blues is B. 8. King. Yes, and I've been a crusader for it for 21 years. Without this, I don't think I could live very long--not that I think I'm goin' to live a long time anyway, but I don't think I could live even that long if I stop playin' or I couldn't be with the people I love so, the people that have helped me so much. . . . I couldn't live! I try to give them a message. I try hard.1 And Charlie Parker makes the same point: Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.2 Third, black music is a living reality. It is pointed out that to be able to understand this living reality, it is necessary to grasp con- tradictions inherent in black experience. The question is asked, "Who could possibly understand these paradoxical affirmations but the people who live them?" For example, the lyrics to these songs are paradoxical, but easily understood by most Blacks, for as Cone concludes "to be black is to be blue." I love the blues, they hurt so nice. You're bad, but you're oh so good.3 1B. 8. King as quoted in James H. Cone, PP. 5-6. 2Ibid., p. 6. 3Ibid., p. 6. 37 There is an inseparable bond that exists between black life and black art so that the art is a natural function of the life. Fourth, black music is social and political. It is said to be social because it is glggk and thus articulates the separateness of the black community. In addition, it is an artistic rebellion against the humiliating deadness of western culture. Black music is certainly political because its rejection of white cultural values, thus affirming the political "otherness" of black people.1 Shiver, in his article entitled "Black Music: A Richness Not Yet Realized" refers to the definition of a nation given by political scientist Michael Stein. He states: A nation refers to a population or segment of a population living within a geographic territory or territories that share a common set of symbols, historical experiences, and, particularly, subjective feelings which bind its members to one another.2 The point being the music of acclaimed artists as Pharoah Saunders, Miriam Makeba, (the late) John Coltran, Sunka, Nina Simone, Thelonius Monk, and many others reflect the true strength of a black "nation." These artists think in terms of "nation" because they understand that there are upwards of 25 million black people in this country who com- prise a nation. These artists, through their songs, create a new political consciousness and one that is antithetical to the laws of white society. 1Ibid., p. 6. 2Julian Shiber, Jr., "Black Music: A Richness Not Yet Realized," Black Books Bulletin, February 1974, pp. 21-28. 38 And, finally, it can be stated that Black music is theological because it tells us about the divine spirit that moves the people toward unity and self-determination.1 Haskins and Butts offer this explanation of Black music: Music, like religion, is very much a part of the psychology of Blacks in America. Like religion, it is Black pe0ple's own special brand of worship and style, contributing much to the black man's perception and self-esteem.2 An examination into the Black American cultural experience reveals several referents to a musical tradition. Ralph Ellison's definition of what he considers the essence of Afro-American culture includes references to music. He states: This "American Negro culture" is expressed in a body of folklore, in the musical forms of the spirituals, the blues, and the jazz; an idiomatic version of American speech (especially in the Southern United States); a cuisine; a body of dance forms and even a dramaturgy which is generally unrecognized as such because it is still tied to the more folkish Negro churches.3 Harold Cruse in his Crisis of the Negro Intellectual gives a very pointed and systematic treatment of Black cultural expression: It was the Afro-American cultural ingredient in music, dance and theatrical forms (the three forms of art in which America has innovated) that has been the basis for whatever culturally new and unique that has come out of America. Take the Afro-American tradition of folk-songs, plantation minstrel, spirituals, blues, ragtime, jazz styles, dance forms and the first Negro theatrical pioneers in musical comedy of the 1890's down to Sissle and Blake of 1Cone, p. 6. 2Haskins and Butts, p. 61. 3Ralph Ellison, Shadow and Act (New York: Random House, 1964), p. 254. 39 the 1920's and there would be no jazz industry involving publishing, entertaining, recording, there would be no Gershwins, Rodgers and Hammersteins, Cole Porters or Carmichaels or popular song tradition--which is based on the Negro blues idiom; there would have been no American ballroom dancing (not to mention several other popular dance styles in the history of American dance). In other words, the Afro-American ingredients formed the basis of all "popular culture" as opposed to "classical culture" in America.1 Margaret Butcher has noted an important paradoxical fact concerning Afro-Americans--that is, they have been one of the most Oppressed groups and one of the most culturally creative groups in American society. She states: The Negro has made America considerably his cultural debtor. . . . Some of the most characteristic features of American culture are derivatives of the folk life and spirit of the darker tenth of the population. . . . Many of these idioms, of course, have been blended with elements from the majority culture, sometimes for the better, some- times for the worse; but the Negro origin and distinctive- ness are now universally acknowledged. This adds up to an unusually large share of the molding and sustaining the entertainment life of the whole nation. Strange trick of destiny this, that the group in the population most subject to oppression and its sorrow should furnish so large a share of the population's job and relaxation.2 Dominique-Rene de Lerma, founder, the Black Music Center, Indiana University, comments on Black music and its use in the curriculum with the Black child. Music emerging from the Black experience is a distinct musical idiom with its own traditions and performance techniques. . . . To ask who is in need of such a curric- ulum might be an academic question to some, but the ramifications of any course that might aid the Black child 1Harold Cruse, Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (New York: William Morrow, 1967), pp. 114-115. 2Margaret Just Butcher, The Negro in American Culture (New York: Alfred A. Knoph, 1956). pp. 35-36. 40 in personal and racial discovery are far reaching, and here we're talking about linking the child to his culture, in more than a superficial way, by using the contributions of Blacks to show that we have aided in the growth and building of America despite our oppression.‘ E. Jaques-Dalcroze, the Swiss exponent of erythmics writing in 1930, in his book Erythemics, Art and Education, mentions how Negro rhythms have influenced non-Black children in singing. "It cannot be denied that Negro rhythms have had a salutary influence upon the development of our sense of rhythm. Twenty years ago 9g; children were incapable of singing syncopation in the right time."2 Edwina Johnson in an article entitled "Black History: The Early Childhood Vacuum" notes the fact that school children are not taught that "America's only cultural export jazz, is based on African music, instruments, and style of rhythm, and most young children know African rhythms and instruments because many are in the standard rhythm band sets in classroom."3 She also states that what is part of the common life and comfort of all people in America, and created by black people should be reflected in books for the very young. In summary, the Negro tradition in music may, to some extent, be universally acknowledged, but it is not commonly acknowledged in books for children. A statement by de Lerma adds a final note to the 1Dominique-Rene de Lerma, "Some Curriculum and Philosophical Challenges from Black Music," Black Music in Our Culture (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1970), p. 34. 2Quoted from chapter entitled "Black Music in the Undergraduate Curriculum," by Johnnie V. Lee, Portia K. Maullsly, Undine S. Moore, and John A. Taylor in Reflections on Afro-American Music by Dominique-Rene de Lerma (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1973), p. 54. 3Johnson, pp. 43-44. 41 seriousness and need for the acknowledgment of the traditions of a people. She states, "No man should have to sell his birthright or cultural heritage to be accepted."1 As a result of the Black man's musical heritage and his oppressed plight in America, certain forms of music have become uniquely the creation of the Blacks. A sociological review of literature in the following sections reveal the historical development of three of these forms: (1) spirituals, (2) blues, and (3) jazz. Spirituals. No interpretation of black spirituals can be valid that ignores the cultural environment that created them. The spirituals were conceived and birthed from the black experience in America. Never- theless, with resistance to this situation came the ability to create beauty and worth out of the ugliness of slave existence for the meanings of the songs are not contained in the bare words but in the history that created them. Characteristic in the spirituals is the expressed affirmation of life; the hope in the coming of better times; the common desire for freedom and human dignity; the compensatory idea that God will bring His own Victoriously in the end; the description and criticism of his environment, religious and other worldly projections; the concept of God as omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient; and the social conscious- ness of blacks who refused to accept white limitations placed on their lives. 1de Lerma, p. 27. 42 These songs have the central themes of liberation, justice, and the wish to gain an eminent future. The spirit of a people struggling to be free is paramount. DuBois called the slave songs sorrow songs because they were "the music of an unhappy people, of the children of disappointment: they tell of death and suffering and unvoiced longing toward a truer world, of misting wanderings and hidden ways." However, he too perceived an affirmation of life and concludes that "through all of the sorrow of the Sorrow Songs, there breathes a hope--a faith in the ultimate justice of things."1 DuBois was fascinated by the tension in the spirituals between hope and despair, joy and sorrow, death and life, etc. In his own struggle "to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self."2 DuBois came to know through the spirituals the road that black slaves had traveled before him. Lovell repudiated the view that interpreted the spiritual merely from the religious perspective, as if the religion of the slave was an isolated phenomenon, unrelated to the desire for social and political freedom. Black slaves were "not the kind of people to think unconcretely" and the idea that they put all their eggs in the basket of a heaven after death, as the result of abstract thinking, is absurd to any reader of first-hand materials in the social history of the slave. 1W. E. B. DuBois as quoted in James H. Cone, p. 12. 2Ibid., p. 13. 43 Frederick Douglass and Nat Turner are used as examples to show religion took "weird turns" when placed in the hands of black slaves. "Nat Turner was a preacher and he knew his Bible well," but he did not let his religion distort his perceptions of the sociality of slave existence, "for it led him to bloody massacres, coldly planned." Douglas also refused to accept the religious ideas of his master, since they did not "improve his attitude toward his slaves."l Lovell relates the spirituals to the social life of the black slave striving for freedom in this life. Three central themes are perceived in the black spirituals. They are a desire for freedom, a desire for justice in the judgment upon his betrayers, and a tactic battle, the strategy by which they expected to gain an eminent future. He states the so-called slave songs, better known as spirituals, of the United States are best understood when they are considered as expressions of individual Negroes which can be dated and assigned to a geographical locale. The story of black people's historical striving for earthly freedom, rather than the otherworldly of hopeless Africans who forgot about their homeland. A historical story of "how Negroes attempted to spread brother- hood by the sword, took flight to 'better' territory when possible, became pacific in the United States, and laid hold upon another world as a last resort." 1Ibid., p. 15. 44 This historical document is based on the assumption that they are African and not European, since "the chief concern of African music was to recite the history of the people." Therefore, when Africans were brought to America, they carried with them the art of storytelling through music. The black spirituals then are a reflection mainly of "African background patterns" rather than white American Christianity. Fisher says many spirituals referred originally to concrete historical events and that their language could, therefore, be transferred to later events, expressing similar responses to similar situations.‘ It is felt that the Africanism in the spirituals is directly related to the functional character of African music. This is believed because in Africa and America, black music was not an artistic creation for its own sake; it was directly related to daily life, work, and play. Song was an expression of the community's view of the world and its existence in it. Through music, Africans recorded their history, initiated the young into adulthood, and expressed their religious beliefs. So it was that when Africans were enslaved in America, they brought with them their culture as defined by their music.2 Howard Thurman was one of the first scholars to use religion as the starting point in analyzing the spirituals. "The clue to the meaning of the spirituals is to be found in religious experience and spiritual discernment." In the spirituals, he perceives "the elemental and formless struggle to a vast consciousness in the mind and spirit of the individual." 1Ibid., p. 15. 2Ibid., p. 32. 45 According to Thurman, the black spirituals are an expression of the slaves' determination to be in a society that seeks to eliminate their being. It is an affirmation of the dignity of the black slaves, the essential humanity of their spirits. However, Thurman did not attempt to explain the spirituals in the full scope of theological analysis.1 Sociologist Benjamin Mays became the first (and virtually the only) scholar to analyze the slave songs under theological categories. Summarizing the concept of God in the songs, Mays says that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, and he is sovereign in heaven and on earth. He is just--"just to the point of cruelty"--destroying the wicked in hell and vindicating the righteous by offering a reward in heaven. The righteous receive "golden crowns, slippers, robes and eternal life" for holding out to the end. Those who endure trouble and pain in this world will receive rest and peace in the next world-- if they do not lose faith. According to Mays, the distinctive charac- teristic of the spirituals is the "compensatory idea, that God will bring His own but Victoriously in the end." He states black spirituals provided an emotional security for oppressed slaves during turbulent times. Since they had no economic or political security in this world, they put their trust in Jesus whom they believed would make everything all right.2 1Ibid., p. 16. 2Ibid., p. 17. 46 Spiritual type music was very significant in the lives of slaves because it served as a vital means of communicating. Bennett states: Slaves . . . used music as a medium of communication. The cries and hollers and field calls contained secret messages and code words. In truth, double meanings permeated the whole fabric of this music. . . . One song, for example, used Jesus' name to mask an open and obvious invitation to the slaves to steal away to freedom. Steal away, steal away to Jesus, Steal away, steal away home. I ain't got long to stay here. 1 Other examples of spirituals that show great emotional expression and incorporate secret messages follow. "Deep River" was used by black slaves to announce a meeting at the river: Deep River my Home is over Jordan, Yes Deep River, Lord, I want to cross over into camp ground. Slaves on the other side would hear it and wait to hear what time the meeting was going to be held. They would soon hear the song “Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees" being sung: Let us break bread together on our knees, Let us break bread together on our knees. When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, Oh Lord, have mercy on me. The time of the meeting was in the morning and on the west side of the river. The slaves would sing this song to make fun of the master who had told them that when they died they were going to colored heaven and he, the master, was going to a white heaven. 1Lerrone Bennett, Jr. The Shaping_of Black America (Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company, 1975)} p. 64 47 Heaven. Heaven. Heaven, everybody's talking about Heaven. Oh I got shoes, you got shoes, all God's children got shoes. When I get to heaven going to put on my shoes and Walk all around God's heaven, Heaven, everybody's talking about heaven, Going to walk all over God's heaven. Haskins and Butts also reveal how the slaves would sing the chant song, "Get Right, Stay Right" to warn one or a group of slaves who were planning an escape that there was danger and their plan may be uncovered. The second and third verses are: When I meet my neighbor We talk and have a good time But I'm always worried For fear dere's trouble behind! I may be at church preaching 0r home down on my knee, Dis worl' is so two-faced Dere's somebody talking 'bout me. When a slave revolt was about to be executed, the slaves would pray and sing that nothing would happen to let the opportunity go by and that they would be able to change their oppressed position. Disarmed but determined, they would sing, "Sinner Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass." Sinner please don't let this harvest pass, Repent, repent [but lower and pleading] And die and lose your soul at last. Bloodhounds were used to track down run away slaves by the master but a message was sent out and picked up on one plantation after another until it reached the ears of the runaway slave instructing him what to do. The song would be "Wade In the Water." Wade in the water, wade in the water. Children, God going to trouble the water. 48 The song, "Walk Together Children" was sung by the slaves to give each other support and to indicate unity in a single goal of freedom. It goes like this: Walk together children, don't you get weary. Walk together children, don't you get weary. Walk together children, don't you get weary. Walk together children, don't you get weary. There's a great day a coming on this Promised Land. The very existence of the Underground Railroad was a source of hope and support for the slaves and they would remind each other of its existence by singing "The Gospel Train." The gospel train is coming, I hear it just at hand-- I hear the car wheels moving, And--rumbling thro' the land. Get on board--children, Get on board. The desire for freedom is a paramount theme in the spirituals, but one song would mean certain death to the slaves if the master heard it being sung. The slaves sang it to their children and passed it on anyway: 0h, freedom, oh, oh, freedom 0h, freedom--over me And befbre I be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave And go home to my God and be free.1 This carry-over is apparent throughout black music and specifically in the spirituals. 1Haskins and Butts, pp. 71-73. 49 Blgg§, Blues are not art for art's sake, music for music's sake. The blues are a way of life, a lifestyle of the black community. and they came into being to give expression to black identity and the will for survival. Cone states that to seek to understand the blues apart from the suffering that created them is to misinterpret them and distort the very creativity that defines them. Clarence Williams, a New York publisher who has written many blues, expresses it this way: Why, I'd never have written blues if I had been white. You don't study to write the blues, you feel them. It's the mood you're in--sometimes it's a rainy day . . . just like the time I lay for hours in a swamp in Louisiana. Spanish moss dripping everywhere. . . . White men were looking for me with guns--I wasn't scared, just sorry I didn't have a gun. I began to hum a tune--a little sighing kinda tune--you know like this. . . ."jes as blue as a tree-- an old willow tree--nobody 'round here, jes nobody but me."1 Blues singer, John Lee Hooker feels the blues are not only what happened to one--it's what happened to one's foreparents and other people. The blues were created in the midst of the black struggle for being. W. C. Handy, "Father of the Blues" gives credit for the blues to his culture: Each one of my blues is based on some old Negro song of the South, some folk song that I heard from my mammy when I was a child. Something that sticks in my mind that I hum to myself when I'm not thinking about it. Some old song that is part of the memories of my childhood and my race. I can tell you the exact song I used as the basis for any one of my blues.2 1James H. Cone, "The Blues: A Secular Spiritual," The Spirituals and the Blues: An Interpretation (New York: Seabury Press, T972), p.724. 2Lawrence N. Redd, “Birth of the Blues," Rock is Rhythm and Blues (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1974), p. 6? 50 Furthermore, Cone maintains John W. Work's analysis of the blues as distinguished from the spirituals: The blues differ radically from the spirituals. . . . The spirituals are intensely religious, and the blues are just as intensely worldly. The spirituals sing of heaven, and of the fervent hope that after death the singer may enjoy the celestial joys to be found there. The blues' singer has no interest in heaven, and not much hope in earth--a thorough disillusion. The spirituals were created in the church; the blues sprang from everyday life.1 Handy applauds blues as "one of the oldest forms of music in the world. It is folk music of the purest type. It represents the full racial expression of the Negro and its distinguishing character- istics are throwbacks to Africa." Redd, in explaining the "birth of the blues," reveals the fact that they were born in railroad gangs, in lumber camps, in cotton fields, on ocean docks and river boats, and in black settings of southern plantations. They were created by the rural, uneducated, and most suppressed and unprepared freedom-seekers. They took form after the Emancipation and Reconstruction, inviting Black people to embrace the reality and birth of the black experience.2 Cone states they were conceived by freedmen or intellectual experience, at least as an emotional confirmation of and reaction to, the way in which most Negroes were still forced to exist in the United States.3 1John W. Works as quoted in James H. Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues, p. 111. 2Redd, p. 3. 3Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues, p. 111. 51 The musical elements--a strong beat, improvised rhythm, and call and response--were adapted to the instruments found in America and shaped into a new form by African slaves and their descendants through struggle to survive in America. There are several arguments concerning the origin of this music form. One deals with blues as a sociological phenomenon; one views blues as strictly an African music. Frantz Fanon argued for a strictly sociological interpretation of blues: Thus the blues--the Black slave 1ament--was offered up for the admiration of the oppressors. This modicum of stylized oppression is the exploiter's and the facist's rightful due. Without oppression and without racism you have no blues. The end of racism would sound the end of great music.1 Ortiz Walton comments on the argument given by Fanon that the expressive aspects of culture are only determined by social-political forces. Walton points out the denial of what is readily given for other groups--that is--a sense of cultural heritage. He points out that Irish, Italians, Poles, and Mexicans living in America are accorded a sense of cultural descendancy. Especially in the past years the black man in America was conceived of as having no cultural roots anywhere except America. Therefore, Walton makes mention of the fact that the problem cannot be simply reduced to one of social oppression, inasmuch as poor whites, who have had an equally long history of poverty, did not create the blues, jazz, or spirituals. He believes the blues were produced both out of the social conditions suffered by Blacks in 1Frantz Fanon as quoted in Ortiz Walton, Music: Black, White and Blue (New York: William Murray and Company, 1972): p. 33. 52 America and they have coalesced with African retentions to produce a new and highly influential culture and world view. Finally, he states: "The blues cannot be reduced to a reaction against what white people do and have done; rather they would be more accurately conceived of as a positive form that affirms and preserves Afro-American culture."1 This may explain the work songs because characteristically, songs serve as a functional component in African music as well as American Negro music--the depiction of daily life. Redd further elaborates on the work songs of Black slaves. He tells of how many times the cotton bundles were so heavy that it required a team of slaves to do one chore. As they toiled, black people composed jungle work-songs of their homeland, with an emphasized beat placed at certain notes in a rhythm. At the same time the stressed notes were sung, everyone pulled, pushed, or lifted to get the work done. The song always had a story, and a lead singer would work a rhythm around and between the motions of the workers until each ebony slave was in completely synchronized movements, singing and toiling. They used riffs, short musical phrases which were repeated over and over and tossed back and forth between the leader and the work crew. Even after the Civil War, Africans who stayed on plantations continued to suffer, as did those who left. Many wound up on prison work farms, toiling on river boats, chain gangs, ocean docks and "calling track" on railroad gangs. But as the black people drudged, they continued to compose songs and to sing. All day long a work 1Ibid., p. 34. 53 leader sang a statement, the work gang repeated it; the work leader sang a statement, the work gang added to it; the work leader sang a statement, the work gang exclaimed about it. They slid into their notes; their voices swooped around and under notes, playing with them, refusing to hit them straight on. They paused to create more lyrics, while the rhythm and beat continued. An example of such a song is: work Song Leader: Oh, baby, Ugh! What you gonna do? Ugh! Three C Railroad Ugh! done run through! Ugh! Work-Gang: Me and my pardner, Ugh! Him and me! Ugh! Him and M—e-e Ugh! Him and me! Ugh! Him and me! Leader: Oh, baby, Ugh! What you gonna do? Ugh! Seaboard Air-line Ugh! Done run through! ugh! Wbrk-Gang: Me and my pardner, Ugh! Him and me! Ugh! Him and me-e-e Ugh! Him and me! Ugh! Him and me! Ugh! Leader: Oh, baby, Ugh! What you gonna do? Ugh! B and 0 Railroad Ugh! Done run through! Ugh!l The blues tell about the strength of black people to survive, to endure and to shape existence while living in the midst of oppressive contradictions, they give structure to black existence in a context where color means rejection and humiliation, it describes the reality of black suffering without seeking to devise philosophical solutions for the problems of absurdity, depict the "secular" dimension of the black experience, they are non-religious, worldly (here and now situation) songs about black life and the sheer earth and gut capacity to survive in an extreme situation of oppression, they express a black perspective 1Redd, p. 4. 54 on the incongruity of life and the attempt to achieve meaning in a situation fraught with contradictions. The blues affirm the some- bodiness of black people and preserve the worth of black humanity through ritual and drama, it symbolizes the solidarity, the attitudes and the identity of the black community.1 All these ingredients make up the blues. It is the transfor- mation of black life through the sheer power of songs. And as Mahalia Jackson explains: "You've got to know what the blues meant to us . . . to understand properly about them. The Negroes all over the South kept those blues playing to give us relief from our burden and to give us courage to go on. . . ."2 gggg, The fusion of blues and ragtime with brass-band and syncopated dance music resulted in the music called jazz. One of the most salient features of jazz derives directly from the blues. Southern points out that jazz is a vocally oriented and the players replace the voice with their instruments while at the same time trying to recreate its singing style and blue notes by using scooping, sliding, whining, growling, and falsetto effects. The same emphasis on individualism that is inherent in the blues is in jazz. The performer is at the same time the composer, shaping the music into style and form. 1Cone, "The Blues: A Secular Spiritual," p. 114. 2Jones, p. 72. 55 Jazz is the product of a unique black experience that warrants the player to use a traditional melody or harmonic framework as a takeoff for improvisation, but always allowing him to put his per- sonality, through improvisation, in the music that is produced. In fact, each performance of the basic materials is different because the players improvise differently each time the music is played.1 Southern states that jazz people are all children of the ghetto, if only figuratively speaking, it shows social awareness because it reveals the recognition of the adversities that have shaped their lives. Jazz symbolizes rebellion, change and the breaking away from tradition and turning to a new union.2 Duke Ellington during one of his performances registered a protest against the prevailing attempts at racial exploitation by playing a typically dissonant chord at the piano. The analogy to this act and the Negro in America is profound. He pointed out that "that's the Negro life, hear that chord. That's us. Dissonance is our way of life in America. We are something apart, yet an integral part.3 Jazz is the profound expression of human feelings because each note means something, it is playing the way you feel. Ellington comments on the components and feelings that inspire him: 1Eileen Southern, The Music of Black Americans: A History (New York: W. N. Norton athompany, 1971), p. 374. 2Ibid., p. 376. 3Duke Ellington as quoted in Ortiz Walton, p. 77. 56 My men and my race are the inspiration of my work. I try to catch the character and mood and feeling of my people. The music of my race is something more than the American idiom. It is the result of our transplantation to American soil and it was our reaction in plantation days, to the life we lived. What we could not say Openly we expressed in music. The characteristic, melancholic music of my race has been forged from the very white beat of our sorrow and from our gropings.1 Shepp maintains in jazz one must study the man himself to fathom his music. It is felt that one cannot evaluate a jazz musician without being aware of the factors that shaped his life. He explains it this way: It just seems to me that whites, and very often it is whites, become a little over-anxious when you talk about what shapes a man. Take a man like Stravinsky, a total man. I'm sure he could talk to you about Russian music and Russian history and you wouldn't be offended by that, yet I always get the feeling that whites are a little bit frightened or offended when I start to include jazz in my history.2 Haskins and Butts call jazz the child of an urban experience, while blues is that of a rural experience. They refer to George Cain's comment on jazz in his novel Blueschild Baby: Jazz is the city, only city niggers can feel this thing. I never liked it much, never listened really, hadn't been here long enough. To my country ear it was mad noise. But I'm a part of the tremendous pressure that generates that sound and I feel it so good now. Jazz is the black man's history.3 Although jazz is a product of the black experience, it is also universal. Walton refers to a quote made by a 70 year old New Orleans bass player in regard to the universality of jazz. He feels: 1151a. p. 79. 2Archie Shepp as quoted in Valerie Widmer, Jazz People (New York: Bobbs Merrill Co., 1970), p. 157. 3George Cain as quoted in Haskin and Butts, p. 61. 57 When you listen to jazz, you get a different type of beat; you have a chance to pat your hands, and it works your emotion a little but, it gives you a warm feeling. When you listen to symphony, you listen to find points, to the soloist. We used to think of the symphony boys as the long hairs. You have to have a taste for it to enjoy symphony, but you find that anybody on the street can enjoy jazz, from the silk stocking boys on Charles Street to the ghetto boys. Because jazz was inspired by the black experience, the black man takes pride in his art and believes that the ascendant positions in the field, financially and otherwise, belongs to him. It is because Negroes are denied full acceptance outside jazz that they take such fierce pride in the fact that at least jazz is theirs, that it began as Afro-American music, and that the majority of its most internationally applauded figures are Negro.2 This feeling of pride as to the rightful owners of jazz is emphatically expressed by Charles Mingus. He states: Jazz--it's the American Negro's tradition, it's his music. White people don't have a right to play it, it's colored folk music. . . . You had your Shakespeare and Marx and Einstein and Jesus Christ and Guy Lombardo but we came up with jazz, don't forget it, and all the pop music in the world today is from that primary cause.3 In conclusion, Shiber feels our black musicians serve a priestly function for they are innovators and bearers of a long tradition. They take us on a roundtrip of feeling and emotion, exploiting the capacity of sound and pushing still further into the depths of the universal language. He states, "black music is the 1Mr. G. as quoted in Walton, p. 59. 2151a., p. 108. 3Ibid., p. 156. 58 spirit of a people--the substance of a nation." He reminds us that Black people have witnessed the first phase of genocide because under slavery there was very little chance for the survival of African artistic expression in painting, sculpture, weaving, iron working, and wood carving. These culture artifacts are lost to us. He concludes that, in the twentieth century America, it is primarily up to the black musician and the black poet (as the last vestiges of our African tradition) to fill this nation-building void rendered culturally inarticulate by the everyday oppression of black people.1 But the question is asked, why is it that we seldom hear black music? Brother Imamu Baraka (Le Roi Jones) gives a succinct answer. He feels that "black music is kept off the radio and television because of the strength of its vision. It tells you about a new life. A way you could be."2 The importance of the black musical tradition is synonymous to the importance of the study of black history as a whole. A quote taken from the Statement of Basic Aims and Objectives of the Organization of Afro-American Unity gives the answer: "Our culture and our history are as old as man himself and yet we know almost nothing of it. We must capture our heritage and our identity if we are ever to liberate out- selves from the bonds of white supremacy.3 lShiber, p. 21. 2LeRoi Jones as quoted in Shiber, p. 21. 3As quoted in Dominique-Rene de Lerma, Black Music in Our Culture, p. 29. 59 Another quote by Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton further elaborates on the need for the investigation and exploration of black history: Afro-American history means a long history, beginning on the continent of Africa, a history not taught in the standard textbooks of this country. It is absolutely essential that Black peOple know this history, that they know their cultural roots, that they develop an awareness of their cultural history. Because music defines Black culture, a thorough investigation into the historical and social development of Black people and their music (the spirituals, blues, and jazz) is deemed essential and justifiable as an area of interest in this study. Black Family Traditions When DuBois wrote "Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece" in his old age, he left to others the type of study he had envisioned and would accurately give insight to the Negro. He said: We seldom study the condition of the Negro today honestly and carefully. It is so much easier to assume that we know it all. . . . And yet how little we really know of these millions--of their daily lives and longings, of their homely joys and sorrows, of their real shortcomings and meaning of their crimes! All this we can only learn by intimate contact with the masses, and not by wholesale covering millions separate in time and space, and differing widely in training and culture. The African background. Before Africans were brought to American shores, they had developed highly complex civilizations along 115111., p. 29. 2W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Publications, 1953), p. 105. 60 the West Coast, the area where a considerable amount of slave trading occurred. Ladner comments on how tribal customs and laws for marriage and the family, property rights, wealth, political institutions and religion revolved around distinct patterns of culture which had evolved out of the history of the African people. The family patterns were viable entities unto themselves and were not influenced by, nor molded after, the Western tradition of the monogamous unit, and strong pro- tective attitudes toward kinsmen, including the extended family had their legitimate origin with the African societies.1 Franklin states that "at the basis even of economic and political life in Africa was the family, with its inestimable influence over the individual members." The family was extended in form and acted as a political, economic, and religious unit.2 Frazier noted that "although there were various types of states, the fundamental unit politically . . . was the family. . . . It was a kinship group numbering in the hundred, but called a family because it was made up of the living descendants of a common ancestor. . . ." A significant feature of precolonial African society was the importance that was attached to the family unit. Ladner highlights the fact that the extended family was highly structured, with clearly designated roles for its male and female members. Marriage was always considered a ritual that occurred not between two individuals alone, 1Joyce A. Ladner, Tomorrow's Tomorrow: The Black Woman (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company, 1971), p. 5. 2John Hope Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom (New York: Alfred A. Knoph, Inc., 1956), p. 5. 61 but between all the members of the two extended families. It was a highly sacred ritual that involved bride price and other exchanges of property. The emphasis was placed upon the binding together of two individuals who represented different families, and upon the mutual duties and obligations they were to carry out for each other. Ladner also points out how the elderly were highly regarded in African society. The patriarch of the extended family, who was sometimes considered a chief, was usually an elderly man. The role of precolonial African women were very important ones and quite different from what were considered the duties and obligations of women in Western society. Two of the important roles of African women which were perpetuated during slavery and continue until today are: (1) her economic function and (2) the close bond she had with her children. A third function was a political one, since women were very important to the administration of tribal affairs. For example: "Each major official had a female counterpart known as his "mother," who took precedence over him at court and supervised his work. When officials reported to the King, groups of women were present, whose duty was to remember what had happened."1 The importance of the family unit that was a feature of precolonial African society, is still apparent today. Although the sense of heritage has been a paramount concern among Blacks over the years, and especially since the late 1960s, the book Rggr§_has regen- erated this interest in genealogy. Haley in his account of his ancestors' 1Ibid., p. 9. 62 unwelcomed journey from Africa to the United States explains that Roots is a black family reunion. He offers this explanation for the wide appeal the book had for Blacks. Blacks . . . want to know who they are. Roots is all of our stories. It's the same for me or any black, it's just a matter of filling in the blanks-~which person, living in which village, going on what ship, across the same ocean, slavery, emancipation, the struggle for freedom.1 The role of the mother in childrearing was important in all of West Africa. There were vital functions that the mother fulfilled for the child and were reserved only for her. Thus, the Ashanti regard the bond between mother and child as the keystone of all social relations. It is true even in the societies where descent was patrilineal or double that a high regard for the mother's function as child bearer and perpetuator of the ancestral heritage. Slavery. When Africans were sold into slavery they were introduced to an alien culture and an attempt was made to force them to adopt the way of life of Western society. Because of the fact that slavery was engaged in for economic reasons, Africans became property and were denied the rights of human beings. They were not publicly allowed to practice their native religions, speak their native lan- guages, nor to engage in the numerous other cultural traditions which were characteristic of African society. Wesley T. Cobb, Associate Director, National Urban League, points out: 7 1As quoted by Alex Haley, Time Magazine, 14 February 1977, p. 2. 63 To see more of the consequences of cultural stripping, ask yourself a few questions. How many American-born Negroes do you know, whose names are Kenyatta, Luthuli, or Mboya? These are AFrican names. Names like these were lost through cultural stripping of slaves who were the African ancestors of the Negro in America. How many Negroes, born in America, do you know whose religion is not one of the dominant patterns of religion in this country? The "Black Muslins" are an exception, but this is in fact an innovation, a cultural product of twentieth-century America. How many Negroes, American-born, do you know who speak Swahili, Yoruba, Sudanese, or Bantu? These are among the many languages of the American Negroes' African ancestors.1 Legal marriage was denied, allowing for the emergence of the ephemeral quality of male-female liaisons. Men were denied the right to fulfill the long-standing tradition of patriarch over the extended family, and women, in effect, became the backbone of the family. Parents were denied the right to exercise authority over their children, an important aspect of African culture. Especially absent was the function of the economic provider, disciplinarian and teacher, which were strong characteristics of the African male. DuBois reveals the essential features of Negro slavery in America. They were: (1) no legal marriage, (2) no legal family, and (3) no legal control over children.2 Slavery gave the monogamic family ideal to slaves, but it compelled and desired only the most imperfect practice of its most ordinary morals. The fact that slaves were not permitted to be legally 1Wesley T. Cobb as quoted in Charles G. Hurst, Jr., Passport to Freedom (Hamden, Conn.: Linnett Books, 1972), p. 139. 2W. E. B. Dubois, The Negro American Family (Cambridge, Mass.: Massachusetts Institute of’Techndlogy Press, 1909), p. 20. 64 married caused devastating results. DuBois in The Negro American Egrily_cites a prime example of a ruling that prohibited marriage: "A slave cannot even contract matrimony, the association which takes place among slaves and called marriage being properly designated by the word conrubernium, a relation which has no sanctity and which no civil rights are attached."1 Many of the accounts of the relationships between slaves and their regard for each other are to be taken from slave narratives and autobiographies of ex-slaves. These relationships frequently differ with the analyses and portraits some historians have given. One of the positions that has been advanced by social scientists is that slaves rarely developed strong familial bonds with each other because of the disruptive nature of their family and community life. This position runs counter to the first hand accounts given by slaves. For it will be observed that the family during slavery, with all its modifications, was a strong unit in that parents were able oftentimes to impart certain values and cultural ethos to their offspring. Ladner contends that it appears that whenever it was economically feasible for this family pat- tern to emerge, parents sought to exert this responsibility. The family was also extended in form whenever it was economically feasible.2 The historian Gutman concurs with Ladner in the belief that Black people, whenever possible, attempted to have and sustain a family life. In order to prove this, Gutman began by examining the birth 1Ibid., p. 22. 2Ladner, p. 26. 65 records of slaves kept in chronological order by several slave owners and reorganizing them by families as revealed in the names of each new child's parents. Instead of looking merely at what whites did to slaves or what whites thought they saw when they looked at slaves, he studied _ documents in which whites and blacks recorded slave belief and behavior. His findings reveal that the black family survived 250 years of slavery despite the instability created by sale of family members, high mortal- ity, and harsh working conditions. He discovered that the black family was not simply mimetic of slave-owner culture, but that slave children were often named for parents, grandparents, or other relatives, showing an awareness of kinship, bloodlines, and past history that whites of the slave era though was totally absent in blacks. He found that slaves sold or forced to move from the Upper to the Lower South in search of new cotton lands by their masters, made endless inquiries about the kin they left behind. Gutman feels this demonstrated a consciousness of family that was sometimes unnoticed even by the masters who wrote the letters in which they send their family news. Furthermore, he found that slave marriages, which whites belittled, lasted decades until death if neither partner was sold. In fact, in his examination of the black family from 1750 to 1925, Gutman shows that as late as 1925, 85 percent of the black families in New York included both a mother and a father. In conclusion, he contends that The Great Depression and the postwar dislocations that attended the modernization of Southern agriculture 66 did more than slavery to create the ghetto conditions that Moynihan called a "tangle of pathology."1 Dr. Martin Luther King voiced strong sentiments about the feelings Blacks have in regard to family ties. He said: "For no other group in American life is the matter of family life more important than to the Negro. Our very survival is bound up in it. . . . No one in all history had to fight against so many physical and psychological horrors to have a family life."2 Banks states the deleterious effect this had on Negro family life was tremendous and is still being felt today. DuBois wrote "under the lax moral life of the plantation, characteristics of the Negro masses of today had their seed and it was here that the home was ruined." Black sociologist, E. Franklin Frazier, held that the moral standards and behavior patterns common to blacks were shaped by social conditions and not by race or African survivals. He felt that under the impact of slavery, emancipation, and urbanization, some black families managed to develop stable, father-centered structures, but others fell into a pattern of matriarchy, illegitimacy, immorality, desertions, and casual family discipline.3 Today the central role of the family is child-rearing, socialization, education, and transmission of values. Therefore, 1Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925 (New York: Pantheon Books, 1976). 2Martin Luther King as quoted in Joyce Ladner, p. 3. 3E. Franklin Frazier, The Negro Family in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966), p. viii. 67 family stability is an important index of the health of the society at large. In addition to these conventional processes of socialization, the black family historically has had a special function: teaching black children to adjust to a predominantly hostile white world. Until recently, most studies of the black family have been portrayed as disorganized, pathological and disintegrating. The significance of its distinctive features has been emphasized and perhaps exaggerated in analyzing the black man's "place in American life and his attempts to secure his rights or expand his opportunities." Grier and Cobbs comment on the uprooting, fear, and cruelty Black slaves experienced in reference to the black man's "place" in America. He confesses how difficult it is to keep silent when men boast of how their parents came to America, worked hard, and achieved success. If their parents succeeded, they conclude, the Black man ought to be able to do likewise. The fact is, the Black man in America was much more disadvantaged. Grier and Cobbs point out that: because of an inattention to history, the present day Negro is compared unfavorably with other racial and ethnic groups who have come to this country. Major differences in back- ground are ignored. The black man was brought to this country forcibly and was completely cut off from his past. He was robbed of language and culture. He was forbidden to be an African and never allowed to be an American.1 Douglas and Smythe feel in view of the economic and social strain on Black families they have survived remarkably well. They feel one reason for this may be that they have been forced to adapt 1William H. Grier and Price M. Cobbs, Black Rage, (New York: Basic Books, 1968), p. 22. 68 continually throughout their history in America. The separation of families during slavery, which disrupted marriages and thwarted stabil- ity, stimulated emphasis on the more enduring role of the mothers. It also encouraged a sense of responsibility for youngsters not one's own on the part of black adults in general. Hill comments on the strong kinship bonds of black families. According to the literature, low- income families usually have stronger kinship ties than middle-income families. Thus, kinship relations tend to be stronger among black than white families. He writes when we examine census data for families with no children of their own under 18 at home, we find that black families are much more likely than white families to take in other young related members. In husband-wife families, only 3 percent of white families to 13 percent of black families took in relatives under 18. In families headed by a woman, the black families demonstrate an even greater tendency to absorb other related children. Of these black families headed by a woman 41 percent compared to only 7 percent of similarly- situated white families headed by a woman, had relatives under 18 living with them. Also, according to discussions in the literature, extended family relationships have historically been greater among blacks than whites. At the turn of the century, "doubling-up" was common in many black families, particularly among new arrivals to urban areas. In addition to this, formal adoption agencies have historically not catered to non-whites. Blacks have had to develop their own network for the informal adoption of children. This informal adoption network among black families has functioned to 69 tighten kinship bonds, since many black women are reluctant to put their children up for adoption. When they are formally placed, black children are more likely than white children to be adopted by relatives. It appears that the black family has acquired under such pressures the flexibility necessary for adjusting to the exigencies of circumstances.1 Douglas and Smythe further state that although the black family has frequently been considered as in "error" or "inferior" when its patterns and functioning have deviated from "white" norms, a careful scrutiny of its history indicates that it has been both adaptive and functional in building up the necessary framework and supports to meet the needs of its members and of the black community in general. They state that it is only logical that a community whose family stresses and problems differ significantly in degree, if not in kind, from those of the mainstream should develop specialized forms and structure to cope with those divergencies.2 Billingsley feels that: contrary to what others have written about us, the family is by far the strongest institution in the black community. It continues to be the primary component of our efforts toward survival and liberation, and it is the key element in our struggle for positive human development. We know that, when we think of family in the Black community, we do not confine our thinking--for our experience is not confined--to husband and wife and two children living together in splendid isolation in their own house. We are a more complex and humane people than that. And so the extended family and a multiple variety of nuclear, extended and augmented family forms are an intricate part of what we mean by family. And it must be clear to all of us, as a basis for all we attempt 1Joseph H. Douglas and Mabel M. Smythe, "Black Family," The Black American Reference Book, ed. b Mabel M. Smythe (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976 , pp. 316-340. 2Ibid., p. 335. 70 to say and do in the interest of human development, that were it not for the strength, endurance, adaptability, and resilience of family life in the Black community, we would not have survived as a people. We cannot, then, allow others to lead us to discard what is most valuable to our own struggle. Nor can we allow the problems we face to obscure our ability to use our strength and our institu- tions to improve the quality of our lives and strengthen the quality of our demands on the institutional framework of the larger society.1 Hill lists the strengths of the Black family. These strengths include: 1. strong kinship bonds, 2. strong work orientation, adaptability of family roles, strong achievement orientation, and (ll-DUO strong religious orientation. Although these traits can be found among white families, they are manifested quite differently in the lives of black families because of the unique history of racial oppression experienced by blacks in America.2 The particular forms that these characteristics take among black families should be viewed as adaptations necessary for survival and advancement in a hostile environment. Hare acknowledges the strengths of black families but feels quite different about the positive emphasis placed on the Strengths of Black Families School of Thought. He states: 1Andrew Billingsley, Black Families in White America (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969), pp. 16-17. 2Robert 8. Hill, The Stren ths of the Black Families (New York: Emerson Hall Publishers, Inc., I973). P. 4. 71 The strength of Black Families school has misled the Black movement away from an attack on the suffering of Blacks in their family situations and related conditions. In the name of false racial pride, despite our recognized economic, educational and political deprivation. . . .1 Hare reveals how psychoanalyst Erick Erickson advocated that Black intellectuals begin to emphasize the "positives" (progress and adjustment, in spite of oppression) as over against the "negative" (unjust consequences of oppression in need of amelioration) in the’ study of Black Family that most directly anticipated the strength of Black Families school. He argues that there are no positives, for an oppressed race under subjugated circumstances and the strength of Black Families orientation prohibits any recognition of pathological conse- quences of our oppression. Broken down to its barest ingredients, it constitutes a collective defense mechanism of simple denial--if you can't see anything wrong, then there's nothing which you feel obligated to make right. He says present intellectuals fail to distinguish between a family form that merely represents adaptation to oppression and a family form or culture of resistance, between a culture of choice and a culture of necessity. In conclusion, Hare mentions Harold Cruse's warning that "the special function of the Negro intellectual is a cul- tural one. . . . He should tell Black America how and why Negroes are trapped in this cultural degeneracy, and how it has dehumanized their essential identity, squeezed the lifeblood of their inherited cultural ingredients out of them, and then relegated them to the cultural slums. lNathan Hare, "A Look Back at E. Franklin Frazier--What Black Intellectuals Misunderstand About the Black Family," Black World, March 1976, pp. 4-14. 72 Race Pride Social, political, economic, and physical resistance to the condition of special Oppression permeates the history of the Afro- American pepple. The reflection and arguments against concepts of racism and especially against the idea of the innate inferiority of African-derived peoples has been recorded in the petitions, poems, songs, folk tales, formal histories, stories, novels, plays, and autobiographies. One continually reads of the "self-fulfilling prophecies" rationalized and verbalized by scholars like Bruno Bettelheim and Harvey Cox. In fact, Cox states that when a people "are given no other identity images than those served up to them by the white majority [they] tend to enact the expectation, which in turn reinforces the prejudice."1 From this statement, the assumption is made that Black people have been incapable of providing their own image of themselves. This assumption is untrue. In addition, the Black American is constantly bombarded with lamentations about self-hatred, being a "crippled" folk who are "culturally deprived." The list of derogatory adjectives is almost endless and gets progressively worse, according to the attitude(s) of 1Harvey Cox as quoted in Herbert Aptheker, Afro-American History: The Modern Era (New York: Citadel Press, 1971), pp. 68-69. 73 the speaker. The racial slur made October 1976 by ex-Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz about Black people serves as a recent reminder of the attitude of one "distinguished American statesman.“ Merton attempts to explain why these insults historically have been and still are uttered vehemently against Black Americans. He accuses the white man of playing a sick game called "Blaming the Negro" and states that: Blaming the Negro (and by extension, the Communist, the outside agitator, etc.) gives the white a stronger sense of identity--or rather, it protects an identity which is seriously threatened with pathological dissolution. It is by blaming the Negro that the white man tries to hold himself together. The Negro is in the unenviable position of being used for everything, even for the white man's psychological security. . . .1 In spite of the prevailing negative attitudes, past and present, held and written by whites about Black people, there is an abundance of literature written by Blacks that completely damns and denies as a falsehood any and all concepts of inferiority and dehuman- ization. For at the same time DuBois wrote The Souls of Black Folk, a book expressing "a strong sense of pride in being black," books were being written and published with titles like: The Mystery Solved: The Negro a Beast. Although the positive attitudes that were held and articulated by Blacks have been and are neglected in texts and media, they nevertheless exist. This writer would like to highlight a small sampling of individuals, groups, and events in history that reflect positive feelings about race consciousness and pride among Black pe0ple. 1Thomas Merton, "Conjecture of a Guilty By-Stander," Life, August 1966, p. 16. 74 Negro history is filled with the words and deeds Of Black nationalists. Resistance to all forms Of Oppression that denied Black peOple full citizenship and adulthood embroider the history of this country. Franklin reveals the feeling Of the slaves toward slavery and their Oppressors: I say from the beginning, I do not think we were natural enemies to each other. But the whites having made us so wretched, by subjecting us to slavery, and having murdered so many millions of us, in order to make us work for them, and out Of devilishness. . . . Consequently, they, them- selves (and not us), render themselves our natural enemies, by treating us so cruel.1 The mistreatment Of Negroes did not go unrevenged. The earliest slave revolts were led by Toussant L'Ouverture, Prosser Gabriel, Nat Turner, Denmark Vessey, and Joseph Cinque to name a few. In 1843, the Reverend Henry Highland Garnet called for slave rebellions. He urged: Brethren, arise, arise! Strike for you lives and liberties. Now is the day and the hour. . . . You cannot be more Oppressed than you have been. You cannot suffer greater cruelties than you have already. Rather die free men than live to be slaves.2 Garnet's profound plea is basic to the philOSOphy of Black people then and now in their struggle for freedom! Let your motto be resistance! Resistance! RESISTANCE! NO Oppressed people have ever secured their liberty without resistance. 1Newbell Niles Puckett, Folk Beliefs Of the Southern Ne rO (London: Oxford University Press, 1926), quoted by E. F. Franklin in The Negro Family in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966)} 2Philip S. Foner, The Voice of Black America (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972), p. 89. ?J0hh Bracey, August Meier, and Elliott Rudwick, Black Nationa11sm in America (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1970), p. 76. 75 Frederick Douglass' address "If There Is No Struggle There Is NO Progress" (1859) and David Walker's "An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World" (1829) are famous for their appeal to Black people to rise us, at all costs, and secure their liberty. "Up, you mighty race. You can accomplish what you will!" These words were spoken by Marcus Garvey, as he liked to boast, "a full-blooded black man," at Madison Square Garden in August 1920. The occasion was the first annual convention of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Delegates from all over the United States and 25 foreign countries had met to draft the "Declaration of the Rights Of the Negro PeOples Of the World." The declaration consisted of 54 items, demanding equality for black people and resolutions asking for an African homeland. Garvey found Black men and women everywhere being victimized by prejudice and exploitation and planned to "unite all the Negro peOples of the world into one great body to establish a country and government absolutely their own." One Of the many famous quotations of Garvey's reflects his thinking Of his "new world." I asked, where is the black man's government? Where is his president, his country, and his ambassadors, his army, his navy, and his men of big affairs? I could not find them and then I declared, I will help make them.1 To make the "new world," Garvey and friends organized the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League whose purpose was threefold: (l) the promotion of 1Ibid., p. 187. 76 "race pride and love, (2) the building of an independent Africa, and (3) the building of black owned business. Garvey's endeavor as entrepreneur and "Moses" was short lived--he appeared, built his movement, and disappeared for the scene in just seven years. Nonetheless, continuous reminders Of his movement crop up. Several modern African leaders have acknowledged their debt to him; the flag of Kenya with its red, black, and green banner is symbolic of Garveyism. Garvey had said, "Red for our blood, black for our race, and green for our hope." These colors became widely used again by Blacks during the Civil Disturbance Of the 1960s and continue to be recognized as the "Black Liberation" colors. Hobson comments on the profound impact Marcus Garvey had on Black people. He offers this statement: "For although his visions were impractical, and his dreams were escapist, after Garvey, black people never felt quite the same way about themselves." And the summary given in the Amsterdam News sums up his overall, lasting influence: "Marcus Garvey made black people proud of their race. In a world where black is despised, he taught them that black is beautiful."1 Like Marcus Garvey's movement, the Nation of Islam told Black men that they must set up a separate system--become producers, manu- facturers, and traders. The Black Muslim religion called for total separation of Black and White America and for unity and pride among 1Janet Harris and Julius Hobson, Black Pride (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1969), p. 102. 77 black men. The late Elijah Muhammed's speech "We Must Have Justice" reveals his philosophy on the course the Black man must take to enjoy full citizenship. His teachings include the following: Now, let us go from them and build a nation ourselves that God and the nations Of the earth will respect. . . . What future will we, the twenty million blacks in America, have in a forced integration? Seeking equal employment and equal recognition would only be temporary, but some of this earth that you can call your own where you can build your own employment would be permanent. The Opposite view of total separatism is held by the Reverend Milton A. Galamaison. He expresses the distress he feels for the segregationist mentality. His convictions are stated below: There is nothing in America which does not belong to me. There is no public Office, however high; no employment opportunity, however lucrative; no community, however restricted; no marriage, however interracial, which is not a part of my heritage as a citizen Of these United States. The fact that I have been historically deprived Of my birthright . . . is an indictment of our national culture. But there is yet a deeper tragedy that could befall me. It is that I should voluntarily surrender my birthright. . The story of our sacrifice and loyalty is written in blood tracks around the world. The soil has been fertilized by our sweat, the factories built on our backs, the machines oiled by our tears, the homes maintained by our servitude and the nation carved by our suffering. . We have paid the fare. The question is whether we shall fight for the ride. We have planted the tree. Shall we not demand the fruit.2 Galamaison warns the nationalists and the integrationists not to react foolheartedly and become the mirror of the racist in their thinking. In conclusion, he comments on the Opposite of white 1Foner, p. 2Milton A. Galamaison as quoted in Foner, pp. 959-961. 78 arrogance--black arrogance. "I cannot see black arrogance as an antidote for, or negation of, white arrogance. The proposed cure so resembles the illness that it expands rather than reduces the problem."1 The omnipresent theme in the Black man's struggle is for freedom and equality and the wish to plead their own case was apparent in the establishment of the Negro newspaper. A quotation taken from the March 19, 1927 issue of the Freedom's Journal expresses the Opinion of the editor very succinctly: "TOO long have others spoken for us. Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentation, in things which concern us dearly. . . ."2 Bracey, Meier and Rudwick report that the major undertaking was to "vindicate our brethren, when Oppressed, and to lay the cure before the public,"dispense useful knowledge of every kind, emphasizing everything that related to Africa would be readily accepted. The commitment to try and reach persons of color throughout the states is made and the editors conclude with "whatever concerns us as a people, will ever find a ready admission into the Freedom's Journal. W. E. B. DuBois was one of the founders of the NAACP and editor of the famous monthly magazine The Crisis. He was thrilled at the possibilities The Crisis would offer him to reach more than just a few intellectuals and he vowed to stir up people with the ideas expressed in his journal, to make The Crisis a household word with 1Ibid.. p. 960. 2As quoted in "Too Long Have Others Spoken for Us," in the Freedom's Journal, 1827, in Black Nationalism in America by John H. Bracey, August Meier, and Elliott Rudwick. 79 Black peOple all over the country. Hobson shows how DuBois used this avenue of communication to fire shots at every target-~the press, the church, the government, unions, businesses, charitable organizations, and most of all, at people who were "cowardly, hypocritical, and silent in the face of injustice."1 The North Star was founded by Martin R. Delaney and Frederick Douglas. The purpose Of this paper was to "attack slavery in all its forms and aspects; advance Universal Emancipation; exact the standard of public morality; promote the moral and intellectual improvement Of the colored peOple; and to hasten the day Of freedom to our three million enslaved fellow-country men." Douglas once said, "I thank God for making me a man . . . but Delaney always thanks Him for making him a black man." Delaney gave his children African names, and organized a Negro nationalist convention that made the startlingly modern pre- diction that the "question of black and white" would one day decide the future of the world. It was Delaney who first spoke of black Americans as a "nation within a nation."2 NO discussion of racial consciousness among Black people would be complete without a discussion of W. E. B. DuBois and his ideals. Bracey, Meier and Rudwick comment on the fact that the strains of nationalism in DuBois' thinking is evident and persuasively argued in an early paper of his entitled "The Conservation of Races" (1897). Here he stated many of the themes he was to later develOp and they are: 1Harris and Hobson, p. 76. 2Ibid., p. 94. 80 1. American Negroes were the vanguard of blacks the world over whose destiny was "Pan-Negroism"--the doctrine that Negroes, regardless of what nation they lived in, should feel an emotional commitment to one another. 2. Negroes everywhere have a special attachment to Africa as the race's "greater fatherland." 3. Salvation would come only from an educated black elite who would chart the way to cultural and economic elevation. Hobson in his book, Black Pride, quotes DuBois' philosophy on elevating his race. DuBois was convinced that “if black people were to rise above the level to which the South, and Tuskegee, assigned them, gifted, well-educated black men would have to lead them.“ 4. Black people "must do for themselves" by developing their own organizations, such as businesses, newspapers, and schools. 5. Negroes have a "distinct mission as a race"--"to soften the whiteness" of an uninspiring, materialistic Anglo- Saxon culture. He argued that "the Negro peOple as a race have a contribution to make in civilization and humanity, which no other race can make."1 While studying at the University of Berlin, DuBois planned his future and on his twenty-fifth birthday, he wrote: I am glad I am living. . . . The hot dark blood Of my forefathers is heating at my heart, and I know that I am either a genius or a fool. . . . The unknown lays in my hands and I work for the rise of the Negro people, taking for granted that their best development means the best development of the world. These are my plans: to make a name in science, to make a name in literature, and thus to raise my race. Or perhaps to raise a visible empire in Africa. . . . I wonder what will be the outcome? Who knows?2 1Bracey, Meier, and Rudwick, pp. 246-247. 2DuBois as quoted in Harris and Obson, p. 70. 81 DuBois was a writer, educator, and sociologist and through his research and writing hoped to explain the social and economic conditions of black men. In doing this, he would help end the myth of black inferiority that racism was built on. He furthermore agrees that he filled his objectives: "1 think I may say that . . . I was a main factor in revolutionizing the attitude of the American Negro toward caste. My stinging hammer blows made Negroes aware of themselves, confident of their possibilities and determined self-assertion."1 Racial pride and consciousness was apparent in the response given by Bishop Henry M. Turner of the African Methodist Church in reference to an editorial comment published in the Observer in 1898. The statement evoked this response from the paper: "He is evidently demented if he used the language attributed to him." The "language attributed to him" was Bishop Turner's emphatic declaration that "God is a Negro." His argument was that every race of people since time began who have attempted to describe their Gods by words, or by paintings, or by carvings, or by any other form of figure, have conveyed the idea that the God who made them and shaped their destinies was symbolized in themselves. He asks, therefore, why shouldn't the Negro believe that he resembles God as much as other people? Bishop Turner puts it this way: We have as much right biblically and otherwise to believe that God is a Negro, as you . . . white people have to believe that God is a fine looking, symmetrical and ornamental white man. For the bulk of you and all the 1Ibid., p. 70. 82 fool Negroes of the country believe that God is white-skinned, blue-eyed, straight hair, projecting nosed, compressed lipped and finely robed white gentleman, sitting upon a throne somewhere in the heavens.1 Bishop Turner further emphasizes that we would rather be an atheist or pantheist than to believe in the personality Of a God, and not believe that He is a Negro. He states that there is no hope for a race of people who do not believe they look like God. He concludes with his explanation of why African emigration is desired: "As long as we remain among the whites, the Negro will believe that the devil is black and that he (the Negro) favors the devil and that God is white and that he (the Negro) bears no resemblance to Him."2 Such a feeling is contemptuous and degrading to a Black or any other non-white people. Marcus Garvey too believed that God was a Negro. He claimed the God, the angels, and Jesus were black; Satan and the imps, white. Garvey founded the African Orthodox Church, and furnished it with a statue Of a dark-skinned Jesus and a "Black Virgin Mother."3 Imamu Ameer Baraka (LeROi Jones) addresses himself to the Black Value System conceived by Maulana Karenga and created out of the Black man's specific needs. He explains how the value system can give us focus, identity, purpose and direction to move to a better life. Baraka contends that a value system is needed for Black people 1Bishop Henry M. Turner as quoted in Bracey, Meier and Rudwick, pp. 154-155. 2Ibid., p. 155. 3Harris and Hobson, p. 94. 83 to be predictable in their behavior, that is, to be stable and pointed to a single goa1--the liberation of our soul, mind, and body. The value system contains seven principles and they are listed below: unoja (Unity): TO strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, instead of being defined, and spoken for by others. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and to make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together. Ujamaa (CO-Operative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit together from them. Nia (Purpose): To make as our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our peOple to their traditional greatness. Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful than when we inherited it. Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our parents, our teachers, our leaders, our people, and the righteousness and victory Of our struggle.1 It is interesting to note that although Karenga's doctrine is stated differently the same ideology or philosophy is apparent in that the paramount thrust is for social, economic, and political liberation of Black people. The Black Panther's number one priority listed in their statement, "What We Want Now, What We Believe" is "We want freedom. lImamu Ameer Baraka (LeROi Jones), "A Black Value System," The Black Scholar, November 1969. pp. 54-60. 84 We want power to determine the destiny Of our black community. Other priorities are full employment, decent housing (fit for the shelter Of human beings), education that exposes the true history of our people and their present role in society--we want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace, but the main concern is for freedom.1 In the December 1960 issue of Black Scholar, Malcolm X states very emphatically what the fight for equality is and has always been about: We have to keep in mind at all times that we are not fighting for integration, nor are we fighting for separation. We are fighting for recognition as human beings. We are fighting for the right to live as free humans in this society. In fact, we are actually fighting for rights that are even greater than civil rights and that is human rights.2 Logan states that Negroes in the United States want first class citizenship. He lists equality Of Opportunity, equal pay for equal work, equal protection of the laws, equality of suffrage, equal recognition of the dignity Of the human being and abolition of public segregation as irreducible fundamentals in a democracy.3 In the same book, DuBois explains what Negroes mean by freedom: "By 'Freedom' for Negroes, I meant and still mean, full economic, political and social 1The Black Panther Party Program "What We Want Now! What We Believe," as quoted by Bracey, Meier and Rudwick, pp. 531-550. 2Malcolm X as quoted in Black Scholar, December 1969, p. 27. 3Francis L. Broderick and August Meier, Negro Protest Thought in gge Twentieth Century (New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1965), p. . 85 equality with American citizens, in thought, expression, and action, with no discrimination based on color."1 Charles Wesley points out very succinctly what the Negro has always wanted; that is, the freedom from want. Literature has long reflected the feelings Black people held for themselves, for their race, and for American society. Aptheker renders several early accounts Of racial injustice, love for, alle- giance to Blackness, of race consciousness and pride expressed in literary works. In 1853 James M. Whitfield in his poem "America," Opened with these lines: America, it is to thee, Thou boasted land of liberty, It is to thee I raise my song, Thou land of blood, and crime and wrong.2 Another example of protest is Frances E. W. Harpers' poem "Bury Me In A Free Land" published in 1854. It commences: Make me a grave where'er you will, In a lowly plain, or a lofty hill; Make it among earth's humblest graves, But not in a land where men are slaves. Edmund Cronon in his biography of Marcus Garvey states that: The racial doctrines of Marcus Garvey were infusing in Negroes everywhere a strong sense of pride in being black. For the first time in the long bitter centuries since 1Francis L. Broderick and August Meier, Negro Protest Thou,h_ in the Twentieth Century (New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1965), p. 65. 2James M. Whitfield as quoted in Herbert Aptheker, "Afro- American Superiority: A Neglected Theme in Literature," Afro-American History: The Modern Era (New York: Citadel Press, 1971), pp. 68-79. 3Ibid., p. 70. 86 their ancestors had left Africa in chains, masses of Negroes in the United States and elsewhere in the New World were glorying in the color.1 Aptheker criticizes Cronon for using phrases and words, such as "for the first time" or "never" and points out the fact that DuBois wrote the poem cited below a generation before Marcus Garvey touched the United States: I am the smoke King. I am black, I am darkening with song I am hearkening to wrong: I will be black as blackness can, The blacker the mantle the mightier the man.2 A consistent theme in literature not only rejects the concepts of Black inferiority but projects the idea Of Black superiority. Black superiority in terms of ethical or moral superiority, but a definite carry-over into standards Of beauty, aesthetic sense and modes and values of life. Moral superiority is apparent in David Walkers' Appeal to the Colored Citizens Of the World and an explicit affirmation of the superiority of the Black as compared with the white in physical terms is given by John S. Rock, an important abolitionist, physician, and first Afro-American attorney admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court. Rock stated that the prejudice that some white men expressed against his color "gave him no pains" and it was that man's business if he did not fancy his color. His reaction and reply was that it only showed that "he lacks good taste." These are a few lines from a speech he delivered in 1858 in regard to the physical beauty of the Negro: 1Ibid., p. 72. 2Ibid. 87 When I contrast the fine, tough muscular system, the beautiful, rich color, the full broad features, and the gracefully frizzled hair of the Negro, with the delicate physical organization, wan color, sharp features and long hair of the Caucasian, I am inclined to believe that when the white man was created, nature was pretty well exhausted-- but, determined to keep up appearances, she pinched up his features, and did the best she could under the circumstances.‘ Everett feels the Harlem Renaissance or what he prefers to call the Harlem Reaffirmation is "at once the most misunderstood, most written about, the most underrated and overrated period in Afro-American Expression." Nonetheless, Everett concedes it was: the period in which Black artists as a collective (and as individuals) for the first time in our cultural history, rejected the enslaving, stereotypic and self-denying tradition of the white aesthetic, and replaced it with a liberating, self-determining and self-affirming Black aesthetic. . . . It was the Harlem Reaffirmation which gave what Maulana Ron Karenga calls "the needed thrust to our freedom from our historical cultural dependency and paralysis." . . . It was . . . a cultural Janus, in that it was a returning to the roots--the past--and a pursuing of the vision--the future--which is now the present.2 Everett concludes that although literature and life are not the same, they are inseparable. Several of the poets of the so-called Harlem Renaissance (1920s) conveyed a sense Of Black superiority in their work. Listed below are two examples, C. Cullen and Gwendolyn Bennett, respectively: ‘John Rock as quoted in Philip S. Foner, "I Will Sink or Swim With My Race," The Voice of Black America (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972), pp. 203-208. 2Everett, p. 32. 88 My love is dark as yours is fgir Yet lovelier I hold her Than listless maids with pallid hair, And blood that's thin and colder.‘ I love you for your brownness and the rounded darkness of'your breast; I love you fbr the breaking sadness in your voice and shadows where your way-ward eye-lids rest.2 Countee Cullen even comments on the debilitating effect on exploitative relationships and this is reflected in his poem "For A Lady I Know": She even thinks that up in heaven Her class lies late and snores While poor black cherubs rise at seven to do celestial chores.3 Claude McKay expressed the feelings of many Negroes in his poem, ”If We Must Die," about the increasing boldness of lynchers and the unresponsiveness of the President of the United States and Congress to do anything about it. The poem advocates: If‘we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot. While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot. If we must die, 0 let us nobly die. . . . Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying but fighting back!“ ‘Countee Cullen as quoted in Aptheker, p. 77. 2Ibid. 311.14., p. 78. “Claude McKay as quoted in Foner, "The Faith of the American Negro," pp. 745-746. 89 Everett concludes a contemporary continuity of this pristine beauty Of Blackness is present in Baraka's work, as well as others, and the advocacy of Baraka for Black people to lOOk in the rivers of their souls they would know they are beautiful.‘ Black people are considered a part of the total group called Americans. However, there are many aspects Of their culture that makes them distinctly different. They are different if for no other reason than geographical and social isolation. It is interesting to note that although Black peOple consider themselves Americans, they refuse to be considered just Americans. They insist on the distinction as Afro- American or Black-American. This hyphenated American name may be a manifestation Of the uniquely shared outlook on life felt by Blacks that cannot be shared by whites. Killens describes "The Black Psyche" this way: Just as surely as East is East and West is West, there is a "black" psyche in America and there is a "white" one, and the sooner we face up to this psychological, social, and cultural reality, the sooner the twain shall meet. Our emotional chemistry is different from white American's. Your joy is very Often our anger, and your despair our hope. Most of us came here in chains, and many of you came here to escape your chains. Your freedom was our slavery, and therein lies the bitter difference in the way we look at life.2 Blauner offers this explanation of the Black culture and its ideology: ‘Chestyn Everett, "Tradition in Afro-American Literature," Black World, December 1975, pp. 20-27. 2John O. Killens as quoted in Robert V. Guthrie, "The Black Psyche," Black World, 1970, pp. 26-35. 90 Afro-Americans share a consciousness of a common past (and a concomitant national or ethnic identification) that white Americans simply are not privy to. How could whites perceive, react, and relate to slavery, emancipation to the South and its history of Jim Crow and lynching, to early twentieth century race riots, and even to Montgomery and Watts in the same way as blacks? NO matter how democratic our ideals and how sensitive our human capacities, we were on the other side sociologically and existentially.‘ Poetess Gwendolyn Brooks summarizes her feeling on the new Black of today. She puts it as follows: There is indeed a new black today. He is different from any the world has known. He's a tall-walker. Almost firm. By many of his own brothers he is not understood. And he is understood by no white. Not the wise white; not the schooled white; not the kind white. Your least pre-requisite toward an understanding of the new black is an exceptional Doctorate which can be conferred only upon those with the proper properties of bitter birth and intrinsic sorrow. I know this is infuriating, especially to those professional Negro-understanders, some Of them very kind, with special portfolio, special savvy. But I cannot say anything other, because nothing other is the truth.2 Perhaps the "new black" poetess Brooks describes is synonymous to what Alain Locke calls the "New Negro." Locke claims that in the last decade something beyond the watch and guard Of statistics has happened in the life Of the American Negro eluding the three norms who have traditionally presided over the Negro problem--the Sociologist, the Philanthropist, and the Race-Leader. These three are not unaware of the New Negro, but are at a loss to account for him because he simply cannot be swathed in their formulae. He explains that no metamorphosis ‘Robert Blauner, "Black Culture: Myth or Reality," in Americans from Africa: Old Memories, New Moods (New York: Atherton Press, 1970), p. 440. 2Gwendolyn Brooks as quoted in Don L. Lee, "Black Books Bulletin Interviews Gwendolyn Brooks," Black Books Bulletin 2 (Spring 1974): 28-30. 91 has taken place between the Old Negro and the New Negro, not that the New Negro is not here, but because the Old Negro had long become more of a myth than a man. The Old Negro, viewed as a creature Of moral debate and historical controversy, has for generations in the minds Of America been more of a formula than a human being--a "something to be argued about, condemned or defended, to be 'kept down,‘ or 'in his place,' or 'helped up,‘ to be worried with or worried over, harassed or patronized, a social bogey or a social burden." Locke makes this analogy to help explain the existence of the New Negro: Recall how suddenly the Negro spirituals revealed them- selves; suppressed for generations under the stereotypes of Wesleyan hymn harmony, secretive, half-ashamed, with the courage of being natural brought them out--and behold, there was folk music. Similarly the mind of the Negro seems suddenly to have slipped from under the tyranny Of social intimidation and to be shaking Off the psychology Of imitation and implied inferiority. By shedding the Old Chrysalis of the Negro problem we are achieving something like a spiritual emancipation. . . . The multitude perhaps feels as yet only a strange relief and a new vague urge, but the thinking few know that in the reaction the vital inner grip of prejudice has been broken.‘ This realization has required a new mentality for the American Negro and as it matures the beginning Of its effects can be seen. In conclusion, Locke describes the actions and reactions that have shaped the mentality of the Negro today. At first, negative, iconoclastic, and then positive and constructive. In this new group psychology we note the lapse Of sentimental appeal, then the development Of a ‘Alain Locke as quoted in Bracey, Meier and Rudwick, "Alain Locke on The New Negro: A Forced Attempt to Build . . . Americanism on Race Values," Black Nationalism in America (New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1970), pp. 334-347. 92 more positive self-respect and self-reliance; the repudiation of social dependence, and then the gradual recovery from hypersensitiveness and "touchy" nerves, the repudiation of the double standard of judgment with its special philanthropic allowances and then the sturdier desire for objective and scientific appraisal; and finally the rise from social disillusionment to race pride, from the sense of social debt to the responsibilities Of social contribution. . . .‘ The Negro today wishes to be known for what he is, even in his faults and shortcomings, and scorns a craven and precarious survival at the price Of seeming to be what he is not. This deep feeling of race is at present the mainspring Of Negro life and seems to be the outcome of the reaction to proscription and prejudice. It can be viewed as a fairly successful attempt to convert a defensive into an offensive position, a handicap into an incentive.2 The statement by author Virginia Hamilton in reference tO the Black experience may give some perspective to the surfacing Of the new Black consciousness. She puts it this way: The black experience in America is deep like the rivers of this country. At times through our history it became submerged only to emerge again and again. Each time it emerges, it seems strong, more explicit and insistent.3 115111., p. 342. 2151a. 3Virginia Hamilton, "Portrait Of the Author as a Working Writer," April 1971, pp. 237-342. CHAPTER III REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Professional Literature and Research Related to Children's Literature This chapter will include the identification and evaluation of research related to the two major parts of this study, namely, the studies that pertain to (l) the content of the children's literature selections about Black people: (a) those aspects pertaining to the universal experiences Of Black and non-Black children and (b) the tradi- tions unique to Black people in the United States, and (2) the role that literature in which these traditions or universal experiences which are portrayed has on the development Of a positive, adequate self-concept of Black and non-Black children. Children's Literature About Black People in the United States In 1956, Morris conducted a study to provide a chronological and Objective analysis Of the presentation of the American Negro character from a historical and sociological perspective. Morris was interested in correlating the treatment of the Negro in children's literature to the actual treatment of the Negro in America during six historical periods: before 1900, 1900-1920, 1921-1930, 1931-1940, 1941-1945, 1946- 1950. She analyzed the Negro characters in terms of: role, theme, 93 94 setting, characterization, language, and illustrations in children's literature. A further analysis was made in respect to how such literary elements developed during the historical time span within which the author of the books lived and wrote. Morris concluded that the presentation of the Negro in literature during the designated time period was: 1. Before 1900 the Negro was included in children's literature to give regional or historical authenticity to stories; his role was that Of either servant or slave. Findings reveal that the Negro appeared as an indispensable tool, but a marginal man. From 1900 to 1921, the Negro was used as a source of comic relief in books for children. He was cast as a clown, minstrel, or buffoon. Between 1921 and 1930, the first stories of the Underground railway appeared, but the predominant picture was still that of plantation days, servant roles, comic relief, and fugitive slave. Between 1931 and 1940, the Negro was portrayed both as a stereotype and as a real person. Negro characters were portrayed in major roles and non-nostalgic descriptions of slave life were formed. Between 1941 and 1945, stereotyped presentations were still present in children's literature books. Although this presentation was less during this period, the Negro's role was that of second class citizen. Between 1945 and 1950, Negroes were given minority group representation. They were treated in a more realistic mannerland the trend toward interracial stories was noted. ‘Effie Lee Morris, "A Mid-Century Survey of the Presentation of the American Negro in Literature for Children Published in the United States between 1900 and 1950" (Master's thesis, Western Reserve University, 1956). 95 Morris' study was important to the present study in that it emphasized the value of using literature to reflect the historical and sociological presentation of a people during different periods. Morris' study was a pacesetter in that it was one Of the first studies to provide a con- textual interpretation of America's Black children in context and illustrations. Jeter2 conducted a content analysis Of 24 books published from 1951 to 1960. She also examined the characters, setting, roles, illustrations, and language in selected books in order to determine if the books presented an unbiased, accurate, and well-rounded picture of Negro life. She classified the stories as (l) stereotype, (2) planta- tion legend, (3) comic relief, and (4) realistic. She found that (1) the stories in the 1951-1960 period were more realistic in that they tended to show the Negro as an integral part Of society as a whole and (2) Negroes were more realistically portrayed although there was still racial stereotyping in several books of the period. The scope Of Jeter's study was limited in that (1) only recommended books were included, reducing the chances for an accurate or comprehensive portrayal Of the time period, (2) only 24 books were analyzed, and (3) the categories were not mutually exclusive, resulting in the need for brief explanations about each book. One important weakness Of the Jeter study was the fact that it was highly subjective. NO attempt was made to establish interrater reliability of the investigator's check list. However, the Jeter study was important to 2Mabel Harrison Jeter, "Presentation of the Negro in Children's Books Published Between 1951 and 1960" (Master's thesis, Atlanta University, 1962). 96 the present study in that the findings gave (1) results about the kind Of language being used by Black people during that time period, (2) the depiction of Black people in illustrations, and (3) the kind of family unit portrayed, although no definition of the phrase "complete family unit" was given. Languate, family structure, and the portrayal of Blacks in illustrations is a significant part of the present study. Lowell3 also identified Negro character types in her character- ization analyses of stories written for and about Negro children. The four types are (l) the foxy type, (2) the "Little Black Sambo" pattern type of any nonwhite, (3) the pickaninny type, and (4) the new proto- type. Lowell suggested that the new prototype as exemplified in Araminta was highly desirable. As part Of her study, Lowell sent questionnaires to libraries serving large Negro populations, asking: (1) how many Negro children patronized the library, (2) how many Negro books it had, and (3) how the librarian would list what she considered to be the first ten Negro books in the order in which the Negro children liked them. She found that Araminta ranked first in the top ten books. In addition, she found that there was a small number Of books for the large number of Negro children and that librarians lacked knowledge of Negro stories. Sterling“ conducted a survey in 1967 to find out how many books honestly presented the Negro experience in the United States. 3M. Marguerite Lowell, "Negro Stories for Children, A Subjective Criticism" (Master's thesis, University of California, 1937). I'Dorothy Sterling, "The Soul of Learning," Epglish Journal 56 (February 1968): 171-172. 97 She surveyed 60 early and contemporary books that were published between 1960 and 1966. The results revealed that of the 12,000 trade books published during that time period, only 1 percent Of this total was about Black people and 2.8 percent of the total output Of books for young people addressed themselves to issues such as hunger, war and the urban crisis. Although Sterling was interested in books that "honestly" pre- sent the Negro experience in the United States, her study is limited in that only 60 books were surveyed. This sample covering early and con- temporary books, appears to be too small to present the many diverse aspects of the Black experience in America. The Sterling study was important to the present study in that a concern was made to investigate how many books accurately, authentically, or honestly portray the Black experience in the United States. However, no explanation as to how the researcher measured for "honesty," or how she arrived at her sampling of 60 books out Of the 12,000 published. The present study will use scholarly historical and sociological literature to substantiate all referents made to the selected Black traditions being examined. Deans investigated the treatment Of Blacks in fiction series books such as "Tom Swift," "The Bobbsey Twins,” and "The Hardy Boys." This investigation revealed that negative stereotypes were still present, that the Negro was never presented as a "real person" and that no significant changes had occurred in these series books. 5Paul C. Dean, "The Persistence Of Uncle Tom: An Examination Of the Image of the Negro in Children's Fiction Series," The Journal of Negro Education 37 (Spring 1968): 144-145. 98 Recent studies have emphasized the need fOr honesty, integrity, and strong characterization in the sensitive areas of black-white rela- tionships. Broderick conducted a historical and critical literary analysis Of the image Of the Black in children's books from 1827 to 1967 and concluded that honesty and humanity were lacking in the books which she analyzed. 0f the 64 children's books used in her sample, she noted that prior to the publication Of the book Call Me Charley in 1945, no book in her sample contained a black-white conflict situation. Generally, the theme in her sample books portrayed whites as benevolent and kind toward Negroes. The prevailing attitude that showed up in her analysis was that "quality white folks" were not the ones that were mean to Black people. Her findings reveal the stereotypes portraying Blacks as having wooly, kinky hair, thick lips, protruding eyes and broad noses were more Often portrayed than positive images. Broderick also noted that few of the positive portrayals were of actual black characteristics. Whenever, Blacks were portrayed in a positive way, they had been ascribed non-Black physical features, usually with light brown skin. Broderick's6 study is significant to the present study in that illustrations are an important aspect of the present study. Broderick's study ends in the year 1967, just before the civil disturbances in many of the major cities in America. In 1965, Larrick7 documented the fact that from 1962 to 1965, only four-fifths of 1 percent of children's trade books from 63 6Dorothy M. Broderick, Image Of the Black in Children's Fiction (New York: R. R. Barker, 1973), p. 179. 7Nancy Larrick, "The All-White World Of Children's Books," Saturday Review, September 1965, p. 63. 99 publishers told a story about Black people in contemporary America. This figure does not accurately indicate the scarcity of books portray- ing Black people because 50 percent of the books included in the 6.7 percent are either set outside the continental United States or before World War II. Larrick emphasized the point that not only is the Black child's image involved in the inaccurate racial picture portrayed in children's books, but non-Black children are also done an injustice. She concludes: Across the country, 6,340,000 non-white children are learning to read and understand the American way of life in books which either omit them or scarcely mention them. . . . But the impact of all-white books upon 39,600,000 white children is probably even worse. Miel's and Kiester'sa study of a middle class white suburb reveals the ramifications of segregation and racial ignorance. She found: 1. Extraordinary effort was needed to bring about any encounter between a child of the suburbs and persons different from himself. 2. Children learn to be hypocritical about difference at a very early age; in fact racial ignorance and prejudice flourished in this suburb. 3. A good many parents, however, were found to desire more emphasis on certain kinds of differences, as of nationality and religion. 4. Neither parents nor schools faced up to the economic inequality. There was little in the education of these children, either formal or otherwise, to familiarize them with the rich diversity of American life. 8Alice Miel and Edwin Kiester, Jr., “The Short-Changed Children of Suburbia: What Schools Don't Teach About Human Differences and What Can Be Done About It," Institute of Human Relations Press, 1967. 100 The need to expose Black and non-Black children to a well-balanced picture of Black peOple in America is equally crucial for both groups. Glancy9 conducted a study to analyze the characterization trends of all children's fiction published from 1951 through 1963 which included fictional American characters. Using Morris' charac- terization types, 145 books were read and analyzed for a negative stereotype. The characteristics of negative stereotypes were compared to hypothetical positive stereotypes. Three hypotheses were examined: (1) that fewer characteristics of the negative stereotype would be present in stereotypic proportions (i.e., in over half the books) in the later publications than in the earlier; (2) the percentage of books with characteristics of the negative stereotype would decrease from 1951 to 1963; and (3) the percentage with characteristics of the positive stereotype would increase for the same period. The results of her findings revealed that for hypothesis 1 three characteristics of the negative stereotype appeared in stereotypic proportions in 1951-1955, two in 1956-1959, one in 1960-1963 and 1964-1965, none in 1966 and one in 1967; hypothesis 2 was not supported by her data for all six periods for any characteristic. However, several of the characteristics did show partial trends, such as rural areas, former Confederate states and ante-bellum settings decreased, books with the major character a white showed a moderate decrease from 1951 through 9Barbara Jean Glancy, Children's Interracial Fiction, a research project conducted under the grant program Of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, August 1969. 101 1966, Black characters who were poor and did not give any indication of striving markedly decreased over the six periods with two slight reversals. One characteristic--characters described or called dark or b1ack--showed a slight but consistent trend in the reverse direction from that predicted from 1956 through 1967. Glancy states that this trend may be related to the "Black is Beautiful" concept. The third hypothesis concerning the increase in the characteristics of the hypothetical positive stereotype did not occur consistently for any characters; however, three characteristics did show partial trends or trends with slight reversals: standard English spoken by Black char- acters, biracial contacts with no reference to any racial problems, and twentieth century settings. Glancy's study is significant to the present study in that it portrays race pride in the reversal of the negative stereotype of characters called Black or dark. Another related area in both studies is the kind of language spoken by Black people in children's books. The present study investigates the portrayal of the race pride tradition of Black people and the use of dialect as evidence of race pride in books. Carlson‘° tested for stereotypes projected by Negro characters in the children's literature published between 1929-1938 and 1959-1968. One hundred and twenty-five books were examined for the 1929-1938 time period and 420 books were examined for the 1959-1968 time span. Part ‘°Julie Ann Carlson, "A Comparison of the Treatment Of the Negro in Children's Literature in the Periods 1929-1938 and 1959-1968" (Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Connecticut, 1969). 102 one of the test focused on (1) whether the Negro was mentioned in the literature of one period more than in the other and (2) whether a difference existed in the degree of racial stereotyping contained in the books of the two periods. The results of the first test indicated that 15 percent of the books of the first period and 10 percent of the books in the second period mentioned Negro characters. A qualitative comparison was used in the second test to determine whether the Negro characters were treated as caricatures, stereotypes, individuals with a race problem, or individuals with a universal problem. The results indicated that in the 1929-1938 period, Negroes tended to be stereo- typed whereas in the later period they tended to be presented as an individual with a race problem or as an individual with a universal problem. Carlson's study was significant to the present study because it reported findings regarding the portrayal of Black people in literature up to 1968. Bingham's“ content analysis of illustrations focused on how the American Negro had been depicted in the illustration of children's picture books published between 1930 and 1968. Several major questions were asked: (1) Are a variety of Negro physical characteristics shown in illustrations and does this variety differ during the four historical periods? (2) Are Negroes shown in a variety of interior and exterior environments? (3) Are Negro adults shown in a variety of roles? And “Jane Marie Bingham, "A Content Analysis of the Treatment of Negro Characters in Children's Picture Books 1930-1968" (Ph.D. disser- tation, Michigan State University, 1970). 103 (4) Do Negro characters interact with a variety of persons in a variety of ways? The overall question was, Can any statements be made as to the difference in treatment of the Negro characters in the several areas of analysis during the four historical periods? To answer these questions, a total of 41 books which included 1,067 illustrations were found on recommended book lists. These books were grouped into four historical periods, four major categories were constructed and a coding instrument was constructed. The results of this study revealed: (1) Negro characters were depicted with a variety of skin colors with little marked differences during the historical periods; (2) almost no important conclusions could be drawn about environmental conditions; (3) consider- ing all historical periods, there were more Negroes in the first two periods than there were Caucasians in the last two; and (4) though a variety of types of interaction and characters were identified for all periods, none of the Negro main characters interacted in any way or at any time with a Negro female teenager or a Caucasian baby. Few Negro male teenagers, Negro babies, Caucasian male and female teenagers, and Caucasian female juveniles were identified. Bingham's study was significant to the field of literature because its focus was on the importance of using illustrations to reveal the prevailing attitudes about Black people during different time periods. 104 Gast‘2 was also concerned about stereotypes and his study focused on the stereotypes, characteristics of and concepts about present-day American Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Negroes, and Spanish-Americans on contemporary children's fiction published between 1945 and 1962. His population consisted of 42 children's books which contained 114 minority American characters. The entire book and the individual characters in each book was analyzed as two separate units requiring two separate data collection instruments. Analysis for the individual book characters was made in terms of seven different characteristics and stereotypes ascribed to them using the Katz and Braly list of verbal stereotypes. Each book was analyzed to determine explicit and implicit concepts revealed about the minority groups through the stories read. Gast addressed three major questions in his study: 1. What are the characteristics of and concepts about present-day American Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Negroes and Spanish-Americans in contemporary children's fiction? 2. What are the identifiable stereotypes imputed to minority Americans in the literature? 3. How does treatment of minority Americans in contemporary children's fictional literature compare with that shown in related studies of adult magazine fiction and school instructional materials? The findings indicated minority Americans were generally shown to adhere to their traditional religious beliefs, American Indians, Chinese. and Mexican-Americans were shown to retain ethnic garb. ‘zDavid Karl Gast, "Characteristics and Concepts of Minority Americans in Contemporary Children's Fictional Literature" (Ed.D. dissertation, Arixona State University, 1965). 105 Pictorial representations of Negroes de-emphasized Negroid facial features and black skin. Although the Chinese and Japanese were por- trayed as valuing education, the Negroes were the only minority shown to attend college. American Indians, Chinese, and Spanish-Americans were shown to have ethnocentric goals and values, while the values attributed to the Japanese and Negroes were not ethnocentric. Negroes were portrayed as striving to attain racial acceptance in the dominant culture. And finally minority and majority Americans were portrayed in the books as being more alike than different in regard to behaviors and basic attitudes and values. Children's Literature Affecting Concept of Self and Others Alexander‘3 conducted a content analysis of books written by non-Black authors that were characterized as the kind that give the child a sense of identification. However, the ten books used did not contribute much to the Black reader's self-image. This researcher concluded: In considering the constructive potential of books for children, one does not ask that they be antiseptic in portraying harsh realities . . . but one does ask that authors play a positive role in helping Black children to foster a healthy self-image.‘“ Mathis examined books written by Black and white authors to find out if these books revealed "self-hatred producing images" to Black ‘3Rae Alexander, "Children's Books and the Search for Black Identity," Ihterracial Di est (New York: Council of Interracial Books for Children, n. . , : - . 1"Ibid... PP. 12-13. 106 children. A sample of 18 books published between 1965 and 1974 were used. Of this number of historical and fiction books used, 14 were found to contain "racist false propaganda messages." Her conclusion was that non-Black writers “have distorted facts" and perpetuated "time-honored" stereotypes.‘5 The limitations of the Mathis' content analysis of historical and fiction books lay in the fact that (1) no attempt was made to have the investigator's findings checked by raters, (2) no explanation of the criteria used to evaluate the books was given, and (3) the fact that only eighteen books were evaluated limited the scope of the study. Fisher‘£5 investigated the portrayal of Black children found in contemporary realistic fiction written for children between the ages of 8 to 14. Her study included 40 children's books classified as contemporary realistic fiction and categorized under the heading of (1) home and family life, (2) school experience, (3) recreation, (4) community services and participation, (5) religion, and (6) emotional life. The image of the Black child in activities reoccurring in daily life, participation in informal and formal social institutions and associations, attitudes, values and goals attributed by the authors was the focus of the study. Fisher's study revealed: (1) the fictional Black child lived in all sections of the United States, (2) education ‘SSharon Bell Mathis, "True/False Messages for the Black Child," Black Books Bulletin 2 (Winter 1974): 12-19. ‘5Winifred Maxine Fisher, "Images of Black American Children in Contemporary Realistic Fiction for Children" (Ed.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1971). 107 was valued and thought of as a means of getting ahead, (3) the recrea- tion activities were varied with the age group of the child and the community, (4) the interaction between the main character in the story and the community varied. At times the acceptance by the community was a factor in the plot, (5) references to religion was in half of the books, and (6) the main characters' career plans, personal development, and reactions to situations unique to Black children were major aspects of the emotional lives of the children in the fiction. Loneliness and rejection were frequent problems in the fiction. Fisher's focus was supposedly contemporary realistic fiction, but some books in their sample were as dated as 1945 and as current as 1968. Fisher's recom- mendation to compare images found in children's literature with socio- logical studies of Black Americans in order to determine the accuracy of the literary images is of significance to the present study because it dealt with the daily lives of the Black American. Fisher's statement in reference to self-concept develOpment of Black children is also significant to the present study because it mentions the possibility of self-worth vis-a-vis conveyed race pride in children's books. Fisher states: It may be that the books that do not emphasize blackness build positive self-concepts for Black readers if the Black characters have a sense of self-worth that is conveyed to the reader. . . . The unspoken feeling of self-esteem may benefit a Black child as much as a book that always reminds him of the problems of his race.‘7 ‘7Ibid., p. 108 In 1966, Gerd Boger‘8 conducted a content analysis of books for young children which included Black peOple and Japanese as main characters. The purpose of the study was (1) to sharpen the general definitions of the categories of symbolic, empirical, ethical, and synOptic thought-units for operational use in analyzing a selected body of children's literature; (2) to establish profiles of the content of selected individual children's books in terms of the presence/absence of four corresponding specific-indicator categories; and (3) to examine the evidence for the assumption that the books on Japan will rank higher than the books on Black people in terms of the two general categories of ethical and synoptic thought units. The definitions given to the four thought units were as follows: Symbolic thought comprises instances of the main child character communicating intelligently through elementary forms of active inquiry. Empirical thought comprises instances of the main child character increasingly using his personal abilities as tools toward growing insight. Ethical thought comprises instances of the main child character deciding consciously and acting responsibly in an ever widening context. Synoptic thought comprises instances of the main child character comprehending himself integrally and envisioning his future time-life purposes.‘9 Boger was able to sharpen his category definition by determining the degree to which the thought unit in question reflected the main char- acter as the subject of an action, and the degree to which the main ‘°Gerd Boger, "A Content Analysis of Selected Children's Books on the Negro and Japanese" (Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1966). ‘9Ibid., p. 109 character was the object of an action. He concluded that the books on Japan were slightly more adequate than the books on Black people in terms of the definition of a realistic story as "a tale that is con- vincingly true to life." Boger interpreted the relative absence of ethical and synoptic thought-units in children's stories on Black people as a lack of opportunity for Black children to grow in respect to ethical and synoptic thought. Boger's study was significant to the field of children's literature because it emphasized the belief that children's books help a child to see himself in relationship to himself as well as to others. In a recent study, Agree2° analyzed and evaluated the portrayal of the Black American as delineated in the text and illustration of a select group of children's books published in America from 1950 to 1970 for children between the ages of five and twelve. An instrument of content analysis was created by means of an attitude questionnaire sent to a stratified judgment sample of professionals highly qualified in the field of children's literature. The second phase of this study involved the selection of the book sample according to the recommenda- tions of three of six highly recommended bibliographies and the formal content analysis of each of the books comprising the book sample in terms of the basic criteria established by the instrument. This analysis con- sisted of evaluation of literary as well as graphic contents which were 20Rose H. Agree, "The Black American in Children's Books: A Critical Analysis of the Portrayal of the Afro-American as Delineated in the Contents of a Select Group of Children's Trade Books Published in America from 1950 to 1970" (Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1973 . 110 expressed jointly. The researcher's major area of analysis was con- cerned with determining the message contained in the contents as expressed in the text and the illustrations of each book. Most of the sample books revolved about childish themes which lacked honesty and integrity vis-a-vis black life in America today. Issues of vital rele- vance to the lives of children, black as well as white, were either omitted entirely or treated only marginally. And finally, lacking also were depictions of the inner strength and variety of life styles, per- sonal as well as socioeconomic, prevalent among Black Americans. The results of this study reveal that neither black nor white children would be enlightened as to the background or the causes of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders proclamation that our nation is moving toward two societies, one black and one white--separate and unequal. Agree concluded that white children reading most of these books would receive the impression that while there are Black people in America, they are relatively few in number, live in nice private homes, usually in suburb or rural areas, or in middle-class happily integrated housing developments where all is peaceful, and black and white families live together harmoniously. On the other hand, the content of most of the books for the Black child paints quite another picture. It was felt that Black children were urged never to forget the admonitions of their parents to “be a credit to their race." They must live up to high expectations, be clean, well spoken, bright, punctual, and hard working. Assuming all of these qualifications were met, the Black child might then win some outward acceptance into the white world. 111 The scope of Agree's study was limited because (1) no attempt was made to establish interrater reliability of the investigator's instrument and (2) only 32 books were subjected to literary and pictorial analysis, thus reducing the chances for a comprehensive portrayal of the 1950-1970 time period. Augusta Baker is optimistic about the changing image of the Black in children's literature. She conducted an examination of children's books beginning with the mid-thirties when plantation stories were "in" and continued up to contemporary Black life descriptions of the 1960s and 19705. The contemporary books portrayed Black people in white collar job roles such as consultants, editors, and doctors. Her contention is that books about Black peOple should provide positive identification for them and the entire gamut of Black life and Black lifestyles should be reflected in the literature that portray Black people.2‘ Of the research studies reviewed, only a few have attempted to use sociological reports as a basis for analyzing the literary images portrayed in children's literature books. Kiah22 conducted an analysis of children's contemporary realistic fiction books about 21Augusta Baker, "The Changing Image of the Black in Children's Literature," The Horn Book Magezine 51 (February 1975): 88. 22Rosalie Black Kiah, "A Content Analysis of Children's Contem- porary Realistic Fiction About Black People in the United States to Determine If and How a Sampling of These Stories Portray Selected Salient Shared Experiences of Black People" (Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1976). 112 Black people in the United States to determine if and how selected salient shared experiences of Black people are portrayed. The research questions she addressed in her study that are relevant to the present study are: 1. Can information about selected salient shared experiences of Black people be abstracted from sociological research reports and be utilized in the construction of a valid instrument for use in content analysis of contemporary realistic fiction about Black people in the United States. 2. In the contemporary realistic fiction written about Black people in the United States, do a majority of the stories used in this study portray the salient shared experiences of Black people or do they portray experiences that are universal to all peOple?2 Kiah extracted statements and phrases from sociological studies that revealed salient shared experiences of Black people in the family setting and the social world. Her instrument was designed to measure the frequency or the presence or absence of the different themes that were extracted from sociological studies. She was then able to check "present" or "not present" to each theme under The Family and The. Social World. Hhen found to be "present," the themes were then evaluated in terms of favorable, unfavorable, or neutral. The checked category was then documented with the textual passage(s) and pagination(s) to justify the evaluation made. Her findings revealed that it is possible to use information extracted from sociological reports to design an instrument for use in the analysis of children's contemporary realistic fiction about Black people in the United States and more stories were shown to reflect experiences that are shared by all 23Ibid., DP. 16-17. 113 people than were found portraying salient shared experiences of Black people. Kiah's study was significant to the present study because it validated the technique of using sociological reports and documents to construct a valid instrument to determine if and how selected aspects of the Black experience have been portrayed in children's literature. Her study was also helpful to the present study because it focused on the Black family which is one aspect of the present investigation. Noblez“ investigated the explicit or implicit attitudes toward the home, church, and school in children's contemporary literature. Her random sample was comprised of l25 realistic fiction books. By using the "content assessment" method to answer her research questions, she was able to describe the treatment of the home, church, and school in contemporary realistic fiction for children between the ages of nine and fourteen. Her findings on the Black family were of particular interest to the present study. She found that out of a total of 28 books portraying Black and White families, who were lower-middle and lower class, nine White families and five Black families were found to be lower-middle class and nine White families and five Black families were found to be lower class. However, when books portraying Black and White families were separated, a different picture was evident. Of the ten Black families found as primary families, five were lower-middle class and five were lower class. 2"Judith Ann Noble, "The Home, The Church, and The School as Portrayed in American Realistic Fiction for Children l965-1969" (Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1971). 114 Peters25 analyzed the image portrayed of the Black family in college sociology textbooks. The main focus of the study was to make a comparison on how a number of textbooks in family sociology treated the Black family. Her findings revealed that some of the textbooks were much more accurate in their portrayal of the Black family than others and few met the established criteria for the study. Peters stated that when choosing a text on the Black family, two factors should be taken into consideration: (1) look for myths and (2) look for authenticity. She concluded that (l) Black authors should be included in sociology textbooks on the family and (2) illustrations in these books should be representative of a cross section of Black families. Professional literature in all areas of the scientific dis- ciplines is fraught with research findings explicating the cause-effect or condition-response of the Black child's self-concept development. In fact, the significance of identity problems for Black children has been investigated by a number of researchers. The prototype for later studies was carried out by Kenneth and Mamie Clark in the mid-forties. The subsequent studies by Goodman (1952), Targer and Yarrow (l952), Landreth and Johnson (l953), and Morland (l958) all converge in positing that racial recognition by both White and Black children appeared by the 25Marie Ferguson Peters, "The Black Family--Perpetuating the Myths: An Analysis of Family Sociolo y Textbooks Treatment of Black Families," The Family Coordinator 23 (October l974): 349-357. 115 third year and sharply increased therefore. The paramount significance in all these studies was the tendency of Black children to prefer white skin, white dolls, and white friends. Black children often identified themselves as white or were reluctant to acknowledge that they were Black. In addition, both races of young children assigned poorer houses and less desirable roles to black dolls. The literature suggests that these identity problems of Black children are inextricably linked with problems of self-valuation. The literature emphasizes that the self-concept of the Black man is con- taminated by his assignment to second-class status together with the overwhelming fact that the world he lives in says, "White is right, black is bad." The acceptance of these beliefs by Blacks, either consciously or unconsciously, has been the inherent message of many publications. More recent research of Black self-concept reveals findings that are antithetical to the conclusions made twenty to thirty years ago. Mahan replicated the original Clark and Clark (l947) study of racial identification and preference with a minimum amount of alter- ations. The replicated study included a white group of children. Black and white children ranging in age from three to seven were asked to answer questions pertaining to a black doll and a white doll placed in front of them. The questions dealt with their racial identification and preference. The findings revealed that White and Black children held a positive image of themselves and of their race. For the Black children who owned black dolls, this was especially true. 116 Mahan suggests that Black awareness, Black history, the Black media, and the production of Black dolls in a positive image have had major influ- ences in the new trend of a more positive Black self-image. The most significant and positive contribution in this study is the fact that those children who own Black dolls identify more strongly with them than those who do not. It is interesting to note that hair was the most frequent explanation when explaining one preference over another. In the field of children's literature, the texture of Black peOple's hair has been a recurring theme for many years. Broderick reveals an l861 passage from Jane Andrews' book Seven Little Sisters Who Live on the Round Ball That Floats in the Air that describes Black people and their hair: Their lips are thick, their noses broad, and instead of hair, their heads are covered with wool, such as you might see on black sheep. This wool is braided and twisted into little knots and strings all over their heads, and bound with bits of red string, or any gay looking thread. They think it looks beautiful, but I am afraid we should not agree with them.26 Eleanor Frances Lattimore's Bayou Boy written in 1946 appears to be preoccupied with describing in detail the hair of Blacks. To quote Ms. Lattimore: Louis' hair, cut close to his head, was curly as a lamb's fleece. But Julie's hair was braided too tight to curl. It was braided in many little braids, each tied with a bright ribbon, green and red and pink and gold.27 26Dorothy Broderick, "Lessons in Leadership," School Library Journal, February 1971, pp. 699-701. 27Eleanor Frances Lattimore, Bayou Boy (New York: William Morrow and Co., 1946). 117 Mathis focuses on Frank Bonham's ALA Notable Book Durango Street that was into seventh printing in 1969. Bonham too makes reference to the hair texture of Black peOple. His message is: "He had a small, neat, Negro head and nappy hair cut short."28 Amini states that the dialect is seen very easily in reference to the subject of hair. He comments on the antithetical values made about hair: If straight hair is "good," then hair that is not straight is obviously "bad" or "no good." If straight hair is "beautiful," then hair that is not straight is obviously "ugly." But the very fact that the term "straight" has been used in connection with hair, form is automatically given to the opposite concept: there must be hair that is "not straighté" or as it is generally called, "kinky" or "nappy" hair. 9 Amini explains how "straight" hair is used as the standard of measure- ment by which any other hair is judged for what it may or may not be worth. Value judgments are unconscously internalized because if "straight" hair has positive value because it is "good" then its opposite, "kinky" hair is assigned a "negative" value because it is "bad." In our present nationwide involvement in multicultural education of all children, children's literature plays a unique and important role. It is widely acknowledged that the child's self-concept is created in the formative years and that books contribute significantly to the image that is molded. 28Mathis, pp. 2-19. 29Johari Amini, "Re-Definition: Concept as Being," Black World, May 1972, pp. 5-12. 118 In 1966, Handler3° conducted a study that served a twofold purpose. First, an attempt to study the ways by which attitudes of prejudice toward Black people might be changed in kindergarten children was made. Secondly, an attempt to determine if certain materials could be developed that would be useful in helping kindergarten children examine prejudice in a way meaningful to their age level and age. The study focused on the relationship of white children to Blacks. Within the classroom children were encouraged to develop positive attitudes toward Black people by allowing them direct and indirect Opportunities to examine their relationships and attitudes toward them. The research investigated the following faculty generalizations held by white kindergarteners concerning: (1) the way kindergarten children think in terms of sharp differences such as good-bad, black-white, hot- cold; (2) the association by learning of Black people with social labels such as "dirty," "not nice," and ”not nice looking"; and (3) the negative emotional content that the color disignations "black" and "brown" assume when related to Black people. Handler worked with the teachers in a suburban integrated kindergarten class over a period of one term. There were a comparison group and operational group, both in the same conmun- ity and both integrated. Materials in the operational classroom were introduced when the teacher and researcher felt they were appropriate and centered around books, puppets, discussion, special art media, and Black visitors. Results of this study indicated that white children in 3°June Moss Handler, "An Attempt to Change Kindergarten Children's Attitudes of Prejudice Toward the Negro" (Ed.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1966). 119 the operational group began to verbally correct their faulty generaliza- tions about Black people. This change was also evident in Black chil- dren, but to a lesser degree. Children in the comparison group, as a group did not evidence such positive change. The researcher concluded that given special experiences conducive to looking at beliefs and feel- ing about Black people, young white children could change their negative attitudes of prejudice. This study is relevant to the present study because it used books as a prescription or treatment for racial preju- dice. Although the researcher did not specify what kind of literature was presented, it is deduced that literature portraying Black people in a favorable light was used. Donahue31 conducted an experimental study to compare the responses of Negro and white kindergarten boys and Negro and white kindergarten girls to picture book stories which were read to them. The researcher used nine intact classrooms that had an enrollment that was either predominantly Negro or white. Four books were randomly selected and used in this study. Two of the books featured Negro characters and two of the books featured white characters. All of the books had similar themes and were chosen from book lists recommending books suitable for young children. Each of the selected books was reproduced in two experimental reproductions. In one, the race of the story characters was kept the same as in the original and in the other, 31Elayne Meyer Donahue, "A Study of the Preference of Negro and White Kindergarten Children for Picture Book Stories Which Feature Negro and White Story Characters" (Ed.D. dissertation, University of Colorado, l969). Dissertation Abstracts, Humanities and Social Sciences 30 (1970): 4138A. 120 the race of the story characters was changed to that of the opposite race. Therefore, differences between the two experimental reproductions of each book was the skin color of the characters and where necessary, hair styles were altered. The researcher read one story each day to each of the classes and immediately following each presentation a pictorial questionnaire which was used to evaluate the students' liking of the story and its characters was administered. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the preferences of Negro and white kindergarten boys and Negro and white kindergarten girls for picture books which featured Negro and white story characters. This study is relevant to the present study because picture book illustration is a major consideration. Wagener,32 in a more recent study, conducted a study to ascertain the effect of oral reading of literature containing historical and fictional characters on the self-concept of Black fourth grade students. The researcher had three treatment groups: an experimental group was exposed to literature with Black characters, a placebo control group was exposed to literature without Negro characters, and a control group was exposed to no oral reading of literature. Each group contained 23 pupils approaching equality in terms of race, sex, age, and I.Q. Thirty-six sessions lasting 30 minutes each were conducted. Two pre- and post-tests were administered to the groups: the Piers-Harris 32Ruth Elaine Hoffman Wagener, "An Experimental Study of the Effects of a Program of Oral Reading of Children's Literature About Negroes on the Self-Concept of Negro Fourth Grade Children" (Ed.D. dissertation, The University of Tennessee, 1971). Dissertation Abstracts, Humanities and Social Sciences, p. 4336A. 121 Self-Concept Test and the Children's Self-Social Constructs Test. The results of the findings from the Piers-Harris post-test scores revealed a lower self-concept of students in the experimental group at the end of the treatment period. However, scores of the same stu- dents were significantly higher on the post-test scores of the Children's Self-Social Constructs Test on the items of vertical esteem, horizontal esteem, and identification with mother and friends. Post-test scores of all the groups revealed less complexity, individuation, and identity with teacher at the end of the experimental period. In addition, all groups revealed greater identification with father. Interestingly, children in the experimental group used brown less frequently as their skin color in self-drawings at the end of the experimental period than their first self-drawings. This study is relevant to the present study because literature was used as a treatment for self-concept enhancement However, the study is relevant to the present study because literature was used as a treatment for self-concept enhancement. However, the researcher did not specify the kind of literature used or if the literary selections contained illustrations. This chapter has reviewed studies that were related to the treatment of Black people in children's literature and the role literature has in the develOpment of self-concept. CHAPTER IV METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE The purpose of this investigation was twofold. One purpose was to determine if and how selected Black traditions have been portrayed in picture books written about Black people living in the United States for children from seven to nine years of age. Another purpose of this study was to design and conduct a pilot experimental study which could be used to determine what impact these portrayals have on the self- concept of children who were exposed to these books. This chapter con- tains a delineation of the methodology and procedure used to conduct these two aspects of the present study. This chapter is divided into two parts. Part I describes the methodology and procedures used in the content analysis of the picture books and includes a description of (a) the method used to create the rating instrument, (b) the procedure used to check the reliability of the rating instrument, (c) the method used to obtain the sample of books used in the content analysis, and (d) the procedure used for collecting and analyzing the data is detailed. Part 11 consists of the methodology and procedures used in the pilot experimental aspect of the study and includes (a) the student population involved, (b) the self-concept instrument administered, (c) the book selection procedure f01lowed, and (d) the data collection procedure utilized. 122 123 Part I. The Content Analysis Aspect of the Study The Instrument A rating instrument was designed to analyze the content of picture books about Black people in the United States to determine the extent that selected Black traditions have been portrayed in the text and/or illustration. The three selected Black traditions this researcher chose to investigate were Black music, Black family, and race pride. A checklist of words and phrases enumerating characteristics or compo- nents of each tradition was developed, based on sociological research and historical documents. The salient shared experiences in the areas of music, family, and race pride were extracted from this literature and formed the basis for the rating instrument. The salient character- istics of each of the three traditions were included in the rating instrument under the appropriate rubric. Findings relating to the socio- logical and historical reports, research, and documents upon which the premises of the instrument was constructed are reported in Chapter II. The first Black tradition listed on the instrument is Music. Items involving the following eight major characteristics of that tradition are included in the first section of the rating instrument: (1) jazz; (2) blues; (3) spirituals; (4) Black musician(s); (5) music involving a single call-mass response; (6) music shown as an intricate part of a Black person's life (during work, play, relaxation, prayer, or entertainment); (7) music used to reject white cultural values; and 124 (8) music used as a survival technique (escape, solace, strong psychological release). The second tradition listed on the instrument is the family. Items involving the following fourteen significant features distinctive to the Black family in the United States are included in the second section of the rating instrument: (1) extended family living together (blood relatives from the same and/or different generations); (2) out- side members (non-blood members) living with the family; (3) outside members (non-blood members) living nearby and performing family func- tions; (4) children adopted by relatives instead of strangers; (5) strong sense of responsibility toward relatives who are living elsewhere; (6) family members having certain duties and responsibilities; (7) flexibility in roles, with emphasis on getting the job done rather than on who performs it; (8) family members being openly supportive of each other; (9) high values placed on family stability and keeping the family intact, even by individuals who fail to achieve or maintain it; (10) family members having a long-range responsibility to the family; (11) strong orientation toward work, with a high value on keeping a job for the benefit of the family; (12) achievement orientation with an expectation that children will do better than their parents; (13) Black mother preparing her children for survival in a predominately white world;iand (14) the church shown as an important institution to Black families. 125 The third tradition listed on the instrument is Race Pride. Items involving the following thirteen attributes of race pride are included in the third section of the rating instrument: (1) pride in racial heritage and/or African ancestry (including dashiki, giving children African names, referring to oneself or group members as Afro- Americans); (2) resistance to all forms of slavery and subservience; (3) concern with racial equality and freedom; (4) rejection of Black inferiority; (5) pride in Black political leaders (Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr.); (7) pride in Blacks who have achieved success; (8) strong sense of unity among Blacks and commitment to self—help; (9) desire to unite Black people of the world; (10) mention of a Black aesthetic with regard to the arts (dance, poetry, music, etc.); (11) mention of a Black standard of personal beauty (hair, physical features, etc.); (12) Open display of Black emblems and/or symbolic colors (red, green, and black); and (13) use of Black dialect. A total of 35 words and phrases describing three general aspects of the Black man's African heritage in conjunction with his reactions to the effects of oppression in the United States are reflected in the rating instrument. In order to determine the extent that each component of a tradition was mentioned in the text and illustrations of a book, the following scale was used: 0 = never mentioned 1 = mentioned once 2 = mentioned more than once For each item, three scores were recorded: (1) number of times mentioned in text, (2) number of times illustrated, and (3) total number of times mentioned in text and illustrations. Scores for the items comprising 126 each category were tallied, yielding three subscores and one overall score. For the content analysis phase of the study, overall scores, the three subscores, and certain item scores were used. For the experimental phase of the study, overall scores alone were used to characterize books evaluated as being high, medium, or low in Black traditions. Procedure for Analyzing the Data for the Content Analysis of Picture Story Eboks The following procedural steps were used to analyze the content of picture books in the present study: 1. Each book was read in its entirety in order to familiarize the author with the overall theme of the story. 2. Each book was read a second time in order to identify the selected Black traditions found in the text of the story. 3. Each book was then read a third time in order to identify the selected Black traditions found in the illustrations of the story. Using the rating instrument designed for the present study, the appropriate number was circled to indicate the extent to which each of the Black traditions were mentioned in the text and/or illustrations. Each book was rated for all three traditions, yielding separate subscores for each tradition, a cumulative score for the text, a cumulative score for the illustrations, and a total score for the book. 127 Reliability In order to estimate the reliability of the principal rater, the principal rater and three other instructors of children's literature, two of whom have taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in children's literature, rated the same eight books. These books were selected from a total of 60 picture books about Black people in the United States and portrayed varying degrees of the three selected tradi- tions of Black music, Black family traditions, and race pride. The following eight books were used to determine the reliability of the rating instrument: Breinburg, Petronella. Doctor Shawn. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1974. This book revolves around the universal problem children have of “finding something to do" while Mother goes out. Shawn and his sisters decide to play hospital and Shawn finally gets his chance to be "Dr. Shawn." This book was selected because the activities and concerns of the book characters are not unique to Black children but universal to all children. This book earned a low score of the Black Traditions Questionnaire. Clifton, Lucille. All Us Come Cross the Water. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973. During a social studies lesson in school, the teacher asks everyone to stand and tell what country their families come from. Jim, who has been renamed Ujamaa, an African name meaning unity, by his grandmother becomes confused and refuses to stand. He knows his people are from Africa, but after all, Africa is a continent, not a country. Ujamaa asks each of'his relatives, "Where we from?" but not until he talks to an old man called Tweezer does he get an answer that is acceptable to him. Through Tweezer, he comes to realize that Black Americans have their roots in all African countries; Black Americans all "crossed the water"; Black people are one people. This book was selected because of its high score in race pride 128 on the Black Traditions Questionnaire. It was especially appropriate and timely for use in this study because the television drama "Roots" had just been shown. Keats, Ezra Jack. Peter's Chair. New York: Harper and Row, 1967. Jealousy experienced by the arrival of'a new baby is an emotion most children have had to cope with. This is the theme of’Keat's book as Peter witnesses all of his baby furniture being refurbished for his new baby sister. He finally realizes and accepts the fact that they were all too small for him now, anyway, and offers to help his father paint them. This book was selected because sibling rivalry is a common experience for all children, resulting in a low black traditions score. Egypt, Ophelia. James Weldon Johnson. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1974. This biography portrayed the early childhood of'James weldon Johnson in a warm, loving family unit to his many contributions as a scholar, musician and poet in adulthood. This book was selected because it portrayed all three Black traditions, especially race pride and music. The high portrayal of all three traditions resulted in a high rating score on the Black Traditions Questionnaire. King, Helen. Willy. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1971. Since his father died, the young boy had been the man of the house. Therefore, he felt it was up to him to catch the rat he called Willy that had become a constant intruder in his home. After several attempts, he finally catches Willy and proves himself in his effort toward manhood. This book was selected because it earned a medium score on the Black Traditions Questionnaire. Lexau, Joan M. Me Day. New York: Dial Press, 1971. The book portrays the anxiety experienced by Rafer, a young boy whose parents have recently divorced. He fears his father will forget his birthday now that he is no longer living in the home. His birthday becomes a very happy occasion when his father contacts him, explains that the divorce will never effect their relationship and then takes him out to celebrate. This book was selected because universal and Black traditions are both portrayed, resulting in a medium rating score of the Black Traditions Questionnaire. 129 Mathis, Sharon Bell. The Hundred Penny Box. New York: Viking Press, 1975. The book portrays a combination of universal experiences and Black family traditions. The manner in which the father reacts to his aging aunt is of'paramount importance. However, the problems that accompany the family when older relatives are taken in is also portrayed. The book was selected for these reasons and received a medium rating on the Black Traditions Questionnaire. Williamson, Mel. Walk On. New York: The Third Press, 1972. Many of the components under Black music and race pride traditions are portrayed in this book by way of observa- tions of three young children playing in their urban neighborhood. This book was selected because of the high black tradition rating score is earned in music and race pride. These eight books were chosen for the inter-rater reliability test because they portray varying degrees of the Black traditions. A comparison of overall ratings given to these eight books by the principal rater and the other three raters is shown in Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were cal- culated comparing the principal rater's scores with each of the other rater's scores. The average intercorrelation for overall ratings was .95, indicating that the author's ratings were very consistent with other person's knowledge about and interpretation of children's litera- ture. Examining each subcategory, the average intercorrelation for Black music was .96, the average intercorrelation for Black family traditions was .91, and the average intercorrelation for race pride was .97. It was therefore decided that the principal rater alone could reliably rate the books used in the remainder of the study. 130 ma. um. mo. mm. ogoum ppogw>o no. em. mm. mm. wcoum woven comm mgoum Fm. mm. Pm. mm. meowpwumeu schac gua_m mm. mm. am. no. mcoom uwmae gumpm cowumchcoucmgcm m Lopez N Lopez F Lopez mmmcm>< can .m.a :wmzpmm new .m.a cmmzumm new .m.¢ cmmzumm cowgmpmccougmucH comumpmscoucmucfi :owumpmgeoucmucH x; cm>ww mmozp ucm memm Pmamucwca mg» An cm>ww mmcwumm xoom mumpmm cough :mmzpmm cowumpmgcougwch .F mpnm» 131 Table 2. Comparison of Ratings Given to Eight Books with Regard to Black Music Principal Rater Rater Rater Book Titles Rater l 2 3 Peter's Chair 0 O O O Willy 4 6 4 Walk On All Us Come Cross the Water 0 O O 0 Doctor Shawn O O O 0 Me Day 0 O O 0 James Weldon Johnson 14 ll 16 11 The Hundred Penny B95_ 7 6 12 2 Table 3. Comparison of Ratings Given to Eight Books with Regard to Black Family Traditions 4 —— ‘— -—_— _____* ’— Principal Rater Rater Rater Book Titles Rater l 2 3 Peter's Chair 0 4 O 4 Willy 12 l4 17 11 Walk On 2 6 4 4 All Us Come Cross the Water 10 14 8 8 Doctor Shawn O O 1 Me Day 12 8 10 11 James Weldon Johnson 18 16 15 15 The Hundred Penny B95 5 ll 7 8 132 Table 4. Comparison of Ratings Given to Eight Books with Regard to Race Pride 1 J r -‘—‘ Principal Rater Rater Rater Book Titles Rater 1 2 3 Peter's Chair 0 O O O Willy 6 5 O 0 Walk On 13 9 10 16 All Us Come Cross the Water 0 1 O 0 Doctor Shawn O l O 0 Me Day 2 l 2 2 James Weldon Johnson 30 29 29 28 The Hundred Penny 1325 6 2 7 1 Table 5. Comparison of Overall Ratings Given to Eight Books Principal Rater Rater Rater Book Titles Rater l 2 3 Total Peter's Chair 0 4 O 4 23 Willy 22 25 21 13 95 Walk On 24 23 22 27 115 All Us Come Cross the Water 25 27 23 23 122 Doctor Shawn O l 1 l 3 Me Day 14 9 12 13 64 James Weldon Johnson 62 56 6O 54 266 The Hundred Penqy §9§_ 18 19 26 ll 86 Total 165 164 165 146 774 133 A pilot study was conducted to determine the reliability of the Black Traditions Questionnaire with five instructors in children's literature. A copy of the first instrument appears in the Appendix and a copy of the revised and final instrument follows on pages 134-136 and is entitled "Black Traditions Questionnaire." Researchyguestions Content analysis. Seven research questions were statistically tested to analyze the content analysis of picture books about Black people in the United States written for children seven to nine years of age during the 1956-1976 time period. The seven questions are listed below: 1. Which of the three specific Black traditions (music, family traditions, race pride) are most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people? 2. Which component of each Black tradition is most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black peOple? 3. Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors? 4. Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black illus- trators than non-Black illustrators? 5. Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations? 6. Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in books pub- lished since 1970 than in books published through 1969? 7. Is Black dialect (as evidence of Black pride) used more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969? 134 Copyright Date Score BLACK TRADITIONS QUESTIONNAIRE Title of Book 1M F Author: B W Characters: All Black C] Integrated [3 Publisher: Illustrator: W3 2'11 Directions: After reading this book, indicate to what extent each of the following Black traditions were mentioned in the text and/or illustrations of the book by encircling the apprOpriate number using the following scale: 0 1 2 never mentioned mentioned once mentioned more than once Black Traditions yy§1£_ 1. Jazz 2. Blues 3. Spirituals 4. Black musician(s) 5. Music involving a single call- mass response 6. Music shown as an intricate part of Black person's life: (during work, play, relaxation, prayer or entertainment) 7. Music used to reject white cultural values 8. Music used as a survival technique (escape, solace, strong psychological release) No. of Times No. of Mentioned limes Total in lext Illustrated Score 0 l 2 O l 2 O l 2 3 4 O 1 2 O l 2 O 1 2 3 4 O 1 2 O l 2 O l 2 3 4 O l 2 O 1 2 O l 2 3 4 O l 2 O l 2 O 1 2 3 4 O l 2 O l 2 O l 2 3 4 O l 2 O 1 2 O l 2 3 4 O l 2 O l 2 O 1 2 3 4 135 No. of Times No. of Mefitibfied Times Total in Text Illustrated Score Family 1. IO. 11. 12. 13. 14. Extended family living together (blood relatives from the same and/or different generations) . Outside members (non-blood members) living with the family . Outside members (non-blood members) living nearby and performing family functions . Children adopted by relatives instead of strangers . Strong sense of responsibility toward relatives who are living elsewhere . Family members having certain duties and responsibilities . Flexibility in roles, with emphasis on getting the job done rather than on who performs it . Family members being openly supportive of each other . High value placed on family stability and keeping the family intact, even by individuals who fail to achieve or maintain it Family members having a long-range responsibility to the family Strong orientation toward work, with a high value on keeping a job for the benefit of the family Achievement orientation with an expectation that children will do better than their parents Black mother preparing her children for survival in a predominantly hostile white world The church shown as an important institution to Black families 136 Race Pride 1. Pride in racial heritage and/or African ancestry (including dashiki, giving children African names, referring to oneself or No. of 'Tifififif' No. of Mentioned limes in Text Illustrated Total Score group members as Afro-Americans) O l 2 O l 2 l 2 3 4 2. Resistance to all forms of slavery and subservience O l 2 O 1 2 l 2 3 4 3. Concern with racial equality and freedom 0 l 2 O l 2 l 2 3 4 4. Rejection of Black inferiority O 1 2 O l 2 l 2 3 4 5. Rejection of Black and White stereotypes O l 2 O l 2 l 2 3 4 6. Pride in Black political leaders (Malcolm X, Martin Luther king, Jr.) 0 1 2 O 1 2 l 2 3 4 7. Pride in Blacks who have achieved success 0 l 2 O l 2 l 2 3 4 8. Strong sense of unity among Blacks and commitment to self-help O l 2 O l 2 l 2 3 4 9. Desire to unite Black people of the world 0 l 2 O l 2 l 2 3 4 10. Mention of a Black aesthetic with regard to the arts (dance, poetry, music, etc.) 0 l 2 O l 2 1 2 3 4 ll. Mention of a Black standard of personal beauty (hair, physical features, etc.) 0 l 2 O l 2 1 2 3 4 12. Open display of Black emblems and/or symbolic colors (red, green, and black) 0 l 2 O l 2 l 2 3 4 13. Use of Black dialect O l 2 O 1 2 1 3 4 Scores Black Traditions Text Illustrations Total Music Family _____ ______ Race Pride TOTAL 137 The picture story book selections for this study were determined from a comprehensive compilation of titles from the following sources, which are commOnly used by librarians, teachers, children's literature specialists and others concerned with providing acceptable literature for all children: The Afro-American in Books for Children. Revised edition. Public Library of the District of Columbia, 1974. Baker, Augusta. Books About Negro Life for Children. Revised. New York: New York Public Library,'1963. Glancy, Barbara Jean. Children's Interracial Fiction. American Federation of Teachers, 1969. Koblitz, Minnie, ed. The Negro in Schoolroom Literature. New York: Center for Urban Education, 1966. Latimer, Betty 1., ed. Starting_0ur Right. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Reid, Virginia, ed. Reading Ladders for Human Relations. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: AmericanlCouncil onTEducation, 1972. Rollins, Charlemae, ed. We Build Together. Champaign, 111.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1967. Horn Book Magazine. Vol. 32 (February 1956) through Vol. 52 (December 1976). Interracial Books for Children. New York: Council for Interracial Books, Inc. Vol. 1 (Summer 1966) through Vol. 7 (1976). Kirkus Reviews. Vol. 25 (July 1957) through Vol. 43 (November 1976). School LibragyiJournal (formerly Librar Journal). Vol. 81 (February 1956) through Vol. 101, No. 4 (15 February 1976). Using the above book lists, a population of books was identified which appeared to meet the following criteria: (1) those conforming to the specification of a picture book as the term has been defined for 138 the purpose of the present study; (2) those recommended for children ages seven to nine; (3) those published between 1956 and 1976; and (4) those portraying the Black character as the protagonist. Part II. The Pilot Experimental Study The purpose of the pilot experimental study was to determine whether the literary selections that portray selected Black traditions affect the self-concept of Black children and the self-concept of non- Black children. The four research questions are listed below: 1. Are there significant differences between Black children and non-Black children on each self-concept scale? 2. Do children who listen to stories from books which score high in Black traditions improve more on each self-concept scale than children who listen to stories from books about universal experiences? 3. Do Black children who participate in such an experiment improve more on each self-concept scale than non-Black children? 4. Are there significant interaction effects between experimental treatment and race? Sample The initial sample was composed of 326 children in twelve third- grade classes from six elementary schools in the Lansing School District in Lansing, Michigan. Classes were matched as closely as possible for similarities in economic, educational, and social background. Each class had at least six Black students. The initial sample consisted of 90 Black students and 236 non- Black students. Each of the Black students was randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups, and each of the non-Black students was 139 randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups, in order to assure a radical balance for each treatment. Due to natural attrition, the final sample consisted of 315 children: 89 Black students and 226 non-Black students. Of the 89 Black students, 44 were exposed to Treat- ment 1, books scoring high in Black traditions, and 45 were exposed to Treatment 2, books about universal experiences. Of the 226 non-Black students, 118 were exposed to Treatment 1, and 108 were exposed to Treatment 2. The Instrument The self-report instrument used in the study to assess the self-concept of students was the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (The Way I Feel About Myself), developed by Ellen V. Piers and Dale B. Harris (1969). (A copy of the Piers-Harris Measure of Self- Concept follows in the Appendix.) This BO-item scale was developed from a pool of items from Jersild's (1952) collection of children's state- ments about what they liked and disliked about themselves. The Piers- Harris Self-Concept Scale was used in the present study because it was developed primarily for research and because it is recommended for (studies of change in self-concept. Students are given a forced-choice scale and asked to circle either "yes" or “no" to the first person declarative statements, depending on whichever they feel is appropriate. Two examples are: I wish I were different ........... Yes No I am good in my school work ......... Yes No 140 The following six factors are measured by this instrument: 1. Behavior 2. Intellectual and school status 3. Physical appearance and attributes 4. Anxiety 5. Popularity 6. Happiness and satisfaction Data Collection Procedures The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale was administered to the students in each classroom in order to obtain a pre-test score for each student. Following this initial testing, a scheduled series of story- telling sessions were conducted twice a week for five consecutive weeks. The procedure used for presenting the books to the two treatment groups was done in alternating order--Treatment 1 groups were taken out of the classroom, read to first and returned to the classroom; then Treatment 2 groups were taken out of the classroom, read to and returned to the classroom. The sessions were held in libraries, hallways, vacant classrooms, and student work areas. All of the students assigned to Treatment 1 were read the same ten books, each of which received a high score because of their profusion of Black traditions on the Black Traditions Questionnaire. All of the students assigned to Treatment 2 were read the same ten books. These books dealt with uni- versal experiences and each received a low score on the Black Traditions Questionnaire because of their paucity of Black Traditions. There was no discussion of the story presented after each session. At the end of 141 the five-week period, the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale was adminis- tered as the post-test. The pre- and post-testing sessions and the group story-telling sessions were conducted by the same individual dur- ing the Frebruary-March 1977 period. Statistical Analysis Three of the four research questions for the pilot experimental study were tested using two-way analysis of variance. Treatment and race were regarded as the independent variables, each of which had two levels. Seven univariate analyses of variance were conducted in order to examine the effect of treatment and race on each of the following dependent variables: (1) change in total self-concept score; (2) change in behavior score; (3) change in intellectual and school status score; (4) change in physical appearance and attributes score; (5) change in anxiety score; (6) change in popularity score; and (7) change in happiness and satisfaction score. An alpha level of .05 was set for testing significance. The experimental research design is shown in Table 6. Determination of Sample Books The following procedure was used in selecting the books for the pilot experimental study: The author rated 60 picture books that met the description of a picture book as defined for the present study using the designed instrument. An overall rating was attached to each book reflecting the sum of the three subscores accumulated by the book. Next, the books were ordered from low to high according to the rating it earned. The books were then divided into three equal size groups: (1) low scores, (2) medium scores, and (3) high scores. The books used -142 Table 6. Pilot Experimental Research Design Treatment Books Scoring High Books About Race in Black Traditions Universal Experiences Black N = 44 N = 45 Non-Black N = 118 N = 108 Dependent Variables: 1. Change in total self-concept score; 2. Change in behavior score; 3. Change in intellectual and school status score; 4. Change in physical appearance and attributes score; 5. Change in anxiety score; 6. Change in popularity score; and 7. Change in happiness and satisfaction score. 143 in the Pilot Experimental Study were selected from the low and high scoring groups. High scoring books were read to students in the experi- mental groups; books with universal themes were read to students in the control groups. All students assigned to Treatment 1 group were read the same ten books (see Table 7) that scored high on the Black Traditions Ques- tionnaire because of their profusion of Black traditions. All Us Come Cross the Water by Lucille Clifton, Rosa Parks by Eloise Greenfield, Ray Charles by June Jordan, and Walk On by Mel Williams all portrayed high degrees of race pride. Embroidered throughout these books were referents to all the components that comprise the race pride tradition listed on the Black Traditions Questionnaire. Striped Ice Cream by Joan Lexau, Frederick Douglas Fights for Freedom by Margaret Davidson, and Fannie Lou Hamer by June Jordan were excellent examples of books that portray Black family traditions. The Black music tradition was por- trayed in Walk Together Children by Bryan Ashley, Song,of the Empty_ Bottles by Osmond Molarsky and James Weldon Johnson by Ophelia Egypt. All students assigned to Treatment 2 groups were read the same ten books that scored low on the Black Traditions Questionnaire (see Table 8) because of their paucity of Black traditions. The themes in these books portrayed universal experiences of all people and did not reflect or reveal the traditions of any particular ethnic group. The themes portrayed in these books included sibling rivalry, feelings of rejection by other family members, playing hospital, putting on shows, overcoming shyness, fantasizing, discovering things for oneself, and caring for a pet. She Came Bringing Me That Little Baby Girl, Table 7. Groups 144 Books Rated High in Black Traditions Used with Treatment 1 Book Scores 1 Black Black Family Race Book Titles Music Traditions Pride Total 1. All Us Come Cross the Water O 10 15 25 2. Rosa Parks 5 10 37 52 3. Walk quether Children 16 6 28 50 4. Fannie Lou Hamer 8 24 24 56 5. James Weldon Johnson 14 18 30 62 6. $099 of the Empty_Bottles 12 12 14 38 7. Striped Ice Cream 0 25 14 39 8. Ray Charles 23 21 34 78 9. Walk On 9 2 13 24 10. Frederick Douglas Fights for Freedom 0 14 23 37 Total 87 142 232 461 145 Table 8. Books with Universal Themes (Low in Black Traditions) Used with Treatment 2 Groups Book Scores Black Black Family Race Book Titles Music Traditions Pride Total 1. She Come Bringing_Me That Little Baby Girl . What Mary Jo Wanted . Pet Show . Sam c.0004:- . Benjie lO . Doctor Shawn . Pumpkinseeds . The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spri ng . Trixie and the Tiger 10. Don't You Remember 0 12 4 16 0000000 mowmmmb (”NOW-500R) NM 0 O 00 N Total 0 42 25 67 146 The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring, and Don't You Remember by Lucille Clifton, What Ma:y_Jo Wanted by Janice May Udry, Pet Show by Ezra Jack Keats, Doctor Shawn by Petronella Breinburg, Trixie and the Tiger Boy by Victoria Cabassa, Pumpkinseeds by Steven Yezback, Sem_by Ann Herbert Scott, and Benjie by Joan Lexau were examples of books that portray universal experiences. Summary In this chapter the procedure used for collecting and analyzing the data was presented. Part I described the method used to create the rating instrument, the procedure used to check the reliability of the rating instrument, the procedure used to obtain the sample of books used in the content analysis and the research questions investigated. Part II described the student population involved, the self-concept instrument administered, the book selection procedure followed and the data collection procedure utilized. A detailed description of the Black Traditions Questionnaire was also presented, including a c0py of the first instrument designed. CHAPTER V RESEARCH RESULTS This chapter includes research results organized in two sections: (1) Results of the content analysis of children's picture books written about Black people living in the United States for chil- dren seven to nine years of age, and (2) Results from the pilot experi- mental study conducted to determine what affect picture books portraying selected Black traditions had on the self-concept of Black and non- Black children. Results of Content Analysis of Children's Books The content of picture books written about Black people was analyzed using the Black Traditions Questionnaire (BTQ), an instrument which was designed by this researcher especially for the study. The Black traditions identified were: (1) Black music, (2) Black family traditions, and (3) race pride. A list of the books analyzed and their scores is included in Table 9 on pages 148 through 151. 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Content 152 Research Questions The following research questions were tested to analyze the of children's picture books written about Black people: Which of the three specific Black traditions (Black music, Black family traditions, race pride) are most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black peOple? Which component of each Black tradition is most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people? Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors? Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black illustrators than non-Black illustrators? Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations? Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969? Is Black dialect (as evidence of Black pride) used more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through l969? Presentation of the Data Analysis The study produced a number of significant findings. Findings from the seven research questions pertaining to content analysis are presented below. Research Question l: Which of the three specific Black traditions (Black music, Black family traditions, race pride) are most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people? l53 Research question 1 was tested by comparing the overall mean scores of the three selected Black traditions in the text and in the illustrations of the 133 books analyzed. Statistical results are shown in Table'H). Black music scores for the l33 books ranged from 0 to 23. The overall mean score for the number of times Black music was mentioned in the text was 1.03, the overall mean score for the number of times Black music was illustrated was .82, yielding a total average of l.85. Black family tradition scores for the l33 books ranged from 0 to 40. The overall mean score for the number of times Black family traditions were mentioned in the text was 4.65, the overall mean score for the number of times Black family traditions were illustrated was 3.00, yielding a total average of 7.65. Race pride scores for the 133 books ranged from O to 49. The overall mean score for the number of times race pride was mentioned in the text was 4.83, the overall mean score for the number of times race pride was illustrated was 4.85, yielding a total average of 9.68. Race pride was the Black tradition most frequently portrayed (9.68) in picture books about Black people. Examples of books scoring high in race pride on the Black Traditions Questionnaire are: Black BC's by Lucille Clifton (race pride score 49); Black Pilgrimage by Tom Feelings (race pride score 46); Black Means by Barney Grossman (race pride score 44); Paul Robeson by Eloise Greenfield (race pride score 40); Rosa Parks by Eloise Greenfield (race pride score 37); and Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis (race pride score 34). Further examples are shown in Table ll. Examples of books scoring low in race pride (race pride score 0) are: Oh; Lord, I Wish I Was a 154 Buzzard by Polly Greenberg; Rima and Zeppo by Susan Jeschle; The Snowy ng_by Ezra Jack Keats; Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats; and How Many Kids Are Hiding on My Block by Jean Merrill. Table 10. Mean Scores of Three Black Traditions in Picture Books About Black Pe0ple (N=133) Black Black Family Race Music Traditions Pride Total Mean text score l.03 4.65 4.83 l0.51 Mean illustration score 0.82 3.00. 4.85 8.67 Mean total score 1.85 7.65 9.68 l9.l8 The book Black BC's by Lucille Clifton is an alphabet book with appropriate illustrations that lead into short commentaries about Black Americans and their contributions to this country. From the Black BC's by Clifton: C is for Cowboys kings of the Nest some of the black men were some of the best. X is for Malcolm martyred when he saw the brotherhood of men. The book Black Means was designed to give new positive meanings and depth to the word "black" and to counteract many negative uses of the word. Listed below are a few of the many positive definitions of the word "black." From Black Means by Grossman. 155 Table ll. Books Scoring Highest in Race Pride Book Title Author Score The Black BC's Lucille Clifton 49 Black Pilgrimage Tom Feelings 46 Black Means Barney Grossman 44 Malcolm X Black and Proud Florence White 42 Malcolm X Arnold Adoff 42 Paul Robeson Eloise Greenfield 40 Frederick Douglas Lillie Patterson 38 Rosa Parks Eloise Greenfield 37 Ray Charles Sharon Bell Mathis 34 Lift Every Voice and Sing James and Rosamond Johnson 3l The Picture Life of Malcolm X James S. Kaskins 29 Mary McLeod Bethune Ruby Radford 28 Walk Together Children Ashley Bryan 28 Martin Luther King: A Picture Stony Margaret Boone-Jones 26 Fannie Lou Hamer June Jordan 24 Birthday John Steptoe 24 Frederick Douglas Fights for Freedom Margaret Davidson 24 Muhammad Ali Kenneth Rudeen 24 Charles Drew Roland Bertol 24 Gordon Parks Midge Turk 24 Muhammad Ali Marshall Burchard 23 Duke Ellington King of Jazz Elizabeth Rider Montgomery 22 And the Sun God Said: That's Hip Ernest Gregg 22 The Picture Life of Jesse Jackson Warren Halliburton 20 Black Is Brown Is Tan Arnold Adoff 20 The Picture Story of Hank Aaron Bernice E. Young l9 All Us Come Cross the Water Lucille Clifton 15 aBlack Traditions Questionnaire race pride score. 156 Black is as beautiful as my face. Black is a peOple striving for freedom. Black is a man struggling to be counted [illustration of Blacks voting in Montgomery, Alabama]. Black is as elevating as a spiritual. Black is as soulful as the blues. Pride in racial heritage is evident in the biography of Paul Robeson by Eloise Greenfield. His singing career afforded him many opportunities to travel all over the United States and other parts of the world, including places like Africa, France, the West Indies and England, to give concerts. However, Africa was of special significance to him. In Paul Robeson by Greenfield: He especially loved Africa--the people and languages, the stories and poetry, the music and art. Because he was black, he felt very close to Africa. (p. 24) His father was very instrumental in the way Paul felt about himself and Black people: He learned many other things by watching and listening to his father. He learned to love words--written words and spoken words. He learned to be proud of being black. He learned that people should do the things they really believe in. (p. 7) The biography Rosa Parks by Eloise Greenfield is embroidered throughout with referrents to concern with racial equality and freedom and rejection of Black inferiority. Living in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks grew up with the unfair laws of segregation and discrim- ination enforced by the local government. She tried to avoid having to be subjected to this inferior treatment. From Rosa Parks by Greenfield: 157 As much as she could, Rosa refused to go along with the unfair rules the city had made. When she was downtown, she walked up and down the stairs rather then ride elevators marked "Colored." 0n hot days when her throat was dry, she walked past the water fountains marked "Colored." Often she walked the mile from home to work and the mile back again from work to home rather than ride the bus. For the buses were worst of all. (p. ll-lZ) The biography of Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis highlights a situation when race pride is unquestionably expressed. The famous Black singer was about to begin a concert in Atlanta, Georgia, when he was informed at the last minute that Blacks had been relegated to a segregated section of the stadium. Rather than allow his peOple to suffer such abuse and blatant discrimination, he refused to perform and walked off the stage. Thousands of Black people signed and pre- sented him with a statement thanking him for his resistance to this form of subservience, rejections of Black inferiority, and show of Black unity. Although the book All Us Come Cross the Water by Lucille Clifton only received a total score of 25 on the Black Traditions Questionnaire, the book received a race pride score of l5 and is felt by this researcher to be exemplary of the race pride tradition of Black people. In All Us Come Cross the Water, race pride is the prevail- ing theme throughout the book. The story revolves around a young Black boy's query to find his true ancestral roots. For instance, during a conversation with his confidant and senior friend Tweezer, Ujaama asks him about his real name. The following conversation ensues: 158 I say, "What's your real name, Tweezer?" He say, "I don't know." "How come?" "It got left." I say, "Where?" He say, "In Africa." "What you mean?" "When they stole my Daddy's Daddy to make him a slave they didn't ask for his name and he didn't give it." "Well what did they call him?" He say, "Whatever he let um. Reckon he figure if they ain't got his name they ain't really got him." I say, "Big Mama give me my name. It mean Unity." He smile then. He start really talking. "Long as your own give you the name you know it's yours. We name us. Everybody else just calling us something, but we name us. You named a good name." (p. 15) The number of books from the total sample of the l33 that por- trayed the components of the race pride tradition in the text and/or illustrations are: Item l, Pride in racial heritage and/or African ancestry-~including dashiki (a shirt-like garment). giving children African names, referring to oneself or group members as Afro-Americans (4l stories); Item 2, Resistance to all forms of slavery and subservience (3l stories); Item 3, Concern with racial equality and freedom (37 stories); Item 4, Rejection of Black inferiority (35 stories); Item 5, Rejection of Black and White stereotypes (35 stories); Item 6, Pride in Black political leaders (Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr.) (14 stories); Item 7, Pride in Blacks who have achieved success (24 stories), Item 8, Strong sense of unity among Blacks and commitment to self-help (35 stories); Item 9, Desire to unite Black people of the world (25 stories); Item 10, Mention of a Black aesthetic with regard to the arts (dance, poetry, music, etc.) (22 stories); and Item ll, Mention of a Black standard of personal beauty (hair, physical features, etc.) (97 stories). The family was the second Black tradition most frequently por- trayed (7.65) in picture books about Black people. The overall mean score for the number of times Black family traditions were mentioned in 159 the text was 4.65, the overall mean score for the number of times Black family traditions were illustrated were 3.00, yielding a total average of 7.65. Examples of books scoring high in Black family traditions are: Paul Robeson by Eloise Greenfield (Black family traditions score 40); Black Pilgrimage by Tom Feelings (Black family traditions score 32); Malcolm X Black and Proud by Florence White (Black family traditions score 3l) and Striped Ice Cream by Joan Lexau (Black family traditions score 25). Further examples are shown in Table 12. Examples of books scoring low in Black family traditions (Black family traditions score 0) are: Uptown_by John Steptoe, The Boy Who Didn't Believe in §pring_by Lucille Clifton, Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats, and Doctor Shawn by Petronella Breinburg. The Black family traditions of outside members (non-blood members) living nearby and performing family functions and of children being adopted by relatives instead of strangers is portrayed in the biography of Paul Robeson. When Paul was only six years old, his mother was fatally burned in an accident in their home. Relatives and friends came to the aid of the Robeson family. From Paul Robeson by Sharon Bell Mathis: After mother's accident relatives and friends who lived nearby invited the younger Robeson children to their homes for dinner, or to spend days at a time. Like the Robesons, they didn't have much money. But they were glad to share their homes. They were full of love for the children and tried to make them feel better. (p. 5) 160 Table 12. Books Scoring Highest in Black Family Traditions Book Title Author Score Paul Robeson Black Pilgrimage, Malcolm X Black and Proud Malcolm X Striped Ice Cream Fannie Lou Hamer Frederick Douglas J.T. ManercLeod Bethune Ray Charles Gordon Parks Frederick Douglas Fights for Freedom Benjie On His Own Louis Armstrong James Weldon Johnson Eloise Greenfield Tom Feelings Florence White Arnold Adoff Joan M. Lexau June Jordan Lillie Patterson Jane Wagner Ruby Radford Sharon Bell Mathis Midge Turk Margaret Davidson Joan M. Lexau Genie Iverson Ophelia Egypt 40 32 31 26 25 24 24 23 22 21 20 20 20 19 19 aBlack Traditions Questionnaire family traditions score. 161 In Black Pilgrimage by Tom Feelings, the Black family tradition of family members being openly supportive of each other is portrayed. The author/illustrator mentions the difficulties he experienced trying to secure positions illustrating Black people for advertisements and magazines. Throughout the ordeal, his mother remained supportive. From Black Pilgrimage by Feelings: "During all that time my mother never applied any pressure on me to get a 'regular job.‘ I'm sure she felt some pressure herself from neighbors" (p. 22). Striped Ice Cream by Joan M. Lexau is an excellent example of the Black family tradition of family members having a long-range responsibility to the family. This tradition was portrayed when school was scheduled to start shortly and all the children needed new shoes. The mother had no way of buying them and tries to find work to enable her to do so. She secures a domestic job for a day and the children offer to go to work with her. From Striped Ice Cream by Lexau: "'I'm going to work with you, Mama, I can help,‘ Cecily said. 'I am too,‘ Abe said, 'I can lift things'" (p. 12). When asked about the money they earned, Ciclily replied, "I gave it to Mamma. Abe did too, It's shoe money" (p. l8). The biography of James Weldon Johnson by Ophelia Settle Egypt received a total score of 63 on the Black Traditions Questionnaire, but only received a Black family traditions score of 19. However, several referrents in the book are exemplary of the high achievement orientation that is a component of the Black family tradition and was felt by this researcher to be worth mentioning. From James Weldon Johnson by Egypt: 162 Mr. Johnson had not had a chance to go to school, but he had taught himself to read and write English and Spanish. He taught his sons to speak Spanish. (p. 5) When James finished the eighth grade and was ready for high school, there was no place for him to go. The high school in Jacksonville was for white children only. His father and mother decided to send him to Atlanta, Georgia. There he would attend the high school at Atlanta University, a school for Blacks, where students were prepared for college. (p. ll) The number of books from the total sample of 133 that portrayed the components of the Black family traditions in the text and/or illus- trations are: Item l, Extended family living together--blood relatives from the same and/or different generations (l5 stories); Item 2, Outside members-~non-blood members living with the family (no stories); Item 3, Outside members--non-blood members living nearby and performing family functions (lO stories); Item 4, Children adopted by relatives instead of strangers (5 stories); Item 5, Strong sense of responsibility toward relatives who are living elsewhere (15 stories); Item 6, Family members having certain duties and responsibilities (35 stories); Item 7, Flexibility in roles, with emphasis on getting the job done rather than on who performs it (25 stories); Item 8, Family members being openly supportive of each other (100 stories); Item 9, High value placed on family stability and keeping the family intact, even by individuals who fail to achieve or maintain it (36 stories); Item lO, Family members having a long-range responsibility to the family (23 stories); Item ll, Strong orientation toward work, with a high value on keeping a job for the benefit of the family (36 stories); Item 12, Achievement orientation with an expectation that children will do better than their parents (23 stories); Item l3, Black mother preparing her children for survival 163 in a predominantly hostile white world (16 stories); and Item l4, The church shown as an important institution to Black families (20 stories). Music was the third Black tradition most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black peOple. The overall mean score for the number of times Black music was mentioned in the text was l.O3, the overall mean score for the number of times music was illustrated in the text was .82, yielding a total average music score of 1.85. Examples of books that scored high in Black music tradition are: Paul Robeson by Eloise Greenfield (Black music tradition score 20); and Louis Armstrong by Genie Iverson (Black music tradition score 20). Further examples are shown in Table l3. Examples of books scoring low in Black music (Black music tradition scores 0) are: The Time-Ago Tales of Jahdu by Virginia Hamilton, Send Wendell by Geneviene Gray, What Mary Jo Shared by Janice May Udry, Sam by Ann Herbert Scott, and A Letter to Amy_by Ezra Jack Keats. The Black music tradition of spirituals is portrayed in Paul Robeson by Eloise Greenfield. The biography mentions that Paul loved music, but points out the kind of music he especially loved. From Paul Robeson by Greenfield: Paul sang in the church choir. He loved music, especially the black music called Spirituals. Spirituals. Spirituals are religious songs. They are a mixture of the music that slaves had known in Africa and the music and words they added to it after they were kidnapped to America. (p. 7) The books also highlight the facts that when Paul attended Columbia University, he played football to earn money, saw plays, visited friends, and went to parties. It was at these parties that 164 Table l3. Books Scoring Highest in Black Music Traditions Book Title Author Scorea Ray Charles Sharon Bell Mathis 23 Paul Robeson Eloise Greenfield 20 Duke Ellington King of Jazz Elizabeth Rider Montgomery 20 Louis Armstrong Genie Iverson 20 Walk Together Children Ashley Bryan l6 Sggt_ Arnold Dobrin l6 Black Pilgrimage Tom Feelings l4 Song of the Empty Bottles Osmond Molarsky l2 aBlack Traditions Questionnaire Music traditions score. Paul entertained the other guests singing Spirituals. From Paul Robeson by Greenfield: At the parties people loved to hear him sing. A friend would play the piano and Paul would sing Spirituals. He Sang about slaves being a long way from home and about slave children riding the train to freedom. (p. l7) The Black music tradition of jazz is portrayed in ngis Armstrong by Genie Iverson. The biography states that although Louis attended church regularly and knew the hymns by heart, he loved the kind of music called jazz the most. From Louis Armstrong by Iverson: But the kind of music Louis loved most was jazz. Jazz was African drum rhythms, French and Spanish dance melodies, church music and work songs from the days of slavery, all mixed together. (p. 5) 165 Iverson gives some of the characteristic features of jazz traditions. From Louis Armstrong by Iverson: Most black jazz musicians played from memory. Because their music wasn't written down, they could play the way they felt. They could add sad notes and happy notes, composing as they played. The music would be a bit different each time. They called it improvising. The number of books from the total sample of 133 that portrayed the components of the Black music tradition in the text and/or illustra- tions are: Item 1, Jazz (7 stories); Item 2, Blues (5 stories), Item 3, Spirituals (12 stories); Item 4, Black musician(s) (18 stories); Item 5, Music involving a single call-mass response (2 stories); Item 6, Music shown as an intricate part of a Black person's life--during work, play, relaxation, prayer or entertainment (24 stories); Item 7, Music used to reject white cultural values (10 stories); and Item 8, Music used as a survival technique (escape, solace, strong psychological release (12 stories). I The sum of the overall mean scores for the number of times the three Black traditions were mentioned in the text was 10.50, the sum of the overall mean scores for the number of times the three Black traditions were illustrated in the text was 8.67, yielding a total average Black traditions score of 19.19. Research Question 2: Which component of each Black tradition is most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people? Research question 2 was tested by comparing the mean scores for each component of the three selected Black traditions. Statistical 166 results are shown in Table 14. The mean scores for the components of the Black music tradition are: (1) Jazz .16; (2) Blues .09; (3) Spirituals .20; (4) Black musician(s) .38; (5) Music involving a single call-mass response .06; (6) Music shown as an intricate part of Black person's life: during work, play, relaxation, prayer or enter- tainment .56; (7) Music used to reject white cultural values .20; and (8) Music used as a survival technique (escape, solace, strong psycho- logical release) .23. Item number 6, music shown as an intricate part of Black person's life: during work, play, relaxation, prayer or enter- tainment was the Black music tradition component most frequently por- trayed in picture books about Black people. The mean scores for the components of the Black family tradition are: (1) Extended family living together (blood relatives--from the same and/or different generations) .33; (2) Outside members (non-blood members) living with the family .03; (3) Outside members (non-blood members) living nearby and performing family functions .23; (4) Children adopted by relatives instead of strangers .11; (5) Strong sense of responsibility toward relatives who are living elsewhere .32; (6) Family members having certain duties and responsibilities .79; (7) Flexibility in roles, with emphasis on getting the job done rather than on who per- forms it .48; (8) Family members being openly supportive of each other 2.58; (9) High value placed on family stability and keeping the family intact, even by individuals who fail to achieve or maintain it .67; (10) Family members having a long-range responsibility to the family .43; (11) Strong orientation toward work, with a high value on keeping a job for the benefit of the family .59; (12) Achievement orientation with an 167 Table 14. Mean Score of Components of Three Black Traditions in Picture Books About Black People Item Mean Score Music: 1. Jazz .......................... .16 2. Blues .......................... .09 3. Spirituals ........................ .20 4. Black musician(s) .................... .38 5. Music involving a single call-mass response ....... .06 *6. Music shown as an intricate part of Black person's life: during work, play, relaxation, prayer or entertainment ...................... .20 7. Music used to reject white cultural values ........ .20 8. Music used as a survival technique (escape, solace, strong psychological release) .............. .23 Family: 1. Extended family living together (blood relatives-— from the same and/or different generations) ....... .33 2. Outside members (non-blood members) living with the family .......................... .03 3. Outside members (non-blood members) living nearby and performing family functions ............... .23 4. Children adopted by relatives instead of strangers . . . . .ll 5. Strong sense of responsibility toward relatives who are living elsewhere ................... .32 6. Family members having certain duties and responsibilities. .79 7. Flexibility in roles, with emphasis on getting the job done rather than on who performs it ........... .48 *8. Family members being openly supportive of each other . . . 2.58 9. High value placed on family stability and keeping the family intact, even by individuals who fail to achieve or maintain it ...................... .67 10. Family members having a long-range responsibility to the family ........................ .43 11. Strong orientation toward work, with a high value on keeping a job for the benefit of the family ....... .59 12. Achievement orientation with an expectation that children will do better than their parents ........ .41 13. Black mother preparing her children for survival in a predominantly hostile white world .......... .29 14. The church shown as an important institution to Black families ...................... .36 168 Table 14--Continued Item Mean Score Race Pride: —l -l *11. 12. 13. 0&0 (”V 0301-th . Pride in racial heritage and/or African ancestry (including dashiki, 91v1ng children. . . etc.) . . . . Resistance to all forms of slavery and subservience . Concern with racial equality and freedom ....... . Rejection of Black inferiority ............ . Rejection of Black and White stereotypes ....... . Pride in Black political leaders (Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr.) .................. Pride in Blacks who have achieved success ...... . Strong sense of unity among Blacks and commitment to self-help ..................... Desire to unite Black people of the world ...... . Mention of a Black aesthetic with regard to the arts (dance, poetry, music, etc.) ............. Mention of a Black standard of personal beauty (hair, physical features, etc.) ........... Open display of Black emblems and/or symbolic colors (red, green, and black) ............... Use of Black dialect ................. 2.14 .18 .31 *Component of each Black tradition which received the highest SCOPE . 169 expectation that children will do better than their parents .41; (13) Black mother preparing her children fOr survival in a predominantly hostile white world; and (14) the church shown as an important institu- tion to Black families .36. Item number 8 (Family members being openly supportive of each other) on the Black Traditions Questionnaire was the Black family tradition component most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people. The mean scores for the components of the race pride tradition are: (1) Pride in racial heritage and/or African ancestry (including dashiki (a shirt-like garment), giving children African names, referring to oneself or group members as Afro-Americans .96; (2) Resistance to all forms of slavery and subservience .76; (3) Concern with racial equality and freedom .84; (4) Rejection of Black inferiority .81; (5) Rejection of Black and White stereotypes .79; (6) Pride in Black political leaders (Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr.) .31; (7) Pride in Blacks who have achieved success .61; (8) Strong sense of unity among Blacks and commit- ment to self-help .88; (9) Desire to unite Black people of the world .61; (10) Mention of a Black aesthetic with regard to the arts (dance, poetry, music, etc.) .50; (ll) Mention of a Black standard of personal beauty (hair, physical features, etc.) 2.14; (12) Open display of Black emblems and/or symbolic colors (red, green, and black) .18; and (13) Use of Black dialect .31. Item number 11 (Mention of a Black standard of personal beauty (hair, physical features, etc.) was the race pride tradition component most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people. 170 Statistical results indicate that the mean score for the most frequent component of the Black music tradition was .56, the most fre- quent component of the Black family tradition was 2.58, and the most frequent component of the race pride tradition was 2.14. Research Question 3: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors? Despite the fact that this researcher was unable to determine the race identification of twelve authors this research question was pursued. Therefore, statistics apply only to those authors whose race was identifiable. This research question was tested by using a t-test to compare the mean Black traditions score of books written by Black authors with the mean Black traditions score of books written by non- Black authors. Black music scores for the 133 books ranged from O to 23 for books written by Black authors and from O to 20 for books written by non-Black authors. Examining each of the three Black traditions separately, the mean score for Black music for books written by Black authors was 2.94, and the mean score for Black music for books written by non-Black authors was 1.49, a difference which is not significant. Black family tradition scores for the 133 books ranged from 0 to 40 for books written by Black authors and from 0 to 26 for books written by non- Black authors. The mean score for the Black family traditions for books written by Black authors was 8.12, and the mean score for Black family traditions for books written by non-Black authors was 7.73, a difference which is not significant. Race pride scores for the 133 books ranged from 171 2 to 49 for books written by Black authors and from 0 to 42 for books written by non-Black authors. The mean score for the race pride tradi- tion for books written by Black authors was 13.92, and the mean score fOr race pride for books written by non-Black authors was 7.33, a dif- ference which is significant at the .01 level. Statistical results are shown in Table 15 and indicate that Black traditions are portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors. The mean Black traditions score for books written by Black authors was 24.94 and the mean Black traditions score for books written by non-Black authors was 16.66, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. Examples of books written by Black authors scoring high in Black traditions are: Paul Robeson by Eloise Greenfield (total score 100); Black Pilgrimage by Tom Feelings (total score 92); Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis (total score 78), and Fannie Lou Hamer by June Jordan (total score 70). Further examples are shown in Table 16 . Examples of books scoring low in Black traditions by Black authors (Black traditions score 2) are: Doctor Shawn by Petronella Breinburg, Everett Anderson's Friend by Lucille Clifton, and Downtown Is by Dawn C. Thomas. Examples of books written by non-Black authors scoring high in Black traditions are: Malcolm X Black and Proud by Florence White (total score 73); Malcolm X by Arnold Adoff (total score 68); and ggmg§_ Weldon Johnson by Ophelia Egypt (total score 63). Further examples are shown in Table 17. Examples of books written by non-Black authors 172 Table 15. Comparison of Black Authors and Non-Black Authors with Regard to Three Black Traditions Traditions Groups N Mean 5.0. t Probability Total Black Black authors 48 24.94 23.92 2.08 .041* traditions score Non-Black authors 70 16.66 16.68 Black music Black authors 48 2.94 5.52 1.54 .128 Non-Black authors 70 1.49 4.25 Black family Black authors 48 8.13 8.61 0.27 .788 traditions Non-Black authors 70 7.73 7.31 Race pride Black authors 48 13.92 13.67 2.90 .005** Non-Black authors 70 7.33 9.41 Text total Black authors 48 13.02 13.30 1-42 .158 Non-Black authors 70 9.71 11.81 Illustration Black authors 48 11.92 11.12 2.83 .006** total Non-Black authors 70 6.94 6.05 *Significant at the .05 level. **Significant at the .01 level. Table 16. 173 Books Written by Black Authors Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Book Title Author Music Family ;¥¥:; Total Paul Robeson Eloise Greenfield 20 4O 40 100 Black Pilgrimage Tom Feelings 14 32 46 92 Ray Charles Sharon Bell Mathis 23 21 34 78 Fannie Lou Hamer June Jordan 8 24 24 70 The Black BC's Lucille Clifton 6 4 49 59 Black Means Barney Grossman 9 4 44 57 Rosa Parks Eloise Greenfield 5 10 37 52 Lift Every7Voice and Sing James and Rosamond Johnson 12 8 31 51 Walk Together Children Ashley Bryan 16 6 28 50 Birthday John Steptoe 6 15 24 45 Martin Luther King: A Picture Story Margaret Boone Jones 0 6 26 32 Mv Special Best Words John Steptoe O 19 10 29 A11 Us Come Cross the Water Lucille Clifton O 10 15 25 The Time Ago Tales of Jahdu Virginia Hamilton 0 11 12 23 Mr. ngso's Lion Arna Bontemps O 10 12 22 Me and Nessie Eloise Greenfield 0 5 7 22 And the Sun God Said: That's Hip Ernest Gregg 0 0 22 22 ‘Willy Helen King 4 12 6 22 Stevie John Steptoe O 18 4 22 Beckie Julia Wilson 0 4 16 20 My Brother Find With Me Lucille Clifton O 10 9 19 The Soul of Christmas Helen King 4 8 7 19 New Life--§gg:Room June Jordan 0 16 2 18 Some of the Days of Everett Anderson Lucille Clifton 2 6 10 18 Harriet and the Promised Land Jacob Lawrence 0 O 18 18 Three Wishes Lucille Clifton 3 4 10 17 Don't You Remember Lucille Clifton O 12 4 l6 Omar at Christmas Edgar White 0 10 6 16 Ugtown John Steptoe 5 0 9 14 fig;fl1 Alexis Deveaux 0 ll 2 13 Eliza's Daddy Ianthe Thomas O 8 5 13 A Tree for Tompkins Park Dawn Thomas O 4 8 12 First Pink Light Eloise Greenfield O 6 S 11 I'm Glad I'm Me Elberta Stone 2 1 7 10 Good, Says Jerome Lucille Clifton 0 6 4 10 Lordy, Aunt Hattie Ianthe Thomas O 4 4 8 She Comes Bringing Me That Little Baby Girl Eloise Greenfield O 4 4 8 What Is Black? Bettye F. Baker 0 O 6 6 Billy Jo Jive Sgper Private Eye John Shearer 0 O 6 6 Shawn Goes to Scnocl Petronella Breinburg O 4 2 6 Your Hand In Mine Sam Cornish O 3 2 5 My Street's a Morning Cool Street Ianthe Thomas 2 O 3 5 Train Ride John Steptoe 0 O 4 4 AnthonyrgngrSabrina Ray Prather O 2 2 4 Walk Home Tired Billy Jenkins Ianthe Thomas O O 3 3 Everett Anderson's Friend Lucille Clifton O 0 2 2 Downtown 15 Dawn C. Thomas 0 0 2 2 rotor Shawn Petronella Breinburg 0 O 2 2 Table 17. 174 Books Written by Mon-Black Authors Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Race Book Title Author Music Family Pride Total Malcolm X Black and Proud Florence White 0 31 42 73 Malcolm X Arnold Adoff O 26 42 68 James Weldon Johnson Ophelia Egypt 14 18 30 62 Frederick Douglas Lillie Patterson 0 24 38 62 Duke Ellington King of Jazz Elizabeth Rider Montgomery 20 16 22 58 L0uis Armstrong Genie Iverson 20 19 16 SS MarercLeod Bethune Ruby Radford 3 22 28 53 Gordon Parks Midge Turk 9 20 24 53 Frederick Douglas Fights for Freedom Margaret Davidson 0 20 24 44 Song of the Empty Bottles Osmond Molarsky 12 12 14 38 gyl. Jane Wagner 8 23 6 37 The Picture Life of Jesse Jackson Warren Halliburton l 6 20 36 The Picture Life of Ralph Bunche Margaret B. Young 0 17 16 33 Black Is Brown ls Tan Arnold Adoff O 12 20 32 Munammad Ali Marshall Burchard O 7 23 30 Sggt Arnold Dobrin 16 B 6 30 The Picture Story of Hank Aaron Bernice Elizabeth Young 0 8 21 29 Muhammad Ali Kenneth Rudeen O 4 24 28 Jessie Owens Merve Kaufman l 11 14 26 Charles Drew Roland Bertol O l 24 25 Send Wendell Geneviene Gray 0 l6 6 22 Benjie on His Own Joan M. Lexau 0 20 2 22 A Little Happy Music Robert Winsor 8 4 8 20 A New Home for Billy May Justus O 6 14 20 The Fastest Quitter in Town Phyllis Green 0 17 2 19 Evans Corner Elizabeth Hill 0 16 2 18 Jasper Makes Music Betty Horvath 4 12 2 18 Mary Jo's Grandmother Janice May Udry O 12 6 18 Sunflowers for Tina Anne Morris Baldwin 2 9 3 14 Me Day Joan M. Lexau O 12 2 14 Sound of Sunshine. Sound of Rain Florence Parry Heide 0 8 6 l4 Benjie Joan M. Lexau O 10 3 13 I Love Gram Ruth A. Sonneborn O 11 2 13 A Weed Is a Flower Aliki 0 8 4 12 Adam's ABC Dale Fife O 0 10 10 What Mary Jo Shared Janice May Udry 0 4 6 10 Ronnie Eileen Rosenbaum O 10 0 10 Who's in Charge in Lincoln Dale Fife O 7 2 9 175 Table 17--Continued Book Title Author Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Music Race Family Pride Total The Story Grandmother Told The Moon Pony M Fun for Chris Black, BlackJ Beautiful Black Timothy's Flower Whistle for Willie Liza Lou Bingowboy Western Freddie Found a Frog I Should Have Stayed in Bed The Hot Dog Man A Letter to Amy Oh Lord, I Wish I Was a Buzzard Gabrielle and Selena The Rooftop Mystery Mississippi Possum The Lollipop Party City Rhythms Ted and Bobby PFOJQCC 1-2-3 It All Oegends Pumpkinseeds A Ride on High HiI Cat! Goggles Round Things Everywhere A Silly Little Kid Pet Show Corduroy The Dog Who Came to Dinner Hooray for Jasper Zima and Zeggo Peter's Chair The Snowv Day How Many Kids Are Hiding on My Block Martha Alexander Charlotte Pomerantz Ezra Jack Keats Blossom Randall Rose Blue Jean Van Leeuwen Ezra Jack Keats Mercer Mayer Ann Herbert Scott Alice James Napjus Joan M. Lexau Lorenzo Lynch Ezra Jack Keats Polly Greenberg Peter Desbarats Joan M. Lexau Miska Miles Ruth A. Sonneborn Ann Grifalconi Jane Quigg Eve Merriam Jane Yolen Steven Yezback Candida Palmer Ezra Jack Keats Ezra Jack Keats Seymour Reit Joe Feinstein Ezra Jack Keats Don Freeman Sydney Taylor Betty Horvath Susan Jeschle Ezra Jack Keats Ezra Jack Keats Jean Merrill OOOOOOOOOOCOOONOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODOC) O OOOOOOOOOONNNNONNU‘hbe‘hbhbofibhbwaO’iN OOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNONNNONNNNONNNwDNNN O O OOQNNNNNNNha.hbbpummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmo O 176 scoring low in Black traditions (Black traditions score 0) are: Ihg_ Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Zima and Zeppo by Susan Jeschle, and Egg, Many Kids Are Hiding on My Block by Jean Merrill. Examining text scores and illustration scores separately, the mean text score for books written by Black authors was 13.02, and the mean text score for books written by non-Black authors was 9.71, a difference which is surprisingly not significant. However, the mean illustrations score for books written by Black authors was 11.92, and the mean illustrations score for books written by non-Black authors was 6.94, a difference which is significant beyond the .006 level. Research Question 4: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black illustrators than non-Black illustrators? Despite the fact that this researcher was unable to determine the race identification of twenty-two illustrators, this research ques- tion was pursued. Therefore, statistics apply only to those illustra- tors whose race was identifiable. This research question was tested by using a ,t-test to compare the mean Black traditions score of books illustrated by Black illustrators with the mean Black traditions score of books illustrated by non-Black illustrators. Black music scores for the 133 books ranged from O to 23 for books illustrated by Black illus- trators and from O to 16 for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators. Examining each of the three Black traditions separately, the mean score for Black music for books illustrated by Black illustrators was 3.54 but the mean score for Black music for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators was .804, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. 177 Black family tradition scores for the 133 books ranged from O to 40 for books illustrated by Black illustrators and from O to 22 for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators. The mean score for the Black family tradition for books illustrated by Black illustrators was 9.54 and the mean score for Black family traditions for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators was 6.21, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. Race pride scores for the 133 books ranged from 2 to 49 for books illustrated by Black illustrators and from O to 28 for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators. The mean score for the race pride tradition for books illustrated by Black illustrators was 14.52 and the mean score for race pride for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators was 4.70, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. Statistical results are shown in Table 18 and indicate that Black traditions are portrayed more frequently by Black illustrators than non-Black illustrators. The mean Black traditions score for books illustrated by Black illustrators was 27.65 and the mean Black tradi- tions score for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators was 11.75, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. Examples of books illustrated by Black illustrators scoring high in Black traditions are: Paul Robeson by Eloise Greenfield, illustrated by George Ford (total score 100); Black Pilgrimage by Tom Feelings, illustrated by the author (total score 92); Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis, illustrated by George Ford (total score 78); and Fannie Lou Hamer by June Jordan, illustrated by Albert Williams (total score 70). Further examples are shown in Table 19. Examples 178 .Pmsmp mo. and be beeueeeememt mm.m ee.m em ”Lebazomappw xue_m-=oz «tooo.v. mm.e oe.PP em.~_ we neonatpm=__e guapm Peace eoeuazbm=__e Nm.m mN.c em mtouatamapew xua_m-coz 44,09. Ne.m mo.ep F~.ep we mtguatumsppm semen _e30p bxae me.e oe.e em mtoaatum=_Pw xua_m-=oz «taco. me.e mp.e_ ~m.¢~ we mzooatamappw xuepm aceta 66am _F.o _~.o mm weepatam=__e xuapm-=oz some. o_.~ mm.m em.m we mtObame=_pe xua.m »_eaec xua_m em.~ eom.o em Macbetpma_pe xue_m-eoz tseoo. mw.m FN.o em.m we deceazbm=_pe xue_m dense semen ee..~ me.__ am mzouazbmsppe xuapm-=oz mtoum meoeameatb ssooo. v eo.¢ mm.e~ em.em we mzoumzumsppe xaepm guapm Peace xpeptnanoza a .o.m cam: z maestu m_aooe eowpeeeze mcowuwumg» xompm mmece o» weemmm sue: meopmepmsppH xumancoz ucw meoumeum=PFH xumpm we cemwsmasoo .mp mpnmp 179 Table 19. Books Illustrated by Black Illustrators Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Book Title Illustrator Music Family ifiifii Total Paul Robeson George Ford 20 40 40 100 Black Pilgrimage Tom Feelings 14 32 46 92 Ray Charles George Ford 23 21 32 78 Fannie LOu Hamer Albert Williams 8 24 24 7O Malcolm K John Wilson 0 26 42 68 The Black BC's Don Miller 6 4 49 59 Black Means Charles Bible 9 4 44 57 Louis Annstrong Kevin Brooks 20 19 16 55 Rosa Parks Eric Marlow 5 10 37 52 Lift Evereroice and Sing Mozelle Thompson 12 8 31 51 Walk Together Children Ashley Bryan 16 6 28 50 Birthday John Steptoe 6 15 24 45 Song of the Empty Bottle Tom Feelings 12 12 14 38 grl. Gordon Parks. Jr. 8 23 6 37 My Special Best Words John Steptoe O 19 10 29 Muhammad Ali George Ford 0 4 24 28 Jesse Owens Larry Johnson 1 ll 14 26 A11 Us Come Cross the Water John Steptoe O 10 15 25 Me and Nessie Moneta Barnett O 15 7 22 And the Sun E94 Said: That's Hip G. Falcon Beazer O O 22 22 Stevie John Steptoe 0 18 4 22 ngyy_ John Wilson 0 4 16 20 My Brother Fine With Me Moneta Barnett O 10 9 19 Harriet and the Promised Land Jacob Lawrence 0 O 18 18 Three Wishes Stephanie Douglas 3 4 10 17 Omar At Christmas Dinga McCannon O 10 6 16 Me Day Robert Weaver 0 12 2 14 Uptown John Steptoe 5 O 9 l4 Na-Ni Alexis Oeveaux 0 ll 2 13 Eliza's Daddy Moneta Barnett O 8 5 13 I Love Gram Leo Carty 0 ll 2 13 A Tree for Tompkins Park Leo Carty O 4 8 12 First Pink Light Moneta Barnett O 6 5 11 I'm Glad I'm Me Margery Brawn 2 1 7 10 Good, Says Jerome Stephanie Douglas 0 6 4 10 She Come Bringing Me That Little Baby Girl John Steptoe O 4 4 8 Shawn Goes to Scnool Errol Lloyd 0 4 2 6 Freddie Found a Frgg George Ford 0 4 2 6 Timothy's Flower Moneta Barnett 0 4 2 6 Where Does the Day Go Leo Carty O 4 2 6 Billero Jive Sgper Private Eye Ted Shearer 0 O 6 6 Your Hand in Mine Carl Owens 0 3 2 S Pumgkinseeds Mozelle Thompson 0 2 2 4 Train Ride John Steptoe 0 O 4 4 Anthony and Sggrlha Ray Prather 0 2 2 4 DOwntown Is Colleen Browning O O 2 2 180 of books scoring low in Black traditions illustrated by Black illus- trators (Black traditions score 2) are: Doctor Shawn, by Petronella Breinburg, illustrated by Errol Lloyd; and Downtown Is by Dawn C. Thomas, illustrated by Colleen Browning. Examples of books illustrated by non-Black illustrators scoring high in Black traditions are: Malcolm X Black and Proud by Florence White, illustrated by Victor Mays (total score 73); Mary McLeod Bethune by Ruby Radford, illustrated by Lydia Rosier (total score 53); and Gordon Parks by Midge Turk, illustrated by Herbert Danska (total score 53). Further examples are shown in Table 20 . Examples of books scoring low in Black traditions illustrated by non-Black illustrators (Black traditions score 0) are: Rima and Zeppo by Susan Jeschle, illustrated by the author; No Place to Play by Paul Newman, illustrated by David Lockhart; and Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats, illustrated by the author. Examining text score and illustration scores separately, the mean text score for books illustrated by Black illustrators was 14.71, and the mean text score for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators was 6.29, a difference significant which is significant beyond the .001 level. The mean illustrations score for books illustrated by Black illustrators was 12.94 and the mean illustrations score for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators was 5.47, a difference which is significant beyond the .001 level. Table 20. 181 Books Illustrated by Non-Black Illustrators Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Book Title Illustrator Music Family ggig; Total Gordon Parks Herbert Danska 9 20 24 53 Mary McLeod Bethune Lydia Rosier 3 22 28 53 Frederick Douglas Fights for Freedom Ann Grifalconi 0 20 24 44 §£E£ Arnold Dobrin 16 8 6 30 Charles Drew Jo Polseno O 1 24 25 The Time Ago Tales of Jahdu Nonny Hogroran 0 ll 12 23 Benjie On His Own Don Bolognese O 20 2 22 A Little gggpy Music Robert Winsor 8 8 20 A New Home for Billy Joan Balfour Payne 0 14 20 The Fastest Quitter in Town Lorenzo Lynch 0 17 2 19 Some of the Days of Everett Anderson Evaline Mess 2 6 10 18 New Life-gflgg Room Ray Cruz 0 16 2 18 Jasper Makes Music Fermin Rocker 4 12 2 18 Mary Jo’s Grandmother Eleanor Mill 0 12 6 18 Evans Corner Nancy Grossman 0 16 2 1 Don't You Remember Evaline Ness 0 12 4 16 Sunflowers for Tina Ann Grifalconi 2 9 3 14 Sound of Sunshine, Sound of 311g Kenneth Longtemps 0 8 6 l4 Benjie Don Bolognese 0 10 3 13 A Weed Is a Flower Aliki O 8 4 12 What Marero Shared Eleanor Mill 0 4 6 10 Who's in Charge of Lincoln Paul Galdone O 7 2 9 The Story Grandmother Told Martha Alexander 0 7 2 9 The Moon Pony Loretta Trezzo O 6 2 8 John Henry Ezra Jack Keats 4 2 2 8 Lordv, Aunt Hattie Thomas Di Grazia O 4 4 8 Fun for Chris Eunice YOung Smith 0 4 4 3 Liza Lou Mercer Mayer C 4 2 6 The Rooftop Mystery Syd Hoff O 4 2 6 I Should Have Stayed in Bed Syd Hoff O 4 2 6 The Hot Dog Man Lorenzo Lynch 0 4 2 6 0h Lordg I Wish I Was a Buzzard Aliki 0 6 0 6 Gabrielle and Selena Nancy Grossman 0 4 2 6 182 Table 20--Continued _—_ J Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Book Title Illustrator Music Family JETS: Total Mississippi Possum John Schoenherr O 4 2 6 A Letter to Amy Ezra Jack Keats 0 4 2 6 Whistle for Willie Ezra Jack Keats 0 4 2 6 ngr Symeon Shimon O 4 2 6 The Lollipop Party Brinton Turkle 0 5 O 5 Citv Rhythms Ann Grifalconi 0 2 2 4 Proiect 1-2-3 Harriet Sherman 2 O 2 4 A Ride on High H. Tom Hall 0 2 2 4 HiI Cat! Ezra Jack Yeats 0 2 2 4 Walk Hgmg_ljred, Billy Jenkins Thomas Di Grazia O O 3 3 Ted and Bobby Ted Coconis O 0 3 3 Everett Anderson's Friends Ann Grifalconi O O 2 2 Hooray for Jasger Fermin Rocker 0 0 2 2 The Dongno Came To Dinner John E. Johnson 0 0 2 2 Corduroy Don Freeman 0 0 2 2 Pet Show Ezra Jack Keats 0 0 2 2 Goggles Ezra Jack Keats 0 0 2 2 Rima and Zeppo Susan Jeschle O 0 O 0 The Snowy Day Ezra Jack Keats 0 0 0 O Peter's Chair Ezra Jack Keats 0 0 0 0 183 Research Question 5: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations? Research question 5 was tested using a tftest to compare the mean text score with the mean illustration score. Black music scores for the 133 books ranged from O to 14 for books portraying Black tradi- tions in the text and from O to 10 for books portraying Black traditions in the illustrations. Examining each of the three Black traditions separately, the mean text score for Black music was 1.03 and the mean illustrations score for Black music was .82, a difference which is significant at the .05 level. Black family scores for the 133 books ranged from O to 22 for books portraying Black traditions in the text and from 0 to 20 for books portraying Black traditions in the illus- trations. The mean text score for Black family traditions was 4.65 and the mean illustrations score for Black family traditions was 3.00, a difference which is significant beyond the .001 level. Race pride scores for the 133 books ranged from O to 25 for books portraying Black traditions in the text and from O to 24 for books portraying Black traditions in the illustrations. The mean text score for race pride was 4.83 and the mean illustrations score for race pride was 4.85, a difference which is not significant. Statistical results are shown in Table 21 and indicate that Black traditions are portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations. The mean text score was 10.50 and the mean illustrations score was 8.67, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. 184 Table 21. Comparison of Frequency of Black Traditions in Text and Illustrations Variable N Mean S.D. F Probability Text total 133 10.50 12.44 2.92 .OO4** Illustrations total 8.67 8.67 Music text 133 1.03 2.65 2.19 .030* Music illustrations 0.82 2.05 Family text 133 4.65 5.06 5.48 .<.001 Family illustrations 3.00 3.21 Race pride text 133 4.83 7.11 -0.06 .950 Race pride illustrations 4.85 5.32 *Significant at the .05 level. **Significant at the .01 level. 185 Examples of books scoring high in Black traditions in the text are: Paul Robeson by Eloise Greenfield (total text score for three Black traditions 50, total illustration socre for three Black tradi- tions 50, yielding a total book score of 100); Black Pilgrimage by Tom Feelings (total text score for three Black traditions 49, total illustration score for three Black traditions 43, yielding a total book score of 92); and Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis (total text score for three Black traditions 47, total illustration score for three Black traditions 33, yielding a total book score of 78). Further examples are shown in Table 22. Examples of books scoring low in Black traditions in the text (Black traditions text score 0) are: Qggtgr_ Shawn by Petronella Breinburg, Downtown Is by Dawn C. Thomas, Project 1-2-3 by Eve Merriam, Hi, Cat! by Ezra Jack Keats, and Pumpkinseeds by Steven Yezback. Research Question 6: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969? Research question 6 was tested using a t:test to compare the mean score of books published since 1970 with the mean score of books pub- lished through 1969. Black music scores for the 73 books published since 1970 ranged from O to 23 and from O to 12 for the 60 books published through 1969. Examining each of the three Black traditions separately, the mean score for Black music for books published since 1970 was 2.79, and the mean score for Black music for books published through 1979 was 0.70, a difference which is significant at the .01 186 mm mm mm :msmmoeu xmceem mama: xumpm me a. pm aooaagm egoe “mummumm mm F_ Ne egasompeo: Latex goaaa~a_m Nnaa to meax zoomeapFw axes am am om couce_u ap_eu=4 m.um xuapm age me am Fe ccoe< e_oez< .miaflmmflmm we mm Ne macaw: __am cocaem mmpzegu see Na me me mmeapaaa ace amaseameaa gua_m cop om om e_aec=aatu ammo.“ cadence Fame _aboe accepatomsppa axae Loeaae a_aee xoom mmeoum wewmccowpmmzo mcowuwumeh gum—m uxmh mgp cw meowuwcoeh xumpm cw now: unweoum mxoom .NN mpnmh 187 level. Black family tradition scores for the 73 books published since 1970 ranged from O to 32 and from O to 24 for the 60 books published through 1969. The mean score for the Black family tradition for books published since 1970 was 8.73, and the mean score for books published through 1969 was 6.33, a difference which is not significant. Race pride scores for the 73 books published since 1970 ranged from O to 49 and from O to 38 for the 60 books published through 1969. The mean score for the race pride tradition for books published since 1970 was 12.84 and the mean score for the race pride tradition for books pub- lished through 1969 was 5.73, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. Statistical results are shown in Table 23, and indi- cate that Black traditions are portrayed more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969. The mean Black traditions score for books published since 1970 was 24.38 and the mean Black traditions score for books published through 1969 was 12.83, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. Examples of books published since 1970 scoring high in Black traditions are: Paul Robeson by Eloise Greenfield (total Black traditions score 100); Black Pilgrimage by Tom Feelings (total Black traditions score 92), and Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis (total Black traditions score 78). Further examples are shown in Table 24. Examples of books published since 1970 scoring low in Black traditions (Black traditions score 0) are: How Many Kids Are Hiding on My Block by Jean Merrill and Rima and Zepgg by Susan Jeschle. 188 Table 23. Comparison of Frequency of Black Traditions in Books Published Through 1969 and Since 1970 L - Variable Groups N Mean 5.0. t Probability 13231363? Through 1959 60 12.83 14.46 2 .46 < .001 Since 1970 73 24.38 22.70 score Music total Through 1969 60 0.70 2.35 5.83 <.001 Since 1970 73 2.79 5.68 Family total Through 1969 60 6.33 6.65 1.63 .055 Since 1970 73 2.79 5.68 Race pride Through 1969 60 5.73 8.28 2.61 <.001 total Since 1970 73 12.84 13.36 Text total Through 1969 60 6.68 9.44 2.12 .003 Since 1970 73 13.64 13.74 Illustrations Through 1969 60 6.15 5.93 2.82 ‘<.001 total Since 1970 73 10.74 9.97 189 Table 24. Books Illustrated by Black Illustrators Before 1970 Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Year of Race Book Title Author Publication Music Family Pride Total Fun for Chris Blossom Randall 1956 O 4 4 8 The Snowy Day Ezra Jack Keats 1962 O O 0 O Whistle for Willie Ezra Jack Keats 1964 O 4 2 6 Benjie Joan Lexau 1964 O 10 3 13 I Should Have Stayed in Bed Joan Lexau 1965 O 4 2 6 Who's In Charge of Lincoln? Dale Fife 1965 O 7 2 9 A Weed Is a Flower Aliki 1965 0 B 4 12 Mississippi POSSum Miska Miles 1965 O 4 2 6 John Henry Ezra Jack Keats 1965 4 2 2 8 Big Coggoy Western Ann Herbert Scott 1965 O 6 O 6 Frederick Douglas Lillie Patterson 1965 O 24 38 62 City Rhythms Ann Grifalconi 1965 O 2 2 4 A Ride on High Candida Palmer 1966 0 2 2 4 nggy Julia Wilson 1966 O 4 16 20 The Dog Who Came to Dinner Sydney Taylor 1966 O O 2 2 A_§gy Home for Billy, May Justus 1966 0 6 14 20 Hooray for Jasoer Betty Horvath 1966 0 O 2 2 What_Mary Jo Shared Janice May Udry 1966 O 4 6 10 Peter's Chair Ezra Jack Keats 1967 O 0 0 0 The Lollipop Party Ruth A. Sonneborn 1967 0 5 0 S The Moon Pony Charlotte Pomerantz 1967 O 6 2 8 Jasger Makes Music Betty Horvath 1967 4 12 2 18 Joey and the Fawn Mary Lewis 1967 O 4 2 6 Little Boy Who Lives Up High John 6 Lucy Hawkinson 1967 0 6 2 8 Evans Corner Elizabeth Hill 1967 O 16 2 18 Timothy)s Flower Jean Van Leeuwen 1967 0 4 2 6 E22. Ann Herbert Scott 1967 0 4 2 6 The Picture Life of Ralph ’Buncne Margaret 8. Young 1968 O 17 16 33 Martin Luther King: A Picture Story Margaret Boone Jones 1968 O 6 26 32 Gabrielle and Selena Peter Desoarats 1968 0 4 2 6 Oh Lord, I Wisn I Was a ”’Buzzard Polly Greenberg 1968 0 6 O 6 Harriet and the Promised Land Jacob Lawrence 1968 0 0 18 18 A Letter to Amy Ezra Jack Keats 1968 0 4 2 6 Sgngrof the Empty Bottles Osmond Molarsky 1968 12 12 14 38 Nicholas Carol Kempner 1968 O 4 2 6 Rggggons Are for Loving Miriam Anne Bourne 1968 O 4 2 6 190 Table 25--Continued m H Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Year of Race Book Title Author Publication Music Family Pride Total A Walk in the Neighborhood June Behrens 1968 O 4 2 6 Hushz Jon Joan Gill 1968 O 4 2 6 Cordurov Don Freeman 1968 O O 2 2 The Rooftop Mystery, Joan M. Lexau 1968 O 4 2 6 Ronnie Eileen Rosenbaum 1969 0 10 O 10 Round Things Everywhere Seymour Reit 1969 O O 2 2 What Is Black? Bettye F. Baker 1969 0 0 6 6 Pam and Pam Margaret Gans 1969 0 4 2 6 Stevie John Steptoe 1969 O 18 4 22 gyl. Jane Wagner 1969 8 23 6 37 Goggles Ezra Jack Keats 1969 O O 2 2 A Little Happerusic Robert Winsor 1969 8 4 8 20 It All Depends Jane Yolen 1969 O 2 2 4 Freddie Found a Frog Alice James Napjus 1969 O 4 2 6 Pumpkinseeds Steven Yezback 1969 0 2 2 4 No Place To Play Paul Newman 1969 O O O 0 Where Does the Day Go Walter Myers 1969 O 4 2 6 The Story Grandmother Told Martha Alexander 1969 0 7 2 9 led and Bobby Jane Wagner 1969 0 2 2 4 Black Black Beautiful W Rose Blue 1969 o 3 3 6 A Silly Little Kid Joe Feinstein 1969 O 0 2 2 The Time Ago Tales of £929! Virginia Hamilton 1969 0 ll 12 23 191 The one book published through 1969 scoring high in Black traditions is Frederick Douglas by Lillie Patterson (total Black traditions score 62). Examples of books scoring low in Black traditions (Black traditions score 0) are: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Yeats, Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Yeats, and No Place to Play by Paul Newman. Further examples are shown in Table 25. Examining text score and illustration scores separately, the mean text score for books published since 1970 was 13.64 and the mean text score for books published through 1969 was 6.68, a difference significant at the .003 level. The mean illustrations score for books published since 1970 was 10.74 and the mean illustrations score for books published through 1969 was 6.15, a difference which is signif- icant at the .01 level. Research Question 7: Is Black dialect as evidence of Black pride used more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969? Research question 7 was tested using a tytest to compare the mean score of books published since 1970 that use Black dialect with the mean score of books published through 1969 that use Black dialect. Only two books of the 60 books published through 1969 contained Black dialect, but nineteen of the 72 books published since 1970 contained Black dialect. Statistical results are shown in Table 26 and indicate that Black dialect is used more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969. 192 Table 25. Books Illustrated by Black Illustrators About Black People Since 1970 Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Year of Race Book Title Author Publication Music Family Pride Total Benjie On His Own Joan M. Lexau 1970 O 20 2 22 The Black BC's Lucille Clifton 1970 6 4 49 59 Sggg of the Days of Everett Anderson Lucille Clifton 1970 2 6 10 18 Frederick Douglas Fightprfor Freedom Margaret Davidson 1970 O 20 24 44 Sunflowers for Tina Anne Norris Baldwin 1970 2 9 3 14 Sound of Sunshine, Sound of Raig Florence Parry Heide 1970 O B 6 14 The Hot Dog Man Lorenzo Lynch 1970 0 4 2 6 How Many Kids Are Hiding on ‘_My’Block Jean Merrill 1970 O O O HiI Cat: Ezra Jack Keats 1970 O 2 4 Malcolm X Arnold Adoff 1970 O 26 42 68 Uptown ' John Steptoe 1970 5 0 9 14 Your Hand in Mine Sam Cornish 1970 O 3 2 5 Lift Every Voice and Sing James and Rosamond Johnson 1970 12 8 31 51 Black Means Barney Grossman 1970 9 4 44 57 A Tree This Tall Inez Rice 1970 O O 2 2 Mr. Kelso's Lion Arna Bontemps 1970 O 10 12 22 Charles Drew Roland Bertol 1970 O l 24 25 Mary Jo's Grandmother Janice May Udry 1970 O 12 6 18 S213 Arnold Dobrin 1970 16 8 6 30 I Love Gram Ruth A. Sonneborn 1971 O 11 2 13 Me Day Joan M. Lexau ' 1971 o 12 2 14 A Tree for Tompkins Street Dawn Thomas 1971 O 4 B 12 I'm Glad I'm Me Elberta Stone 1971 2 1 7 10 Train Ride John Steptoe 1971 O 2 2 4 The Secret Box Jo Anna Cole 1971 O 5 2 7 Adam's ABC Dale Fife 1971 O 0 10 10 Eiill. Helen King 1971 4 12 6 22 Project 1-2-3 Eve Merriam 1971 2 0 2 4 Gordon Parks Midge Turk 1971 9 20 24 53 Birthday John Steptoe 1972 6 15 24 45 Pet Show Ezra Jack Keats 1972 O 0 2 2 Duke Ellington King of Elizabeth R. gag;_ Montgomery 1972 20 16 22 58 The Soul of Christmas Helen King 1972 4 8 7 19 The Picture Life of Jesse Jackson Warren Halliburton 1972 1 6 20 36 Black Pilgrimage Tom Feelings 1972 14 32 46 92 Fannie Lou Hamer June Jordan 1972 8 24 24 70 The Fastest Quitter in Town Phyllis Green 1972 0 l7 2 19 Dawntown Is Dawn C. Thomas 1972 O O 2 2 And the Sun God Said: That's Egg, Ernest Gregg 1972 O O 22 22 193 Table 24--Continued Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Year of Race Book Title Author Publication Music Family Pride Total Anthony and Sabrina Ray Prather 1973 O 2 4 A11 Us Come Cross the Water Lucille Clifton 1973 0 10 15 25 Shawn Goes to School Petronella Breinberg 1973 0 2 6 Ggod, Says Jerome Lucille Clifton 1973 O 10 Don't You Rgmember Lucille Clifton 1973 O 12 16 LordyI Aunt Hattie Lucille Clifton 1973 O 8 Mary McLeod Bethune Lucille Clifton 1973 3 22 28 53 Jesse Owens Merve Kaufman 1973 1 ll 14 26 Ray Charles Sharon Bell Mathis 1973 23 21 34 78 Rosa Parks Eloise Greenfield 1973 5 10 37 52 Omar at Christmas Edgar White 1973 O 10 6 l6 Na;fli Alexis Oeveaux 1973 0 ll 2 13 Black Is Brown Is Tan Arnold Adoff 1973 12 20 32 Walk Toggther Children Ashley Bryan 1974 16 6 28 50 Doctor Shawn Petronella Breinburg 1974 2 2 2 Walk Home Tired, Billy Jinkins Ianthe Thomas 1974 O 3 3 Send Wendell Geneviene Gray 1974 16 6 22 She Come Bringing Me That Little BabyTGirl Eloise Greenfield 1974 0 4 8 Three Wishes Lucille Clifton 1974 3 10 17 MyrSpecial Best Words John Steptoe 1974 O 19 10 29 The Picture Storyrof Hifik Aaron Bernice Elizabeth Young 1974 O 8 21 29 Malcolm g_§lg§k.and Proud Florence White 1975 O 31 42 73 Me and Nessie Eloise Greenfield 1975 0 15 7 22 Paul Robeson Eloise Greenfield 1975 20 4O 4O 100 New Life-~New Room June Jordan 1975 O 16 2 18 My Brother Fine With Me Lucille Clifton 1975 O 10 9 19 Muhammad Ali Marshall Burchard 1975 O 7 23 3O Rima and Zeppo Susan Jeschle 1975 O O O 0 Eliza's Daddy Ianthe Thomas 1976 O 8 S 13 MyrStreet's a Morning Cool Street Ianthe Thomas 1976 2 0 3 5 Billy Jo Jive Sgppr Private 5y; John Shearer 1976 6 6 First Pink Light Eloise Greenfield 1976 5 11 Liza Lou Mercer Mayer 1976 2 6 LOuis Armstrong, Genie Iverson 1976 20 19 16 55 Everett Anderson's Friend Lucille Clifton 1976 2 2 Muhamed Ali Kenneth Rudeen 1976 24 28 194 Table 26. Comparison of Frequency of Black Dialect in Books Published Through 1969 and Since 1970 Variable Groups N Mean S.D. t Probability Black Through 1969 60 0.100 0.44 3.79 .001** dialect Since 1970 72 0.486 0.86 **Significant at the .01 level. An example of a book published since 1970 containing Black dialect is ygtgyg by John Steptoe. The story involves two young inner- city boys discussing their future plans. One boy considers becoming a Black power activist and explains why. From Ugtgyn_by Steptoe: "I'm gonna be a Brother when I grow up, anybody wants to know anythin' about black, just ask me, cause I know my stuff." They also discuss the pros and cons of being in the armed services: I hope when I grow up I don't never get drafted. Man, they teach you how to shoot a gun, how to march in a line. All that's boss, but everybody that come out always act different, like they crazy or somethin'. The mean Black dialect score for books published through 1969 was .100 and the mean Black dialect score for books published since 1970 was .486, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. Tables 27 and 28 list books published through 1969 and since 1970, respectively, that contain Black dialect and the rating each book received on the Black Traditions Questionnaire. Table 27. 195 Books Published Through 1969 that Contain Black Dialect Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Year of Race Book Title Author Publication Music Family Pride Total Stevie John Steptoe 1969 O 18 4 22 A Little Happy Music Robert Winsor 1969 8 4 8 20 Table 28. Books Published Since 1970 that Contain Black Dialect Black Traditions Questionnaire Score Year of Book Title Author Publication Music Family Pride Total Mr. Kelso's Lion Arna Bontemps 1970 O 10 12 22 U town John Steptoe 1970 5 O 9 14 The Black BC's Lucille Clifton 1970 6 49 59 Train Ride John Steptoe 1971 O 4 4 Fannie L0u Hamer June Jordan 1972 B 24 24 70 And the Sun God Said: That's flip Ernest Gregg 1972 0 0 22 22 Birthday John Steptoe 1972 6 15 24 45 Don't You Remember Lucille Clifton 1973 0 12 4 16 Lordy, Aunt Hattie Ianthe Thomas 1973 O 4 4 8 52:51 Alexis Oeveaux 1973 O 11 2 13 6000, Says Jerome Lucille Clifton 1973 O 6 4 10 All Us Come Cross the Water Lucille Clifton 1973 O 10 15 25 Walk Toggther Children Ashley Bryan 1974 16 6 28 50 She Come Bringing Me That Little Baby Girl Eloise Greefield 1974 O 4 4 B My Special Best Words John Steptoe 1974 O 19 10 29 Three Wishes Lucille Clifton 1974 3 4 10 17 My_§r0ther Fine With Me Lucille Clifton 1975 O 10 9 19 Muhammad Ali Marshall Burchard 1975 O 7 23 30 Liza Lou Mercer Mayer 1976 0 4 2 6 Bllly Jo Jive Super Private Eye John Shearer 1976 O O 6 5 196 Summary In order to determine if and how three selected Black traditions (Black music, Black family traditions, race pride) have been portrayed in picture books written about Black people living in the United States for children seven to nine years of age, 133 books were analyzed and rated on the Black Traditions Questionnaire. Six content analysis research questions were tested and the results are summarized in Table 29. In order to determine what impact these portrayals have on the self-concept of children who were exposed to these books, a P110t experimental study was conducted with 315 children in twelve third- grade classes in the Lansing School District in Lansing, Michigan. Four experimental study research questions were tested and the results are summarized in Table 30. A discussion about the findings is included in the following chapter. Table 29. Questions Sumnary of the Findings: 197 Content Analysis Research Content Analysis Research Questions Results Rgsearch Question 1: Which of the three specific Black traditions (Black music. Black family traditions, race pride) are most fre- quently portrayed in picture books about Black people? Race pride was the Black tradition most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black peOple. Black family traditions was the second most fre- quently portrayed tradition, and Black music was the least frequently portrayed tradition. Bgsearch Question 2: Which component of each Black tradition is most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people? Item number 6 on the Black Traditions Questionnaire (Music shown as an intricate part of Black person's life--during work, play, relaxation, prayer, or entertainment) was the component of the Black music tradition most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people. Item nunber 8 (Family members being Openly suppor- tive of each other) was the component of the Black family traditions most frequently portrayed in picture books. Item number 11 (Mention of a Black standard of personal beauty-~hari, physical features. etc.) was the component of race pride most frequently portrayed in picture books. Research Question 3: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors? Black traditions were portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors. Research Question 4: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black illustrators than non-Black illustrators? Black traditions were portrayed more frequently by Black illustrators than non-Black illustrators. Rgsearch Question 5: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations? Black traditions were portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations. Research Question 6: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969? Black traditions were portrayed more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969. Rgsearch ggestion 7: Is Black dialect (as evidence of Black race pride) used more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969? Black dialect is used more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books publisned through 1969. Table Summary of Findings: 198 Experimental Study Research Questions Research Questions Results Research Question 1: Are there significant differences between Black children and non- Black children on each self- concept scale? There were no significant differences between Black and non-Black children on total score and on each self-concept scale at the .05 level. Black children scored significantly higher than non-Black children at the .10 level on cluster 3 (Physical appearance and attributes). Research Question 2: Do children who listen to stories from books which score high in Black traditions improve more on each self-concept scale than children who listen to stories from books about universal experience? Only one finding was significant at the .05 level: both Black and non- Black children who listened to stories from books which scored high in Black traditions im roved more on cluster 1 (Behavior than children who listened to stories from books about universal experiences. Research Question 3: Do Black children who listen to stories about Black people improve more on each self-concept scale than non-Black children? None of the differences between Black and non-Black self-concept changes were significant at the .05 level. Research Question 4: Are there significant interaction effects between treatment and race with regard to self-concept? There were no significant inter- action effects, no significant race effects and no significant treat- ment effect with one exception: there was a significant treatment effect when cluster 1 was the dependent variable. CHAPTER VI SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary The purpose of this study was twofold. One purpose was to determine if and how selected Black traditions have been portrayed in picture books written about Black people living in the United States. This study was also designed to determine what impact these portrayals have on the self-concept of children seven to nine years of age who were exposed to these books. The problem was deemed significant because of the amplified concern among Black people with their cultural identity or ethnicity. This heightened interest led them to examine how they were portrayed in all facets of the media, including children's lit- erature. Two avenues of expression which many educators, librarians, and children's literature specialists voiced and responded to when evaluating and using children's literature were (1) a more realistic representation of Black people in the text and illustrations of chil- dren's literature for the benefit of Black children and (2) a focus on multicultural education for the benefit of all children. They emphasized that the literature should help the young readers recognize that there are universal experiences lived by all pe0p1e and also that each ethnic group has experiences that are unique to its particular culture and race. With this historical and sociological perspective of Black people in 199 200 mind this researcher attempted to investigate three selected traditions which are common among Black people in America: Black music, Black family traditions, and race pride. The investigation was designed to find out if and how facets of the traditions in Black music, Black family traditions and race pride were portrayed in picture books for children and to determine the impact books that are high in Black traditions content would have on Black and non-Black children. This researcher also tried to determine if exposure to books in which these traditions were portrayed would help the children to gain knowl- edge and understanding about the implications and ramifications that these traditions had/have on the lives of Black people in America. It was hypothesized that such knowledge and understanding would enhance the self-concept for Black children. m; In Part I of the study, the researcher read and evaluated 133 books identified as picture books through several professional biblio- graphic sources. The books selected were contemporary realistic fiction and biographies about Black people written for children seven to nine years of age and were published from 1956 to 1976; the protagonist in each story was Black. Content analysis was used as the data collection technique to determine if and how three selected Black traditions had been portrayed. The three Black traditions investigated were Black music, Black family traditions, and race pride. The Black Traditions Questionnaire, a rating instrument, was designed by the researcher especially for the content analysis aspect of the study. The salient 201 shared experiences of Black people in the areas of music, family traditions and race pride were extracted from sociological and historical literature and formed the basis for the Black Traditions Questionnaire. This instrument was used to systematically answer the research questions generated for this study. Following is a summary of the findings that resulted from the analysis of data collected for the study. There were seven research questions included in this part of the study. Research Question 1: Which of the three specific Black traditions (Black musigg Black family traditions, race pride) are most frequently pgrtrayed in picture books about Black people? The Black Traditions Questionnaire (BTQ) designed for the study consisted of words and phrases enumerating characteristics or components of the three selected traditions (Black music, Black family traditions and race pride). The salient characteristics of each of the three traditions were included in the rating instrument under the appropriate rubric. The findings resulted from comparing the overall mean scores of the three traditions contained in the text and in the illustrations of the 133 books analyzed. Race pride was the Black tradition most fre- quently portrayed in picture books about Black pe0p1e. The three com- ponents of the race pride tradition that scored highest in the 133 books analyzed are: Item 11, Mention of a Black standard of personal beauty-— hair, physical features, etc. (97 stories portrayed Item 11); Item 1, Pride in racial heritage and/or African ancestry--inc1uding dashiki, giving children African names, referring to oneself or group members 202 as Afro-Americans (41 stories); and Item 3, Concern with racial equality and freedom (37 stories). The three components of the race pride tradition that scored lowest are: Item 12, Open display of Black emblems and/or symbolic colors--red, green, and black (9 stories); Item 6, Pride in Black political leaders such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr. (14 stories); and Item 13, Use of dialect (21 stories). Following the civil disturbances of the late sixties, a heightened sensibility of Black-consciousness prevailed in the attitude of young and old Afro-American group members. One concern of this researcher was to determine the impact, if any, this historical event would have on the portrayal of Black pe0p1e in the field of children's literature. The analysis of books published from 1956 through 1976 revealed that each of the three selected Black traditions were portrayed more in the seventies than previously, and of the three, race pride was the most frequently portrayed. A correlation may be made between the increased number of books in the 1970s portraying race pride and the underscored concern of Black people about their position in the American society during the sixties, the advancement of the "Black is Beautiful" ideology, and the national awakening and acknowledgment of the glaring discrepancies in this country's democratic ideals. Black family traditions was the second most frequently portrayed tradition. Fourteen items on the Black Traditions Questionnaire were included under the Black family traditions heading. The three components of Black family traditions that scored highest in the 133 books analyzed are: Item 8, Family members being openly supportive of each other (100 stories); Item 9, High value placed on family stability and keeping the family intact, even by individuals who fail to achieve or maintain it (36 stories); and Item 11, Strong orientation toward work, with a high value on keeping a job for the benefit of the family (36 stories). The three components of the Black family tradition that scored lowest are: Item 2, Outside members, non-blood members, living with the family (no stories); Item 4, Children adopted by relatives instead of strangers (5 stories); and Item 3, Outside members, non-blood members, living nearby and performing family functions (10 stories). Possibly, Black family traditions were not portrayed as often as race pride because non-Black authors and illustrators are less knowledgeable about this tradition, with its Spoken and unspoken codes. Black music was the least frequently portrayed of the Black traditons. Eight items on the Black Traditions Questionnaire were included under the Black Music heading. The three components of the Black music tradition that scored highest in the 133 books analyzed are: Item 6, Music shown as an intricate part of a Black person's life, during work, play, relaxation, prayer or entertainment (24 stories); Item 4, Black musician(s) (18 stories); and Item 3, Spirituals (12 stories). The three components of the Black music traditions that scored lowest are: Item 5, Music involving a single call-mass response (2 stories); Item 2, Blues (5 stories); and Item 1, Jazz (7 stories). Although Black music has been the most tolerated and accepted contri- bution of Black people in America by non-Blacks, it appears that it may be the least understood by authors and illustrators of children's literature. 204 Research Question 2: Which component of each Black tradition is most freguently portrayed'in picture books aboutTBlack people? Music shown as an intricate part of a Black person's life-- during work, play, relaxation, prayer or entertainment (Item 6 on the Black Traditions Questionnaire) was the component of Black music most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people. Twenty-four stories of the 133 books analyzed portrayed this component in the text and/or illustrations. The sociological review of literature revealed the significant role music played in Africa before the institution of slavery was started in America. Since the role of Black music was analogous in Africa to the role Black music still plays in the lives of many Black people today, it appears that this music tradition is a carry-over from Africa. Family members being Openly supportive of each other (Item 8) was the component of the Black family tradition most frequently por- trayed in picture books about Black people. One hundred stories of the 133 books analyzed portrayed this component in the text and/or illustrations. The Black family has been a subject of both praise and denigration by sociologists, historians and educators for years. It may be that because this aspect of Black people has received world- wide attention, book authors and illustrators felt more comfortable in portraying this component than the others. The castigation of Black families and the way family members relate to each other has filled volumes of books. This researcher hails the portrayal of the open 205 support system that was really in operation all the time and now being emphasized in children's picture books. Mention of a Black standard of personal beauty--hair, physical features, etc. (Item 11) was the component of race pride most frequently portrayed in picture books. Ninety-seven stories of the 133 books analyzed portrayed this component in the text and/or illustrations. The role Black male illustrators have played in portraying this com- ponent cannot be over-emphasized. The findings are astonishing in light of the historical portrayal of Black people as reported in the Bingham, Carlson, and Glancy studies. These earlier studies revealed that Black people were portrayed unfavorably, unattractively, and unfairly. Physical feautres were exaggerated and distorted to help perpetuate the prevailing stereotypes held by non-Black people in America. Books in the sample, with one exception, would not offend a Black child or embarrass the Black storyteller. The book that exemplifies what should not be presented to any child, Black or non- Black, is Zima and Zeppo by Susan Jeschle. This book portrayed characters with exaggerated, grotesque features, wild unmanageable hair, and buniony feet. It is such a glaring contrast to the other books analyzed that it deemed itself recognition. Surprisingly, this book was published in 1976 and therefore causes concern. Although the book is an example of expressionistic art and should not be viewed on the literal level, young children should not be exposed to books portraying this style of art because they'may not be sophisticated enough in their visual interpretation of pictures to understand the art style 206 being portrayed. Instead of interpreting the pictures on an expressionistic art style criterion, they may view them as a realistic representation of Black pe0p1e. Examining the three components that were most frequently portrayed collectively, it appears to this researcher they were three that were relatively "safe" to portray. The more controversial, reactionary or emotional traditions were played-down or ignored. Research Question 3: Are Black traditions_portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors? The findings resulted from comparing the mean Black traditions score of books written by Black authors with the mean Black traditions score of books written by non-Black authors. Black traditions are portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors. The mean Black traditions score for books written by Black authors was 24.94 and the mean Black traditions score for books written by non-Black authors was 16.66, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. It appears that contemporary Black authors are advancing the three selected Black traditions. This researcher feels that an analogy can be made between our Griots of the past and our contemporary ones. Black authors such as Eloise Greenfield, Tom Feelings, Sharon Bell Mathis, and June Jordan are living examples of artists committed to portraying and advancing the history of Black people and their children. As Muse advocates, some contemporary authors are dedicated to 207 "recultivating and nurturing this traditional sensitivity, realistically and with a true sense of spirited adventure."1 In all fairness the contributions of non-Black authors in the field of children's literature vis-a-vis the portrayal of Black people has shown what appears to be a conscious effort towards improvement. Gone, for the most part, are the derogatory statements and stereotypic illustrations that were once blatantly flaunted at the children's lit- erature reading/listening audience. It is desirable that both Black and non-Black authors will begin to write more poignant books that portray the selected traditions investigated in this study. The results of this study can serve as a gauge to assess the content needs of different Black traditions in children's literature books. Perhaps they will adjust their focus and use this information as a basis for future story themes. Research Question 4: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently by Black illgstratgrs than non-Black illustrators? The findings resulted from comparing the mean Black traditions score of books illustrated by Black illustrators with the mean Black traditions scores of books illustrated by non-Black illustrators. Black traditions are portrayed more frequently by Black illustrators than non-Black illustrators. The mean Black tradition score for books illustrated by Black illustrators was 27.05, and the mean Black lDaphne Muse, "Black Children's Literature, Rebirth of a Neglected Genre," Black Scholar, December 1975, pp. 11-15. 208 traditions score for books illustrated by non-Black illustrators was 11.75, a difference beyond the .000 level. Black illustrators have earned themselves a prestigious position in the field of children's literature. In the future, it seems like a practical idea for authors, Black and non-Black, who attempt to portray Black traditions, to collaborate with a Black illustrator to help insure success and enhance their effort. Since Black illustrators have demon- strated they have a sensibility sufficiently profound enough to portray Black traditions in picture books, this researcher feels they should be used as consultants to authors, before and after, who attempt to write stories that are intended to be reflective of the lives of Black people. The initial consultation could serve to exchange ideas and to give the author feedforward in terms of what should and should not be portrayed in the text of his or her forthcoming book. The final consultation is needed to analyze the content of what was written and to give the author feedback before the book is published. If this intervention strategy to help authors is employed, more poignant books portraying Black traditions may be the result. Research Question 5: Are Black traditionsrportrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations? The findings resulted from comparing the mean text score with the mean illustrations score. Black traditions are portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations. The mean text score was 10.50 and the mean illustrations score was 8.67, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. 209 Several of the books in the sample were picture story books of Black heroes and heroines sparsely portrayed with photographs. The fact that many of the subjects of these biographies were never photographed may account for the results of the data. Statistical results indicate that Black traditions are portrayed more frequently in the text than in the illustrations. The mean text score was 10.50 and the mean illustra- tions score was 8.67, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. In addition, the picture books analyzed were the kind with a longer text and a more complex plot than is typical of the kind used with preschool children. Consequently, more Black traditions could be referred to in the text. Research Question 6: Are Black traditions portrayed more frequently in books published since 1970 than bookserblish 6 through 1969? The findings resulted from comparing the mean of books published since 1970 with the mean score of books published through 1969. Black traditions are portrayed more frequently in books published since 1970 than in books published through 1969. The mean Black traditions score for books published since 1970 was 24.38 and the mean Black traditions score for books published through 1969 was 12.83, a difference which is significant at the .01 level. It appears that the civil rights movement in the late 19605 did have a positive impact on the portrayal of the selected Black traditions in children's literature. More Black authors and illustrators were given a chance by book publishers to engage actively in their professions. 210 Non-Black artists were given sanction by publishing houses to portray Black people in a realistic manner, instead of the way they had done historically. Previously, non-Black artists had portrayed Black people as ridiculous-looking, on occasion subhuman, caricatures. More Black authors and illustrators have established their own publishing houses in an effort to publish what they would not be permitted to publish in the conventional establishments. The children's and juvenile publishing section of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago and Odarkai Books, named after the mother of the publisher of The Third Press in New York, are examples of two Black publishing houses. The "Black Is Beautiful“ ideology is alive, well and living throughout the Black diaspora. Consequently, the resulting positive changes in the treatment of Black people in children's literature is understandable and commensurate with the prevailing attitudes of the times. Research Question 7: Is Black dialect as evidence of Black pride used more frequently in books published’since 1970 than in Bfioks published throggh 1969? The findings resulted from comparing the mean score of books published since 1970 that use Black dialect with the mean score of books published through 1969 that use Black dialect. Only two books of the 60 books published through 1969 contained Black dialect, but 19 of the 72 books published since 1970 contained Black dialect. Black dialect is used more frequently in books published through 1969. The fact that Black dialect as evidence of race pride appears in picture books more frequently after 1970 is reflective of the "accept 211 me as I am" attitude adopted by many Blacks. This researcher feels that it is a step in the right direction because of the multicultural educa- tion concept being advanced today. The acceptance of the multicultural ideology by educators is suggestive of their recognition and approval of cultural differences and a willingness to be less judgmental in their thinking. However, authors must be certain that they are recording an accurate transcription of Black dialect as opposed to recording slang. Authentic Black dialect is a bona-fide language system with its own rules of grammar, vocabulary, and structure. Authors who are intent on using this component of the race pride tradition should take the time to record it properly or write in standard English instead. 212 Part II In Part II, the pilot experimental study, two systematically applied treatments were administered to 315 third grade students in the Lansing, Michigan area to determine whether the reading of picture books with a high rating in Black traditions (Treatment 1) tended to improve the self-concept of Black and non-Black children more than the reading of picture books about universal experiences (Treatment 2). The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale, a self-report instrument, was administered twice in the pilot experimental study to the student in each classroom in order to obtain pre-test and post-test scores for each student to answer questions for the experimental aspect of the study. Following is a summary of the findings that resulted from the analysis of the data collected for the pilot experimental aspect of the study. There were four research questions included in this part of the study. Research Question 1: Are there significant differences between Black children and non-Black children on each—selfeconcept scale? There were no significant differences between Black and non- Black children on total self-concept score and on each self-concept scale at the .05 level. However, Black children scored significantly higher than non-Black children at the .10 level on Physical Appearance and Attributes (Cluster 3). 213 Research Question 2: Do children who listen to stories from books which score high in Black traditions improve more on each self-concept scale than children who listen to stories from books about universal experiences? Only one finding was significant at the .05 level: both Black and non-Black children who listened to stories from books which scored high Black traditions improved more on Behavior (Cluster 1) than chil- dren who listened to stories from books about universal experiences. The mean difference in Behavior self-concept score for Blacks who received the High Black Traditions Treatment was +.636 compared to +.022 mean self-concept score for Blacks received the Universal Expe- rience Treatment. The mean difference in Behavior self-concept score for non-Blacks who received the High Black Traditions Treatment was +.653 compared to the +.102 mean self-concept score for non-Blacks who received the Universal Experience Treatment. The students who received the High Black Traditions Treatment gained more in self-concept than those receiving the Universal Experience Treatment. Treatment 1 involved the reading of ten books that scored high on the Black Traditions Questionnaire because of their profusion of Black traditions. Treatment 2 involved reading ten books that scored low on the Black Traditions Questionnaire because of their paucity of Black traditions. The themes in these books portrayed universal expe- riences of all people. This systematically applied experimental treatment was administered to expose students to books scoring high in Black traditions (Treatment 1) and to books scoring low in Black traditions (Treatment 2). 214 Researcthuestion 3: Do Black children who listen to selected stories high in BlEEk Traditions about BlaEklpeople improve more on eaEh self:concept scale than non-Black children? The data indicates that improvement in self-concept was very similar for both Black and non-Black students. None of the differences between Black and non-Black self-concept changes were significant at the .05 level. There were some changes in self-concept that did occur. Research Question 4: Are there significant interaction effects between treatment and race with regardbto SETflconcept? The data indicates that none of the tests for an interaction between student race and treatment on changes in self-concept were significant at the .05 level with one exception: there was a signifi- cant treatment effect when cluster 1 (Behavior) was the dependent variable. This indicates that changes in self-concept were not differ- ent for each of the four groupings of the students. Conclusions The major conclusions, all of which are closely related, with reference to the content analysis research questions were as follows. 1. Since 1970, Black traditions were portrayed significantly more frequently in picture books about Black people. It appears that the civil disturbance of the late sixties had a tremendous impact on how Black people and Black traditions would subsequently be portrayed in children's literature. 215 2. Since 1970, Black dialect was used more frequently in picture books about Black people. 3. Black traditions were portrayed more frequently by Black authors than non-Black authors. 4. Black traditions were portrayed more frequently by Black illustrators than non-Black illustrators. 5. Race pride was the Black tradition most frequently portrayed in picture books about Black people. Here again, these results are suggestive of the impact the civil rights movement and Black conscious- ness had in America and in the field of children's literature. 6. Black traditions were portrayed more frequently in the text of picture books than in the illustrations. The major conclusions with reference to the pilot experimental study research questions were as follows. 1. That there was no significant difference between Black and non-Black children on total self-concept may be due to the fact that: (a) reading time was too short, (b) this researcher could not control any of the variables because she was not with them constantly during the time that the treatment occurred, and (c) development of self- concept is a complicated process which takes time to develop and change. 2. Black and non-Black children in Treatment 1 group changed in Behavior Self-Concept at the .05 level. Acknowledging the probability that various contaminating factors might have brought about this change, it might be that the books read to these children accounted for the change in this aspect of self-concept. Several of the books used were of Black people who displayed courage, dignity, a love of Black people, 216 and a willingness to act, at all cost, on their convictions. The find- ings in reference to this change in Behavior self-concept would suggest that the children who were exposed to these kinds of stories listen to them and are affected by them. 3. The children in the sample population were third graders, thus making them eligible for and the recipients of the "Black is Beautiful" ideology and slogan born in the late sixties. This might account for the findings revealed in this study that there was no sig- nificant difference between Black and non-Black children on total self- concept, but Black children scored significantly higher on the Physical Appearance and Attributes Cluster. 4. There were no significant interaction effects, no significant race effects and no significant treatment effect with one exception: there was a significant treatment effect when Cluster 1 (Behavior) was the dependent variable. Recommendations 1. Using the instrument designed for this study, a similar study could be conducted using picture books or other types of litera- ture to determine if and how the three selected Black traditions are portrayed. 2. This study analyzed books about Black people living in America. A content analysis of picture books about Black people living in Africa could be done to compare which books portray selected Black traditions more. 217 3. A study could be done to investigate other Black traditions; for example, those pertaining to education and religion. 4. A study could be done to determine if there is a correlation between selected Black traditions in music or other art forms. 5. A study could be conducted to determine if the authentic transcription of Black dialect is being recorded in children's litera- ture as opposed to the use of slang and jargon. 6. The experimental study should be conducted after all the books in the sample have been rated to insure that only the very highest scoring books in Black traditions will be used in Treatment 1 (books scoring high in Black traditions). 7. The procedure for the pilot experimental part of the study should be replicated using older children to determine if there would be a more noticeable change in self-concept. 8. The experimental part of the study should be replicated using all Black students from different socioeconomic class levels and all Black students from the same socioeconomic class. 9. The experimental part of the study should be replicated using four treatments: Treatment 1--books portraying Black traditions; Treatment 2--books portraying Black traditions and universal experiences; Treatment 3--books portraying universal experiences; and Treatment 4-- no treatment. 10. The experimental part of the study should be replicated using a longer period of time for administering the treatments. 11. The experimental part of this study should be replicated using children in integrated and segregated school settings. 218 Reflections As a result of the impetus put on civil rights in the sixties, many more Black authors and illustrators were commissioned to work in the lucrative field of children's literature. Once admitted, it seems as though they did not procrastinate in the task of portraying the experiences of their people. It is reasonable to suggest that these salaried Griots often wrote and illustrated about things they actually experienced and how these experiences involved the Black traditions. The fact that many of their experiences and the experiences of Black people living in America were inextricably bound would suggest that this is the reason why this combination, Black author and Black illustrator, when viewed separately or collectively, portray Black traditions in picture books more than non-Black authors and non-Black illustrators. Perhaps the underscored concern or emphasis on the "Black Is Beautiful" slogan can be translated to Cluster 3 (Physical Appearance and Attributes) on the self-concept scale in attempting to explicate the found significant difference. The "Black Is Beautiful" slogan was created in the late sixties and has/will remain with us. However, this researcher feels the concept of Black being beautiful was created hundreds of years ago and because it was the appropriate time, found just the right name for itself in the sixties. The slogan was the con- certed effort of Black strategists to counteract the historically nega- tive propaganda campaign waged by the dominant society in America. Perhaps these strategies internalized the message W. E. B. DuBois wrote about in a 1926 Crisis article. He stated, "I do not give a damn for 219 any art that is not used for propaganda. But I do care when propaganda is confined to one side while the other is stripped and silent."2 He meant propaganda not in the invidious sense of lies or distortions, but in its original meaning: the prOpagation of a particular set of ideals or standards. Possibly Black children have internalized the concepts that the slogan implies and feel they possess the ideals and standards of true physical beauty. In addition to this, there are so many visible significant others Black children can identify with on a daily basis (Ambassador Andrew Young, actor and actress Billy D. Williams and Diana Ross, athletes 0. J. Simpson, "Dr. J," and Arthur Ashe). Now, on any given day, Black children can see Ambassador Young on TV or on the cover of Time, Newsweek, and Ebony magazine, they can enjoy watching and identifying with Billy D. Williams on the movie screen or sing along with Mrs. Ross on one of her many specials; they can even watch the famous "Dr. J" and Arthur Ashe perform on the court or immulate their body movements on the playground or in front of the TV set. It is suggestive that books irihigh Black traditions tend to be more prescriptive in their definition of appropriate specified behavior in our contemporary situational existence. For example, Frederick Douglass personifies human struggle because he refused to yield to the cruelties of slavery, educated himself and became an active 2S. Jay Walker, "DuBois' Uses of History," Black World, February 1975. 220 participant for civil rights in this society. Children, both Black and non-Black, can identify with him as a role model and incorporate his behavior as appropriate. Perhaps the improvement in Behavior self-concept for non-Black children can be attributed to the fact that they related to the essence of human struggles rather than with the actors of the human struggles. The history of non-Black persons has been one of human struggles, resulting in the founding of this country. The high Black traditions books were prescriptive, democratically based and addressed social problems. The book characters examplified human courage while trying to resolve conflict in what was/is supposed to be a democratic society. Because the minds of young children are malleable, it is reasonable to suggest that when books high in Black traditions are used with children, they help produce purposefully directed adults. These books appear to have a contagious effect that sensitizes the affective domain and results in strong ethical codes of behavior be adopted. Although none of the difference between Black and non-Black self-concept changes were significant at the .05 level, this researcher is convinced that the self-concept of Black children was indeed enhanced. Perhaps the children viewed the researcher, who was also Black, as a positive role model. The importance of significant others to Black children is paramount and this researcher feels because of the warm reception extended each visitation time, open declarations of affection and written notes expressing how they felt about her and the stories being read, she became a significant other. 221 The children listened attentively to the stories, especially the biographies. When Frederick Douglas Fights for Freedom by Margaret Davidson was being read, the children readily recognized, commented on, and approved of the protagonists hairstyle. They were pleasantly sur- prised to see from the photographs that Frederick Douglas, offered by this author as the epitome of race pride, was wearing his hair in a "bush" even before it became fashionable. The biography of Rosa Parks by Eloise Greenfield seemed to have an overwhelming effect on the stu- dents, Black and non-Black. Even after the researcher repeatedly informed the students that there could be no discussion of the stories, they were insistent in their questions to find out if she was still living, where, and what she was doing now. The Treatment 1 students who heard the biography of Fannie Lou Hamer by June Jordan informed the researcher about her death that week. They expressed concern and sad- ness and felt that they "got to her just in time." The researcher observed Black children hugging these books and actually witnessed stu- dents kiss the pages on which their hero or heroine was portrayed. The book All Us Come Cross the Water by Lucille Clifton was readily identified as analogous to the movie "roots," which appeared on television in early February. In the movie, Kunta Kinte refused to ever accept his slave name Toby. The book All Us Come Cross the Water high- lights the importance of one's own people giving their offspring their names. The preface of the book Walk ngether Children by Ashley Bryon explained the circumstances in which the spirituals were created. Many of the children were familiar with these spirituals. They said 222 they enjoyed singing these songs but were surprised that they were contributions of Black people. After a few story-telling sessions, some of the children began to realize that both groups were not being read the same stories. This discovery was mainly due to the high interest level the children had about the books. The classroom teachers often shared with the researcher conversations they overheard from the children in reference to the stories. Teachers also requested to know what books were being read from time to time. This was a result of the observable change in behav- ior some children demonstrated after hearing Treatment 1 books. The essence of the responses many of the Black children made to the Treatment 1 books is reflected in a remark made by a little Black girl. When a non-Black girl asked the researcher why they had to listen to biographies about Black people when the other students (Treatment 2) did not, the Black child stated rather matter of factly that "You need them, they're good for you." The researcher could not help feel the profoundness of this statement. This child's answer was prescriptive. Perhaps an analogy can be made between vitamins that help insure good physical health and books high in Black traditions that may insure good mental, emotional, and spiritual health. For these reasons and others, this researcher unwaveringly believes that books scoring high in Black tradi- tions did help. Although there were no drastic changes in total self-concept scores for students receiving the two treatments, the significant change in Behavior self-concept scores for Black and non—Black children exposed to high Black traditions books verifies this researcher's hypothesis. 223 Something definitely happened to the self-concept of students who were exposed to books scoring high in Black traditions which suggests that these books made a difference. Summary of the Chapter This chapter has presented the summary, implications, conclu- sions, reCommendations, and personal reflections of this study. The findings from each research question were summarized through an analysis of the data collected along with their implications in these areas was discussed. In conclusion, recommendations for further research were presented. 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New York, 1932, p. 45. Morland, J. Kenneth. "Racial Recognition by Nursery School Children in Lynchburg, Virginia," Social Forces 37, 1958, pp. 132—137. Puckett, Newbell Niles. Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro. Purkey, William Watson. Self-Concept and School Achievement. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970. Redd, Lawrence N. "Birth of the Blues," Rock is Rhythm and Blues. Michigan: Michigan State University Press, 1974. Rock, John. Quoted in Philip S. Foner, "I Will Sink or Swim With My Race," The Voice of Black America. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972. Shepp, Archie. Quoted in Valerie Widmer, Jazz Pepple. New York: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1970. Smith, Donald H. Quoted in James A. Banks and Jean D. Grambs, eds., Black Self-Concept. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1972. Southern, Eileen. The Music of Black Americans: A History. New York: W. N. Norton and Company, 1971. Tager, Helen G., and Yarrow, Marian Radke. They Learn What They Live. New York: Haper, 1952. The Black Panther Party Program, "What We Want Now! What We Believe." Quoted in Bracey, Meier, and Rudwick, Black Nationalism in America. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1970. 228 Turner, Bishop Henry M. Quoted in Bracey, Meier, and Rudwick, Black Nationalism in America. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1970. Whitfield, James M. Quoted in Herbert Aptheker, "Afro-American Superiority: A Neglected Theme in Literature," Afro-American History: The Modern Era. New York: Citadel Press, 1971. Works, John W. Quoted in James H. Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues: An Interpretation. New York: Seabury Press, 1972. 229 Articles Amini, Johari. ”Re-Definition: Concept as Being." Black World, May 1972, pp. 5-12. Baker, Augusta Baker. "The Changing Image of the Black in Children's Literature." The Horn Book Magazine 51, February 1975, p. 88. Baldwin, James. Quoted in Chestyn Everett, “Blueprint for Black Aesthetic-Tradition in Afro-American Literature,“ Black World, December 1975, pp. 20-35. Baraka, Imamu Ameer (Leroi Jones). "A Black Value System." The Black Scholar, November 1969, pp. 54-60. Billingsley, Ronald. "The Burden of the Hero in Modern Afro-American Fiction." Black World, December 1975, pp. 38-45. Broderick, Dorothy. "Lessons in Leadership." School Library Journal (February 1971):699-70l. Brooks, Gwendolyn. Quoted in Don L. Lee, "Black Books Bulletin Interviews Gwendolyn Brooks," Blacks Book Bulletin 2, Spring 1974, pp. 28-30. Cox, Virginia. "The Story of the Alphabet." School Library Journal (May 1969):43. Curtis, Thomas, and Walters, Colin. "Ethnic Studies: How Black is Beautiful?" Black Books Bulletin 2, Winter 1974, pp. 20-22. Dean, Paul C. "The Persistence of Uncle Tom: An Examination of the Image of the Negro in Children's Fiction Series." The Journal of Negro Education 37 (Spring 1968):144-145. Everett, Chestyn. "Blueprint for the Black Aesthetic-Tradition in Afro-American Literature." Black World, December 1975. . "Tradition in Afro-American Literature." Black World, December 1975, pp. 20-27. Falcon, Luis Nieves. "Children's Books as a Liberating Force." Interracial Books for Children Bulletin 7, 1976, p. 4. 230 Fuller, Hoyt W. "The Forms and Focus of Black Literature." Black Books Bulletin 3, Fall 1975. Goddard, Rosalind. Quoted in "Authenticity and the Black Experience in Children's Books," Library Journal (October 1970):3596. Greenfield, Eloise. “Something to Shout About." Horn Book 52, December 1975, pp. 624-627. Hamilton, Virginia. "Portrait of the Author as a Working Writer." Elementary English, April 1971, pp. 237-342. Hare, Nathan. “A Look Back at E. Franklin Frazier--What Black Intellectuals Misunderstand About the Black Family." Black World, March 1976, pp. 4-14. Hughes, Langston. ''Books and the Negro Child." Children's Library Yearbook 4, 1932, p. 110. Johnson, Edwina. “Black History: The Early Childhood Vacuum." School Library Journal (May 1969):43-44. Jones, LeRoi. Quoted in Julian Shiber, Jr., "Black Music: A Richness Not Yet Realized," Black Books Bulletin, February 1974, pp. 21-28. Killens, John. Quoted in Jesse M. Birtha, "Portrayal of the Black in Children's Literature," Top of the News, June 1970, pp. 397- 398. Landreth, Catherine, and Johnson, Barbara C. "Young Children's Responses to a Picture and Inset Test Designed to Reveal Reactions to Persons of Different Skin Color." Child Development 24, 1953, pp. 63-80. Larrick, Nancy. "The All-White World of Children's Books." Saturday Review 40, September 1965, p. 63. Mathis, Sharon Bell. "True/False Messages for the Black Child." Black Books Bulletin 2, Winter 1974, pp. 12-19. McWorton, Gerald. "The Ideology of Black Social Science." Ihg_ Black Scholar, December 1969, pp. 28-35. Merton, Thomas. "Conjectures of a Guilty By-Stander." Life, August 1966, pp. 64-73. Muse, Daphne. "Black Children's Literature, Rebirth of a Neglected Genre." The Black Scholar, December 1975, pp. 11-15. Patterson, Linday. Quoted in "Communication in Black Culture," Essense, February 1977, p. 33. 231 Perkins, Eugene. "The Need of a Pan-Afrikanist Alternative to the Street Institution." Black Books Bulletin, Winter 1974, pp. 8-11. Peters, Marie Ferguson. "The Black Family--Perpetuating the Myths: An Analysis of Family Sociology Textbooks Treatment of Black Families." The Family Coordinator 23, October 1974, pp. 349-357. Poussaint, Alvin. "New Values Challenge Old Assumptions." Interracial Books for Children Bulletin 7, 1976, pp. 2-3. Rae, Alexander. "Children's Books and the Search for Black Identity." Interracial Digest. New York: Council on Interracial Books for Children. Shiber, Julian Jr. "Black Music: A Richness Not Yet Realized." Black Books Bulletin, February 1974, pp. 21-28. Tate, Binnie. "Authenticity and the Black Experience in Children's Books: In House and Out House." School Library Journal (October 1970):3595-3598. Thompson, Judith, and Woodward, Gloria. "Black Perspective in Books for Children." Wilson Library Bulletin 44, December 1969, pp. 416-424. Werner, Judy. "Black Pearls and Ebony." School Library Journal 14 (May 1968):67. X, Malcolm. Quoted in Black Scholar . Chicago: Johnson Publishing Co., December 1960, Young, Jacqueline Lee. "Criteria in Selection of Black Literature for Children." Freedomway, Spring 1973, pp. 107-113. 232 Unpublished Materials Agree, Rose H. "The Black American in Children's Books: A Critical Analysis of the Portrayal of the Afro-American as Delineated in the Contents of a Select Group of Children's Trade Books Published in America from 1950 to 1970." Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1973. Bingham, Jane Marie. "A Content Analysis of the Treatment of Negro Characters in Children's Picture Books 1938-1968." Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1970. Boger, Gerd. "A Content Analysis of Selected Children's Books on the Negro and Japan." Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1966. Brooks, Telford. "A Historical Study of Black Music and Selected Twentieth Century Black Composers and Their Role in American Society: A Source Books for Teachers." Ph.D. dissertation, Washington University, 1972. Carlson, Julie Ann. "A Comparison of the Treatment of the Negro in Children's Literature in the Periods 1929-1938 and 1959- 1968." Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Connecticut, Storrs, 1969. Fisher, Winifred Maxine. "Images of the Treatment of the Negro in Contemporary Realistic Fiction for Children." Ed.D. dissertation, Columbia University, New York City, 1971. Gast, David Karl. "Characteristics and Concepts of Minority Americans in Contemporary Children's Fictional Literature." Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, 1965. Glancy, Barbara Jean. "The Treatment of the Negro in Children's Books." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 1964. Handler, June Moss. "An Attempt to Change Kindergarten Children's Attitudes of Prejudice Toward the Negro.” Ed.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1966. Jeter, Mabel Harrison. "Presentation of the Negro in Children's Books Published Between 1951 and 1960." Master's thesis, Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1962. 233 Kiah, Rosalie Black. "A Content Analysis of Children's Contemporary Realistic Fiction About Black People in the United States to Determine If and How a Sampling of These Stories Portray Selected Salient Shared Experiences of Black People." Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1976. Lowell, M. Marguerite. "Negro Stories for Children, A Subjective Criticism." Master's thesis, University of California, 1937. Morris, Effie Lee. "A Mid-Century Survey of the Presentation of the American Negro in Literature for Children Published in the United States Between 1900 and 1950." Master's thesis, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, 1956. Noble, Judith Ann. "The Home, The Church, and The School As Portrayed in American Realistic Fiction For Children 1965- 1969." Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1971. 234 Picture Books Adoff, Arnold. Black is Brown is Tan. New York: Harper and Row, 1973. Malcolm X. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1970. Alexander, Martha. The Story Grandmother Told. New York: Dial Press, l969. liki. A Weed Is a Flower--George W. Carver. New York: Prentice- Hall, I965. Baldwin, Anne Norris. Sunflowers for Tina. New York: Four Winds, l970. Baker, Bettye F. What Is Black? New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., l969. Behrens, June. A Walk in the Neighborhood. Chicago: Elk Grove Press, Inc., l968. Bertol, Roland. Charles Drew. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., l970. Blue, Rose. Black, Black, Beautiful Black. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., l969. Bontemps, Arna. Mr. Kelso's Lion. New York: Lippincott, l97D. Bourne, Miriam Anne. Raccoons Are For Loving. New York: Random House, l968. Breinburg, Petronella. Doctor Shawn. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1974. . Shawn Goes to School. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., l974. Bryan, Ashley. Walk Together Children. New York: Atheneum Publishers, l974. Burchard, Marshall. Muhammad Ali. New York: G. P. Putnam, 1975. 235 Cabassa, Victoria. Trixie and the Tiger. New York: Abelard-Schuman, l967. Clifton, Lucille. All Us Come Cross the Water. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, l973. Don't You Remember. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., ' 1973: Everett Anderson's Friend. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., l976. . Good, Says Jerome. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1973. . My Brother Fine With Me. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., l975. Some of the Days of Everett Anderson. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., l970. The Black 8 C's. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1970. . The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., l973. Three Wishes. New York: Viking Press, l974. Cole, Jo Anna. The Secret Fox. New York: William-Morrow, l97l. Cornish, Sam. Your Hand in Mine. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, l970. A Davidson, Margaret. Frederick Doualas Fights for Freedom. New York: Four Winds, 1970. Desbarats, Peter. Gabrielle and Selena. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968. Deveaux, Alexis. Na-Ni. New York: Harper and Row, 1973. Dobrin, Arnold. Scat! New York: Four Winds PreSs, l97l. Feelings, Tom. Black Pilgrimage. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shephard Co., Feinstein, Joe. A Silly Little Kid. Texas: Stack-Vaughn Co., l969. Fife, Dale. Adam's ABC. New York: Coward-McCann, l97l. 236 . Who's In Charge of Lincoln? New York: Coward-McCann, l965. Freeman, Don. Corduroy. New York: Viking Press, 1968. Gans, Margaret. Pam and Pam. Chicago: Children's Press, 1969. Gill, Joan. Hush, Jon. New York: Doubleday, 1968. Gray, Geneviere. Send Wendell. New York: McGraw-Hill, l974. Grifalconi, Ann. City Rhythms. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, l965. Green, Phyllis. The Fastest ijtter in Town. New York: Young Scott Books, l972. Greenberg, Polly. Oh Lord, I Wish I Was A Buzzard. New York: Macmillan, l968. Greenfield, Eloise. First Pink Light. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l976. Me and Nessie. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, T975. Paul Robeson. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l975. Rosa Parks. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l973. . She Come Bringing Me That Little Baby Girl. New York: Lippincott, l974. Gregg, Ernest. And the Sun God Said: That's Hip. New York: Harper and Row, 1972. Grossman, Barney. Black Means. New York: Hill and Wang, 1970. Halliburton, Warren. The Picture Life of Jesse Jackson. New York: Franklin Watts, l970. Haskins, James S. The Picture Life of Malcolm X. New York: Franklin Watts, 1975. Hawkinson, John and Lucy. Little Boy Who Lives Up High. Chicago: Albert Whitman Co., 1967. Heide, Florence Parry. Sound of Sunshine,ySound of Rain. New York: Parent's Magazine Press, l970. Hill, Elizabeth. Evans Corner. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,—l967l 237 Horvath, Betty. Hooray for Jasper. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1966. . Jasper Makes Music. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., l967. Hamilton, Virginia. The Timegfigo Tales of Jahdu. New York: Macmillan, 1969. Iverson, Genie. Louis Armstrong. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l976. Jeschle, Susan. Rima and Zeppo. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., l976. Johnson, James, and Rosamond. Lift Every Voice and Sipg. New York: Hawthorne Books, Inc., 1970. Jones, Margaret 8. Martin Luther Kingar A Picture Story. Chicago: Children's Press, l968. Jordan, June. Fannie Lou Hamer. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l972. . New Life—-New Room. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l975. Justus, May. A New Home for Billy. New York: Hasting House Publishers:ll966. Kaufman, Merve. Jessie Owens. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l973. Keats, Ezra Jack. A Letter to Amy. New York: Harper and Row, 1968. Goggles. New York: Macmillan, l969. Hi, Cat! New York: Macmillan, l970. John Henry. New York: Pantheon Books, l965. Pet Show. New York: Macmillan, l972.' Peter's Chair. New York: Harper and Row, l967. The Snowy Day, New York: Macmillan, l962. Whistle for Willie. New York: Viking Press, T964. Kempner, Carol. Nicholas. New York: Simon and Schuster, l968. 238 King, Helen. The Soul of Christmas. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Co., l972. Willy. New York: Doubleday, l97l. Lawrence, Jacob. Harriet and the Promised Land. New York: Simon and Schuster, l968. Lewis, Mary. Joey and the Fawn. New York: Ives Washburn, l967. Lexau, Joan. Benjie. New York: Dial Press, l964. Benjie On His Own. New York: Dial Press, 1970. . I Should Have Stayed in Bed. New York: Harper and Row, 1965. Me Day. New York: Dial Press, l97l. The Rooftop Mystery. New York: Harper and Row, l968. Striped Ice Cream. New York: Lippincott, l968. Lynch, Lorenze. The Hot Dog Man. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, l970. Mathis, Sharon Bell. Ray Charles. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l973. The Hundred Penny Box. New York: Viking Press, l975. Mayer, Mercer. Liza Lou. New York: Parent's Magazine Press, 1976. Merriam, Eve. Prpject l-2-3. New York: McGraw-Hill, l97l. Merrill, Jean. How Many Kids Are Hiding On My Block. Chicago: Albert Whitman and Co., I970. Miles, Miska. Mississippi Possum. New York: Little, Brown and Co., T965. Molarsky, Osmond. Song of the Empty_80ttles. New York: H. Z. Walck, l968. ‘ Montgomery, Elizabeth Rider. Duke Ellington King of Jazz. Chicago: Garrard Publisher, l972. Myers, Walter. Where Does the Day Go. New York: Parents Magazine Press, 1969. Napjus, Alice James. Freddie Found a Frog. New York: Van Nostrand, 1969. 239 Newman, Paul. No Place To Play. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1969. Palmer, Candida. A Ride on High. New York: J. P. Lippincott, 1966. Patterson, Lillie. Frederick Douglas. Chicago: Garrard Publishing Co., 1965. Pomerantz, Charlotte. The Moon Pony. New York: Young Scott Books, 1967. Prather, Ray. Anthony and Sabrina. New York: Macmillan, 1973. Quigg, Jane. Ted and Bobby. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, l969. Radford, Ruby. Mary McLeod Bethune. New York: G. P. Putnam, 1973. Randall, Blossom. Fun for Chris. Chicago: Albert Whitman, l956. Rosenbaum, Eileen. anpje, New York: Parents Magazine Press, l969. Rudeen, Kenneth. Muhammad Ali. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l976. Reit, Seymour. Round Things Everywhere. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969. Rice, Inez. A Tree This Tall. New York: William Morrow, l97D. Scott, Ann Herbert. Big Cowboy_Western. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shephard Co., l965. Sam. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Shearer, John. Billy Jo Jive Super Private Eye. New York: Delacorte Press,ll976. Sonneborn, Ruth. I Love Gram. New York: Viking Press, l97l. The Lollipop Party. New York: Viking Press, l967. Steptoe, John. Birthday. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, l972. My Special Best Words. New York: Viking Press, 1974. Stevie, New York: Harper and Row, l969. Train Ride. New York: Harper and Row, 1971. Uptown. New York: Harper and Row, l970. 240 Stone, Elberta H. I'm Glad I'm Me. New York: G. P. Putnam, l97l. Taylor, Sydney. The Dog_Who Came to Dinner. New York: Follet, 1966 Thomas, Dawn. A Tree for Tompkins Park. New York: McGraw-Hill, l97l. Downtown Is. New York: McGraw-Hill, l972. Thomas, Ianthe. Eliza's Daddy. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, l976. Lordy, Aunt Hattie. New York: Harper and Row, l973. . My Street's a Mornipg Cool Street. New York: Harper and Row, 1976. . Walk Home Tired, Billy Jenkins. New York: Harper and Row, l974. Turk, Midge. Gordon Parks. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l97l. Udry, Janice May. Mary Jo's Grandmother. Chicago: Albert Whitman, l970. What Mary Joe Shared. Chicago: Albert Whitman, I966. What Mary Joe Wanted. Chicago: Albert Whitman, l967. Van Leeuwen, Jean. Timothy's Flower. New York: Random House, 1967. Wagner, Jane. J.T. New York: Van Nostrand, l969. White, Florence. Malcolm X Black and Proud. Chicago: Garrard Publish- ing Co., 1975. White, Edgar. Omar at Christmas. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shephard, l973. Williamson, Mel. Walk On. New York: Odarkai Books, 1972. Wilson, Julia. Becky. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, I966. Winsor, Robert. A Little Happy Music. New York: Hawthorne Books Inc., l969. Yezback, Steven. Pumpkinseeds. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, l969. Yolen, Jane. It All Depends. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, l969. 241 Young, Bernice Elizabeth. The Picture Story of Hank Aaron. New York: Julian Messner, l974. Young, Margaret 8. The Picture Life of Ralppe J. Bunche. New York: Franklin Watts, l968. APPENDIX 242 .m n 3.5.58 56> 3 u 3.538 3 u 3wa mm n 3.53: mm u 3.532. In 3.532. 56> "mpmum unwoa-xwm acmzo_pom as» no man; "mcsuwuu< .O u umwcwzuzm HO: m... u Uwucwcpzm "apvuwpcmgoa< "mewpmm «mmummcm muozcy «maxpowm.xo sowuumaommfiy mvzpwuu< auwuwucmcp=< mommmmm weapowm pamocoo mama "co_pwemcp mmH pmmHm nm_u_P xoom 243 CHILDREN'S BOOKS USED FOR CONTENT ANALYSIS Adoff, Arnold. Black is Brown is Tan. Illustrated by Emily Arnold. New York: Harper and Row, l973. . Malcolm X. Illustrated by John Wilson. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1970. Alexander, Martha. The Story Grandmother Told. Illustrated by Martha Alexander. New York: ’Dial Press, 1969. ' Aliki. A Weed Is a Flower--George W. Carver. Illustrated by Aliki. New York: Prentice-HalljllQGS. Baldwin, Anne Norris. Sunflowers for Tina. Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. New York: Four Winds, I970. Baker, Bettye F. What Is Black? Illustrated by Willis Perry II. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., l969. Behrens, June. A Walk in the Neighborhood. Illustrated by Jim Gendraux. Chicago: Elk Grove Press, Inc., l968. Bertol, Roland. Charles Drew. Illustrated by Jo Polseno. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1970. Blue, Rose. Black, Black, Beautiful Black. Illustrated by Emett Wiggleworth. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., l969. Bontemps, Arna. Mr. Kelso's Lion. Illustrated by Len Ebert. New York: Lippincott, 1970. Bourne, Miriam Anne. Raccoons Are For Loving. Illustrated by Marion Morton. New York: Random House, 1968. Breinburg, Petronella. Doctor Shawn. Illustrated by Errol Lloyd. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., l974. . Shawn Goes to School. Illustrated by Errol Lloyd. New York: Thomas Y. CrowelllCo., l974. Bryan, Ashley. Walk Together Children. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. New York: Atheneum PfibTishers, l974. Burchard, Marshall. Muhammad Ali. Photographs. New York: G. P. Putnam, l975. Cabassa, Victoria. Trixie and the Tiger. Illustrated by Victoria Cabassa. New York: Abelar61SChuman, l967. 244 Clifton, Lucille. All Us Come Cross the Water. Illustrated by John Steptoe. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, l973. . Don't You Remember. Illustrated by Evaline Ness. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., T973. . Everett Anderson's Friend. Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. New York: Holt,_Rinehart and Winston, Inc., l976. . Good, Says Jerome. Illustrated by Stephanie Douglas. New York: E1 Pl Ditton and Co., l973. . My Brother Fine With Me. Illustrated by Moneta Barnett. New York?’ Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1975. . Some of the Days of Everett Anderson. Illustrated by Evaline Ness. NewlYork: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., l970. . The Black 8 C's. Illustrated by Don Miller. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., l970. . The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring. Illustrated by Brinton Turkle. NewlYork: E. P. Dutton and Co., l973. . Three Wishes. Illustrated by Stephanie Douglas. New York: Viking Press, 1974. Cole, Jo Anna. The Secret Fox. Illustrated by Joan Sandin. New York: William-Morrow, l97l. Cornish, Sam. Your Hand in Mine. Illustrated by Carl Owens. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, l97D. Davidson, Margaret. Frederick Douglas Fights for Freedom. Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. New York: Four Winds, T970. Desbarats, Peter. Gabrielle and Selena. Illustrated by Nancy Grossman. New York: Harcourt,—Brace and7World, l968. Oeveaux, Alexis. Na-Ni. Illustrated by Alex Deveaux. New York: Harper and Row, l973. Dobrin, Arnold. Scat! Illustrated by Arnold Dobrin. New York: Four Winds Press, 1971. Feelings, Tom. Black Pilgrimage. Illustrated by Tom Feelings. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shephard Co., Feinstein, Joe. A Sillnyittle Kid. Illustrated by John Paul Richards. Texas: Steck-Vaughn Co., 19691 245 Fife, Dale. Adam's ABC. Illustrated by Don Robertson. New York: Coward-McCann, l97l. . Who's In Charge of Lincoln? Illustrated by Paul Galdone. New York: _Coward:McCann, l965. Freeman, Don. Corduro . Illustrated by Don Freeman. New York: Viking Press, I96B Gans, Margaret. Pam and Pam. Illustrated by Chicago: Children's Press, l969. Gill, Joan. Hush, Jon. Illustrated by Tracy Sugarman. New York: Doubleday, l968. Gray, Geneviene. Send Wendell. Illustrated by Symeon Shimin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974. Grifalconi, Ann. Cit Rh thms. Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. New York: BobEs-fierrill, 1965. Green, Phyllis. The Fastest Quitter in Town. Illustrated by Lorenzo Lynch. New York: YBUng Scott Books, l972. Greenberg, Polly. Oh Lord, I Wish I Was A Buzzard. Illustrated by Aliki. New York: MSCmillan, l968. Greenfield, Eloise. First Pink Light. Illustrated by Moneta Barnett. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l976. . Me and Nessie. Illustrated by Moneta Barnett. New York: lhomas Y. CroweT1,—T975. . Paul Robeson. Illustrated by George Ford. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l975. . Rosa Parks. Illustrated by Eric Marlow. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l973. . She Come Bringing Me That Little Baby Girl. Illustrated by John Steptoe. New York: Lippincott, 1974. Gregg. Ernest. And the Sun God Said: That's Hip. Illustrated by G. Falcon Beazer. New York: Harper and Row, l972. Grossman, Barney. Black Means. Illustrated by Charles Bible. New York: Hill and Wang, 1970. Halliburton, Warren. The Picture Life of Jesse Jackson. Photographs. New York: Franklin Watts, 1970. 246 Haskins, James S. The Picture Life of Malcolm X. Photographs. New York: Franklin Watts, 1975. Hawkinson, John and Lucy. Little Boy Who Lives pp High. Illustrated by John and Lucy Hawkinson. *Chicago: *Albert Whitman Co., l967. Heide, Florence Parry. Sound of Sunshine, Sound of Rain. Illustrated by Kenneth Longtemps. New York: Parent's Magazine Press, l970. Hill, Elizabeth. Evans Corner. Illustrated by Nancy Grossman. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1967. Horvath, Betty. Hooray for Jasper. Illustrated by Fermin Rocker. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1966. . Jasper Makes Music. Illustrated by Fermin Rocker. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., l967. Hamilton, Virginia. The Time-Ago Tales of Jahdu. Illustrated by Nonny Hogrogan. New York: TMacmillan, T969. Iverson, Genie. Louis Armstrong. Illustrated by Kevin Brooks. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l976. Jeschle, Susan. Rima and Zeppo. Illustrated by Susan Jeschle. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1976. Johnson, James, and Rosamond. Lift Every Voice and Sing. Illustrated by Mozelle Thompson. New York: Hawthorne Books, Inc., 1970. Jones, Margaret 8. Martin Luther King: A Picture Story. Illustrated by Ruszel Scott. ‘Chicago: Childrenls Presszl968. Jordan, June. Fannie Lou Hamer. Illustrated by Albert Williams. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l972. . New Life--New Room. Illustrated by Ray Cruz. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l975. Justus, May. A New Home for Billy. Illustrated by Joan B. Payne. New York: Hasting House Pfiblishers, l966. Kaufman, Merve. Jessie Owens. Illustrated by Larry Johnson. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l973. Keats, Ezra Jack. A Letter to Amy. Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Harper andTRow, l968. . Goggles. Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Macmillan, l969. 247 Keats, Ezra Jack. Hi, Cat! Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Macmillan, l970. . John Henry. Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Pantheon Books, 1965. . Pet Show. Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Macmillan, l972. . Peter's Chair. Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Harper and Row, 1967.. . The Snowy Day. Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Macmillan, 1962. . Whistle for Willie. Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Viking Press, l964. Kempner, Carol. Nicholas. Illustrated by Carol Kempner. New York: Simon and Schuster, I968. King, Helen. The Soul of Christmas. Illustrated by Fred Anderson. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Co., 1972. . Willy. Illustrated by Carole Byard. New York: Doubleday, I97i. Lawrence, Jacob. Harriet and the Promised Land. Illustrated by Jacob Lawrence. New York: Simon and Schuster,ll968. Lewis, Mary. Joey and the Fawn. Illustrated by Tom Hall. New York: Ives Washburn, l967. Lexau, Joan. Benjie. Illustrated by Don Bolognese. New York: Dial Press, l964. . Benjie On His Own. Illustrated by Don Bolognese. New York: Dial Press, l97DI . I Should Have Stayed in Bed. Illustrated by Syd Hoff. New York: Harper anleo , T965. Me Day. Illustrated by Robert Weaver. New York: Dial Press, . The RooftoprMystery. Illustrated by Syd Hoff. New York: Harper and Row,7l9681 . Striped Ice Cream. Illustrated by John Wilson. New York: Lippincott, l968. 248 Lynch, Lorenzo. The Hot Dog Man. Illustrated by Lorenzo Lynch. New York: Bobbs-MerrilT, l970. Mathis, Sharon Bell. Ray Charles. Illustrated by George Ford. New York: Thomas Y. CroweTl, l973. . The Hundred Penn Box. Illustrated by Lee and Diane Dillon. New York: Viking Press, i975. Mayer, Mercer. Liza Lou. Illustrated by Mercer Mayer. New York: Parent's Magazine Press, l976. Merriam, Eve. Project l-2-3. Illustrated by Harriet Sherman. New York: McGraw-Hill, l97l. Merrill, Jean. How Many_Kids Are Hiding On My Block. Illustrated by Jean Merrill. —Chicago: Albert Whitman andTCo., l97D. Miles, Miska. Mississippi Possum. Illustrated by John Schoenherr. New York: Little, Brown and Co., l965. Molarsky, Osmond. Song of the Empty Bottles. Illustrated by Tom Feelings. New York: H. 2. WalEk, 1968. Montgomery, Elizabeth Rider. Duke Ellin ton Kin of Jazz. Illustrated by Paul Frame. Chicago: Garrard Puglisher, 1972. Myers, Walter. Where Does the Day Go. Illustrated by Leo Carty. New York: ParentshMagazine_Press, l969. Napjus, Alice James. Freddie Found a Frog. Illustrated by George Ford. New York: Van Nostrand, 1969. Newman, Paul. No Place To Play. Illustrated by David Lockhart. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, l969. Palmer, Candida. A Ride on High, Illustrated by Tom Hall. New York: J. P. Lippincott, l966. Patterson, Lillie. Frederick Douglas. Illustrated by Gary Morrow. Chicago: Garrard Pfihlishlhg Co., 1965. Pomerantz, Charlotte. The Moon Pony. Illustrated by Loretta Trezzo. New York: Young ScottlBooks, l967. Prather, Ray. Anthony_and Sabrina. Illustrated by Ray Prather. New York: Macmillan,_T973. Quigg. Jane. Ted and Bobby. Illustrated by Ted Caconis. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, l969. 249 Radford, Ruby. Mary McLeod Bethune. Illustrated by Lydia Rosier. New York: G. PT'Putnam,Tl973. Randall, Blossom. Fun for Chris. Illustrated by Eunice Young Smith. Chicago: Albert Whitman, l956. Rosenbaum, Eileen. Ronnie. Photographs. New York: Parents Magazine Press, l969. Rudeen, Kenneth. Muhanmad Ali. Illustrated by George Ford. New York: Thomas Y. Crowel , 9 . Reit, Seymour. Round Things Everywhere. Photographs. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969. Rice, Inez. A Tree This Tall. Illustrated by Alvin Smith. New York: William Morrow,’T970. Scott, Ann Herbert. Big Cowboy Western. Illustrated by Richard W. Lewis. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shephard Co., l965. Sam. Illustrated by Symeon Shimon. New York: McGraw-Hill, 19m: Shearer, John. Billy Jo Jive Super Private Eye. Illustrated by Ted Shearer. New Yohk: DéTacorte Press, l976. Sonneborn, Ruth. I Love Gram. Illustrated by Leo Corty. New York: Vi king Press , l97l . The Lollipop_Party. Illustrated by Brinton Turkle. New York: Viking Press, 1967. Steptoe, John. Birthday. Illustrated by John Steptoe. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, l972. . My Seecial Best Words. Illustrated by John Steptoe. New Yor : 1 ing ress, 74. . Stevie. Illustrated by John Steptoe. New York: Harper and Row, l969. . Train Ride. Illustrated by John Steptoe. New York: Harper and Row, l97l. . Uptown. Illustrated by John Steptoe. New York: Harper and Row, l970. Stone, Elberta H. I'm Glad I'm Me. Illustrated by Margery W. Brown. New York: G. P. Putnam, T97l. 250 Taylor, Sydney. The Dog Who Came to Dinner. Illustrated by John E. Johnson. New Yohk: Follet, T966. Thomas, Dawn. A Tree for Tompkins Park. Illustrated by Leo Carty. New York: McGraw-Hill, l97l. . Downtown Is. Illustrated by Colleen Browning. New York: McGraw-Hill, I972 Thomas, Ianthe. Eliza's Daddy, Illustrated by Moneta Barnett. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich, l976. . Lordy, Aunt Hattie. Illustrated by Thomas DiGrazia. New York:_THarper and wa, l973. . My Street's a Morning Cool Street. Illustrated by Emily A. McCully. New Yohki Harper and Row, T976. . Walk Home Tiredg_8illy_Jenkins. Illustrated by Thomas DiGrazia. New York: Harper anleow, l974. Turk, Midge. Gordon Parks. Illustrated by Herbert Danska. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, l97l. Udry, Janice May. Mar Jo's Grandmother. Illustrated by Eleanor Mill. Chicago: Albert itman,TlQTOl . What Mary‘Joe Shared. Illustrated by Eleanor Mill. Chicago: Albert Whitman, T966. . What Mary Joe Wanted. Illustrated by Eleanor Mill. Chicato: Albert Whitman, l967. Van Leeuwen, Jean. Timotgy's Flower. Illustrated by Moneta Barnett. New York: Random House, T967. Wagner, Jane. J. T. Illustrated by Gordon Parks, Jr. New York: Van Nostrand, l969. White, Florence. Malcolm X Black and Proud. Illustrated by Victor Mays. Chicago: Garrard u is ing 0., White, Edgar. Omar at Christmas. Illustrated by Dinga McCannon. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shephard, l973. Williamson, Mel. Walk On. Illustrated by George Ford. New York: Odarkai Books, l972. Wilson, Julia. Beck . Illustrated by John Wilson. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell , l966. 251 Winsor, Robert. A Little Happy Music. Illustrated by Robert Winsor. New York: Hawthorne Books Inc., l969. Yezback, Steven. Pumpkinseeds. Illustrated by Mozelle Thompson. New York: Bobbs-MerriTl, l969. Yolen, Jane. It All Depends. Illustrated by Don Bolognese. New York: Funk and Wagna s, . Young, Bernice Elizabeth. The Picture Story of Hank Aaron. Photographs. New York: JUTian MESsner, T974. Young, Margaret 8. The Picture Life of Ralphe J. Bunche. Photographs. New York: FranklinlWatts,_l968. Here are a set of statements. will circle the yes. the pp. not circle both yes and no. 252 PIERS-HARRIS MEASURE OF SELF-CONCEPT Some of them are true of you and so you Some are not true of you and so you will circle Answer every question even if some are hard to decide, but do Remember, circle the yes if the statement is generally like you, or circle the no if the statement is generally not like you. There are no right or wrong answers. Only you can tell us how you feel about yourself, so we hope you will mark the way you really feel inside. I. DOOM 0'1 12. l3. l4. lb. 16. l7. l8. 19. 20. OKDCDVOS My classmates make fun of me ............... yes I am a happy person ................... yes It is hard for me to make friends ............ yes I am often sad ...................... yes I am smart ........................ yes I am shy ......................... yes I get nervous when the teacher calls on me ........ yes My looks bother me .................... yes When I grow up, I will be an important person ...... yes I get worried when we have tests in school ........ yes I am unpopular ...................... yes I am well behaved in school ............... yes It is usually my fault when something goes wrong ..... yes I cause trouble to my family ............... yes I am strong ....................... yes I have good ideas .................... yes I am an important member of my family .......... yes I usually want my own way ................ yes I am good at making things with my hands ......... yes I give up easily ..................... yes no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 4o. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. I I In school I am a dreamer 253 am good in my school work ........ do many bad things ........... can draw well .............. am good in music ............ behave badly at home .......... am slow in finishing my school work . . . am an important member of my class . . . am nervous ............... have pretty eyes ............ can give a good report in front of my class ..... I pick on my brother(s) and sister(s) ......... My friends like my ideas I often get into trouble ......... I am obedient at home ................. I I worry a lot ..................... My parents expect too much of me I I I am lucky ................ like being the way I am ......... feel left out of things ......... have nice hair ............. often volunteer in school ........ wish I were different .......... sleep well at night ........... hate school ............... am among the last to be chosen for games yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 254 I am sick a lot .................... I am often mean to other people ............ My classmates in school think I have good ideas . . . . I am unhappy ..................... I have many friends .................. I am cheerful ..................... I am dumb about most things .............. I am good looking ................... I have lots of pep .................. I get into a lot of fights .............. I am popular with boys ................ People pick on me ................... My family is disappointed in me ............ I have a pleasant face ................ When I try to make something, everything seems to go wrong ........................ I am picked on at home ................ I am a leader in games and sports ........... I am clumsy ...................... In games and sports, I watch instead of play ..... I forget what I learn ................. I am easy to get along with .............. I lose my temper easily ................ I am popular with girls ................ I am a good reader .................. I would rather work alone than with a group ...... yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. BO. 255 like my brother (sister) .............. have a good figure am often afraid . am always dropping can be trusted . or breaking things ........ am different from other people ........... think bad thoughts cry easily . . . am a good person Score: yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no no no