Being Bullied because you are dark-skinned

Aminah gehört zu uns (Aminah is part of us). Petra Mönter und Susanne Maier

published in 2017

The problem I see in this book is that the prejudice against dark-skinned children isn’t properly tackled; the girl Aminah is left with no tools to speak out or defend herself – instead, all the ‘white, normal’ kids from her class decide to protect her from the older kids, without letting her stand on her own. Indeed, she belongs to them and they have appropriated her voice. 
As I read somewhere in a racism in children's books manual (Reference: Sprache-Macht-Rassismus. Dokumentation der Fachtagung vom 22. Oktober 2014; Diakonie, Düsseldorf), this book should come with the subtitle - 'for whites only', since it is indeed a book by 'Whites' for 'whites'. It has nothing to do with giving non-Whites more representation or humanising them, but simply instilling in the supposedly all-White readership the need to be tolerant to difference, even though that difference may be shocking, pitiable or simply, unpleasant. Let’s take a closer look at the plot:

Henri and the blond, blue-eyed protagonist, Ida enter their classroom after the summer break and is speechless (‘verblüfft’) when they see a new child there – ‘die Neue sah einfach anders aus, als wir es gewöhnt waren. Sie hatte sehr dunkle Haut’ (the newcomer looked quite different from what we were used to. Her skin was very dark). She is asked very slowly what her name is, to which she replies -  ‘I am not stupid, you can speak normal to me!’ Aminah was born in Syria (never mind most people in Syria are fair-skinned!) and moved to Germany with her parents. The other kids enter the class and they are all illustrated in a state of shock, whispering or simply startled. 

Later at the playground, a group of older kids start heckling Aminah – we learn that this gang of three were accustomed to harassing the foreigners (read dark-skinned children) (die ausländischen Kinder) at school: ‘Wie siehst du denn aus?..bist du in einem Farbtopf gefallen?’ Aminah is furious when they make fun of her skin colour but a lot of the kids snigger. Henri and Ida take Aminah back to class. Later at the playground, the bullying trio are back and this time, their actions are more aggressive – ‘Ausländer haben hier nichts zu suchen’ and they run away with Aminah’s jacket. Aminah starts crying while her ‘friends’ stand helplessly by.

The following day Aminah is absent. Henri thinks Aminah is afraid to come to school alone. They gather everyone from their class together and try to find a way to help. The class prefect says they need to stick together and so, they devise a plan. The next morning, they pick Aminah up from her house. ‘We are going to pick you up every morning from now on’, says Henri. Aminah is never given the chance to face the older kids and defend herself. Later in the city, it’s Henri and Ida, the protagonists who meet the older girl from the gang and confront her with her racism – Lea is planning to go to Kenia and Henri mockingly notes that there, all the people are dark-skinned, hopefully they won’t be so mean to her as she was to Aminah. Does this change Lea’s thinking and behaviour? Does she apologise to Aminah? Is Aminah still a victim of their bullying?

Lea and her gang return the next day and are waiting to taunt Aminah. But they are in for a surprise - all the kids from Aminah’s class circle the three – Henri and Ida have their hands around a scared Aminah. Now the class speaks up for a silent, helpless Aminah – ‘Lasst unsere Freundin in Ruhe…sonst kriegt ihr es mit uns zu tun’. More and more kids join in to walk Aminah home and pick Aminah up on mornings -  ‘Aminah gehört zu uns. Wer sie wegen ihrer Hautfarbe ärgert, kriegt es mit uns zu tun.`‘ (Aminah is a part of us. Whoever annoys her because of her skin colour has to go through us). Aminah’s voice is effectively usurped, her body and colour absorbed by all the whiteness surrounding her. The daunting question is – what happens when the trio finds her alone?

This is no triumphant book against xenophobia. In fact, I would argue it reinforces xenophobic feelings through the following:

Aminah is singled out and deemed strange and undesirable simply because of her skin colour

What is the norm in the classroom in Germany? – white kids, full stop.

The white normal kids take up Aminah’s conflict and make it their own without dealing with the real problem – racism.
Aminah’s voice is nonexistent. There is no interaction or confrontation with her and the kids. She remains an ostracised secondary character who has to depend on the normal, white kids to be and feel safe.

As already mentioned in previous posts, it’s also disturbing to see how many books point to the child’s skin colour as an automatic sign of strangeness, not belonging, not being able to speak the German language etc. That darker-skinned persons continue to create such a stir and scandal in children’s books is not only very distressing but very worrying about the (self)representation that ‘Germany’ chooses for itself. It’s impossible to begin to open up the discussion about integration and what constitutes the national culture when everything that is non-white gets branded as foreign, strange and undesirable.

When Foreignness is synonymous with being Black, Turkish or Muslim

Welche Farbe hat die Freundschaft? by Ursel Scheffler und Jan Lieffering (2005, republished in 2018)

2005 Edition:

Republished in 2018 with a reader’s guide:

Max ist the main protagonist in this Kindergarten story. Through his eyes and his interaction with the other kids and especially the ‘foreign ones’, we encounter difference and how it is dealt with at this early age. Two kids especially stand out – Mira from Turkey and Joschua from Africa (it’s obviously not important to state his country; the Continent is enough to place him!). They are physically much darker than the other kids. Mira initially stood out because of her inability to speak German, while for Joschua, it was his skin colour. Mira is now well integrated in the kindergarten, in fact her German is a little better than Max’s, jokes the narrator. Later, the reader gets an insider look at Mira’s home when Max visits her one afternoon. Here, we are offered a crash course on Islam – we learn about the mosque, fasting (Ramadan) and Eid, about the Quran, praying etc. When Max is picked up by his father, he notes that each person is quite different from the other. In other words, the protagonist Max is now comfortable with Mira’s difference which doesn’t seem so strange or intimidating any more, whereas his own difference is left untouched. The Other is seen through the lens of the white ‘German’ child while the one doing the ‘Othering’ remains hegemonic.

There is a seemingly interesting exercise inserted in the book with the following message – we are all different and that is what makes us special: People in different countries are different and even here at home, we are all different. However, the message seems to get lost in the overarching paternalism and silencing of the Black voiceless character - only Joshua’s hands stick out at first, but then the kids realise that their fingerprints and the shapes of their hands are all different.

What is quite disturbing is the seemingly harmless but denigrating approach to children of a different skin colour – Joshua is asked if he can’t remove the dirt from his skin. Darkness is seen at once as frightening, very different and very foreign. Joschua seems to be part of the group but we hear nothing further about him and he isn’t given a voice – we just know he stands out in the Kasper puppet theatre game because of his darkness. Differences are not presented on an equal footing and this somehow reinforces biases.

‘What colour is friendship?` is meant to introduce children to diversity and different ‘skin colours’.

What is problematic about its approach? Difference focuses solely on being Black, Muslim or Turkish. These categories are othered and therefore, different from the German ‘WE’. The humanistic argument is – you are different and come from some other place, but we still accept you DESPITE how you may speak or look. The persistent association with difference and skin colour is detrimental to a society, both for its White and non-White kids. 

PS. The interesting reading project 'Book Towers'/büchertürme.de is the brainchild of the writer of this picture book, Ursel Scheffler.

Minority Characters in Picture Books - A Disheartening Representation

‘The Tied Shoe’ (‘Der Schuh ist zu’) from the collection Danke, Paulina! Geschicten vom Helfen, Trösten und Zusammenhalten by Achim Bröger and Betina Gotzen-Beek (with pedagogic support from Sandra Grimm)

Paulina and Lea are best friends in Kindergarten. Newcomer Ayse observes them some distance away on the swing. She avoids eye contact with the girls and is too shy to go over to them. Lea then announces – ‘Ich glaub, die spricht so komisch. Die kommt irgendwo aus der Türkei‘ (I think she speaks weird, she comes from some place in Turkey). Then there is a description of Ayse – Her skin colour is darker than the girls, she has black hair and dark eyes. Ayse is often silent and doesn’t play with anyone.

Paulina asks Ayse to join them much to Lea’s annoyance (‘she is strange’, she tells Paulina). Paulina helps Ayse tie her laces (that are loose) and Lea unties them again because she wants Ayse to learn for herself, even though Ayse has objected to this. After a few attempts, a glowing Ayse can now tie her shoelaces. ‘My mother always ties my shoes. Now I can finally do it myself. Thank you!’. To their surprise, both girls realise she speaks just like them. Ayse shares her sandwich with the girls and they all play at tying shoelaces. Her dark eyes sparkle.

Ayse is not yet integrated in the kindergarten (she is playing alone). Her speech, origin and appearance seem to be obstacles to making friends. Her skin, hair colour, dark eyes and silence are used in the text to make this minority figure stand out. In picture books and children’s literature, such images within a well-intentioned context (inclusion) do more harm than good for it reinforces in children’s minds the association between otherness and skin colour/language that is not German/migrant country, Turkey (in this case).

One might think – Even though Ayse DOES look different, the girls choose to include her in their games. Much to the girls’ astonishment, Ayse DOES speak like them. She is now part of the circle and integration has been achieved!

My argument – the dichotomy in German society is not questioned or subverted. Ayse is visibly different (DARK, OUTSIDER, FOREIGNER) because she isn’t one of US – she comes from a different (read strange and weird) place that is not featured in a positive light. There is acceptance but the ‘WE’ in German society still remains White (prefably blond and blue-eyed). With a good intention, the girls tie and untie Ayse’s shoes because THEY feel she needs to learn for herself. In the end, she is grateful – she is more independent thanks to their help. In return, Ayse offers them a piece of her sandwich – there is sharing, but an underlying paternalism where the ‘outsider’ needs to learn ‘OUR’ way in order to be part of ‘OUR’ group.

Such stories need to be opened up for discussion because of all the implicit biases they showcase. It’s not enough to have a happy ending; we need to shake up the inside and let non-white characters speak from this inside too. Are we ready for this or are fear and insecurity our barriers?

Confronting our Fear of Blackness

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold, recommended for ages 4 and up.

Pinfold has been praised and awarded for the illustrations in his book ‘Black Dog’. 'Black Dog' addresses the ingrained association between black and scary, black and evil, black and dangerous.

Here’s how the book starts – one day, a black dog comes to visit the Hope family. The father is the first to spot the black dog, he panics and calls the police at once. There is a black dog in front of my house, he is as big as a tiger, he exclaims. The police laughs and tells Mr Hope not to go out, before hanging up.

And the rest of the story adopts this witty pattern – each member spots the dog, panics and asks the others what they should do. Mr Hope advises Mrs Hope to turn the light off so the black dog (as big as an elephant) won’t know they are there. The parents advise Adeline Hope to pull the curtains so the black dog (now as big as Tyrannosaurus Rex) won’t see them. When Moritz Hope wakes up and spots the black dog (the size of a Big Jeffy), the others suggest they all hide under the covers.

Then, Small, the youngest member of the family, realising something is amiss, ventures out despite being warned about the Black Dog.

What Small encounters outside is a close-up of a black dog’s face, nostrils wide open, eyes fiery and bulging:

A game ensues between Small and the Black Dog – if you want to eat me, you first have to catch me, she calls out to the Black Dog, taunting him as she starts running. The dog becomes smaller and smaller with each of Small’s mocking chants, until she reaches back home and invites the dog to follow her in through the cat flap. By now, the Black Dog has shrunk to Small’s size. The Family is relieved to see Small and when asked about the Black Dog, she lifts the washing basket to reveal the small black creature. The anti-climactic end comes across as absurd – Mr Hope is the first to admit that now that he can properly see the Black Dog, it doesn’t look evil at all. The family acknowledges their silliness and praises Small for her courage. The SMALL black dog is no longer threatening.

I think my perspective would be different if all the characters in the book were black and the dog was white. Oops! But white is NEVER scary or evil, right? The idea of the book – creating a monster from our imagination and confronting it in order to overcome our fear – is indeed laudable. As it stands, I believe that the figure of the black dog (similar to Christine Nöstlinger’s Black Bogeyman) and all its connotations play into our prejudices about black being scary, evil and dangerous.

One might argue that the writer parodies people’s fear and association of black with evil and actually takes the reader through a process of questioning one’s prejudices, confronting them and recognising their absurdity.

The Black Dog must be tamed and domesticated before the White family can accept it and see that their fears were unwarranted. Even though the writer confronts the reader with her/his fear of Blackness, I was very uncomfortable with the first reading of this book and my immediate concern is that children and their malleable minds will simply absorb all the negative associations that make up more than three quarters of the book and miss the message that there is nothing to fear in Blackness, that the monsters and evil are simply in our heads and minds and imaginations.

For a more thorough reading of the book, see this post:https://www.slaphappylarry.com/picturebook-study-blackdog-by-levi-pinfold/

It's always astonishing to observe that for white writers, 'Black' rarely conjures up associations with skin colour or discrimination. It is just one of the many ressources they use to address a topic they want to focus on. But i think it's worth underlining its nefariousness and its ingrained tradition in literary and popular culture. We also need to address implicit biases if we want to foster respect and openness in our kids and societies.

Spectacularly Beautiful. A Refugee's Story. Recommended for Ages 3 and up

Story by Lisa Lucas, pictures by Laurie Stein

'I want you to draw a memory. But not any memory. This one has to come from the place you were born', says the teacher Ms. Truong.
This is a common activity to get kids to express different emotions and to also discuss trauma or talk about different realities and histories.

Spectacularly beautiful is about Shahad's drawing - a pile of broken bricks and crabby looking faces.
She explains that those bricks in her drawing made her eye 'look like this...and my leg...like this' (we see two small scratches)

The teacher points out what's perfect in Shahad and helps her to see that too - the braids in her perfectly combed hair, for example.
Then Shahad asks the teacher - Do you think I'm beautiful?, to which she replies, 'I think you are spectacularly beautiful'.

On the last day of school, Ms. Truong announces that over the summer, she will be teaching children in a country that has a few problems. They will remind her of the girls and boys she is saying goodbye to.

After the summer, Ms. Truong returns with a scar of her own and asks Shahad if she is beautiful. 'I think you are spectacularly beautiful', is her reply.

This is a 'refugee story' about overcoming pain and trauma. Children need to feel loved, welcomed and yes, beautiful and perfect, despite their inner and outer scars. And when we give them this love and offer them open arms, that's what we will receive in return  - grateful, confident beings who exude the same warmth and happiness they receive.

The use of different colours for the children and teacher (purple, blue, green etc) and real pictures of a school and classroom give the book and story a sense of truth and connection. The 'fantasy' colours of the people allow kids reading this book to openly talk about painful things or sad memories without identifying a single country, ethnicity or folk.

All of the children seem to have an immigrant background and the names aren't the names one is accustomed to reading in picture books (Tim, Lucy, John, Lena, Pete, etc) - they are Trivien, Tuyet, Tierney and Shahad. On the one hand, one might argue it 'others' the reality of the child refugee or immigrant and places her in a parallel reality/society. Nonetheless, the stories of the children, through their drawings, show that no matter where you are from or what your story is, children are all the same - they like playing outdoors, riding their bikes, they hate eating the same food every day and they are sad when their homes are destroyed.

All in all, a noteworthy book because it manages to broach a sensitive topic- war, fleeing, trauma, loss of childhood, migration and a new home - with simplicity and love. Children need to feel loved and welcomed and need to be told they are beautiful too. Nonetheless, the book offers a closed world of refugees in a parallel classroom with no or little contact with other native groups. I believe minds and hearts can only be changed with the interaction and incorporation of these kids in a broader context. This may at first seem a daunting task since the refugee child's needs are initially more demanding. However, children have shown enormous resilience and empathy if exposed to each other under fair circumstances. This allows for learning and healing and building empathy.

Another dubious aspect in this book is the socialisation of girls to think they need to be physically beautiful in order to be acknowledged or accepted. A female child refugee is thus doubly othered - for sticking out as both physically different and female. However, the general message of empathy and focusing on what is positive in each human being is not altogether lost.

'The Sweetest Song' and 'The Blue Coat' from the collection 'The Story Tree. Tales to Read Aloud'

The Sweetest Song is an African-American tale about a little girl who ventures out through the fence that her mama and papa have warned her about. She happily plucks her flowers moving further away with each one until she encounters the wolf, attracted by the sweetest, goodest song he has heard - Tray-bla, tray-bla, cum qua, kimo'. The little girl outsmarts the wolf through her sweet goodness, singing him her happy tune all the way back to her gate, where she is safe and sound once more.
Told with a beautiful cadence, sonorous repetition and a cunning simplicity, the tale invites you to defy the rules, confront challenges and assume responsibility for your actions.
The protagonist, known only as 'Little Daughter' is a happy carefree child who eagerly crosses over to the far side of the fence, attracted by all the bright, colourful flowers. Her mama and papa weren't watching and the flowers looked so tempting. She is undaunted by the appearance of the wolf who asks her to sing her sweetest, goodest song again. When the wolf closes its eyes, she tiptoes, tiptoes slowly back to the gate. This happens a few times till she manages to reach the gate and shut it, safe and sound from all the lurking dangers on the far side of the fence.

Why I Like This Story:

- It's pure music to the ears and lips with its repetition and build-up
- The girl is free in every sense of the word, she is a curious child who is determined to pluck those beautiful flowers that seem to be calling out to her despite her parents' warning not to cross the fence.
- Indeed, there are dangers lurking there and that's why her parents warned her about it
- There is no adult intervention or punishment in the story - the girl is not chastised for disobeying her parents.
- There is magic in music and song which have the power to see you through difficult situations
- You need to assume responsibility for the choices you make - the sooner you learn this, the better
- There is a happy ending - the girl can have her cake and eat it too! As they say, no risk, no fun (originally a German phrase from a candy company)!!!

The Blue Coat - a Jewish Story - also appears in the collection 'The Story Tree'

Turning a Coat into a Story - One day, a mother realises that her son, Tom, needs a coat. So she buys the material and sets to work, making him a beautiful blue coat. But with all the romping and through the seasons, the coat is all worn out and the mother sets to work, making a beautiful waistcoat from the beautiful blue coat. With more romping and frolicking through the seasons, the waistcoast is all worn out and the mother sets about to make a bow-tie from the pieces of the waistcoast. When this piece also becomes 'tattered and torn beyond all redemption', she sets about making him a button..and when this is all torn and broken, she is left with the story about the Blue Coat!

Why I Like This Story -

Its beauty lies in its simple repetitive layers, with a new simple addition (coat-waistcoat-bow-tie-button-story) each time
It's an ode to a mother's creativity and a son's joy at having something made with love and hard work
It's a story about up-cycling and re-using instead of dumping and accumulating.
It's also about the magic and power in story-telling and taking one object and following its transformative journey.
And finally, it's all about childhood and what makes children happy - not money, not having the latest brands, but having an object made and remade with love and being able to play freely in or with it.