Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Excellent piece by Lawrence Hill: Problems with Mockingbird

No time to comment (guest lecture to library techs this morning, SRC closing party this afternoon) but just READ THIS.

An excerpt:

"It has nothing to do with Canada. It explores racism in small-town Alabama a half-century ago. By giving only this novel to our high school students as a book about racial injustice, we perpetuate the great Canadian myth: that only our dastardly neighbours south of our border practiced slavery and segregation, and that only they had to fight for a better world. It would be hard to find a Canadian high school student who did not know about American slavery and segregation. But many students – and adults – don't know the Canadian stories of slavery and abolition, and of segregation and civil rights."

No comments:

Post a Comment