What Can We Do?

The publishing industry itself is a huge part of the issue in the lack of representation in all forms of literature. Take a look at the image above, on the left. The publishing industry is overwhelmingly made up white, cis women. This is an issue. If we want diverse literature, we should have diversity in the industry. Now take a look at the image on the right. That image is a few years old, but shocking and unsettling. More children's books were about animals/other in 2018 than POC children. Everyone reading this should be astounded and disgusted. However, we can promote change with our actions. The best way to do so is to use our money to promote books by POC and LGBTQ+ authors. We can use our money as a voice and vote, in a sense, for diverse books. If we all pick up, for example, Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de La Pena and Christian Robinson, a children's book featuring POC characters, at the local bookstore, then we can put pressure on publishers to publish more of that book. This in turn ensures that diverse voices are heard more and more because the publishing industry will see what we, the readers, are buying, and what we want. Don't only do this with children's books, pick up banned books at the store and other representative novels. We, as consumers, have the power to demand diversity in literature. It's especially important that children grow up learning about people other than themselves, and seeing themselves represented. These books encourage empathy, compassion, and acceptance, all of which we need more of in our society.