A Critical Content Analysis of Anti-Black Racism and Anti-Semitism in Picture Books With Black, Jewish, and Black Jewish Characters

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 2:30 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Race Content Analysis in Children’s and Young Adult Literature (Table 7)

Abstract

Anti-Blackness is the most dominant form of racism in the United States (Dumas & ross, 2016). For over 400 years Black children in this country have suffered in uncountable ways. In education curricula, Black histories and contributions to the world’s knowledge continue to be marginalized, distorted, or omitted. The practice of looking only through the lens of normative white Christian culture also can adversely impact other groups of children (Blumenfeld, 2006). For instance, Jewish students often do not see their faith or ethnicity represented in the curriculum, teaching materials, and pedagogical practices of classrooms, which can lead to them feeling marginalized in public schools (Cieslik & Phillips, 2021).

Taking a look at classroom materials, scholars are aware that the representation of Black and Jewish characters in children’s literature has been largely absent in the past. The Cooperative Children's Book Center's 2022 survey on diversity in children's and YA literature found Black characters represent only 12% of book characters and Jewish characters represent a mere 2% (Cooperative Children's Book Center, 2022). The purpose of this study is to examine if picture books that depict interactions between Black, Jewish, and/or Black Jewish characters are indicative of the sociopolitical contexts that currently impact them in the United States such as antiBlack racism and antisemitism..

Two theoretical perspectives were employed: Critical race theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995) and HebCrit (Rubin, 2020), along with the research tool critical race content analysis. This framework was employed to gain insights into the representations of Black and Jewish stories and their sociopolitical contexts.We conducted a content analysis of 171 children's picture books featuring Black, Jewish, and/or Black Jewish characters. We further investigated a subset of twelve picture books featuring historical figures that were Black, Jewish, and/or Black Jewish, in which the character was coded as central to the text. (No Black Jewish characters were found in these books.) The initial examination focused on identifying elements of CRT and HebCrit within the texts.

Findings revealed acts of persecution that are mentioned in the picture books are still prevalent today. More specifically, many books referred to and centered how redlining, book banning, and violence in educational settings were prevalent forms of discrimination. This is indicative of the antisemitic incidents that have quadrupled in K-12 schools. More importantly, a few books provided insight into how groups can progress toward justice. For example, in Strange Fruit (Golio, 2017) Billie Holiday quits working with Jewish manager Art Shaw who the text indicates followed too many of the discriminatory social norms of the time.

The overarching components of CRT and HebCrit help provide a comprehensive analysis for future scholars wishing to explore the relationship between Black, Jewish, and /or Black Jewish characters. We further trust that the insights provided about the characters' representation and the sociopolitical contexts that currently impact them in the United States enable educators and scholars to gain a deeper understanding of the power of solidarity in countering anti-Blackness and antisemitism in educational settings.

Authors

• Eliza G. Braden, University of South Carolina

• Meir Muller, University of South Carolina