Sharon's Muse.... Let's chat over coffee while I ponder some things
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Sharon's Muse.... Let's chat over coffee while I ponder some things |
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Name::Sharon Cullars
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Friday, May 26, 2006 The Great Betrayal - An update on a case of Jim Crow publishing Found this update per Monica. Anyway, author Millenia Black has scored a victory in her fight against being marginalized by her publisher simply because she is black. This would be a coup for any writer because stepping up against a publisher simply isn't done, or if it is, not with the author being the victor. As I previously posted, Millenia Black is an African-American author who has taken deliberate steps not to be categorized as a "black author." She wants to be considered as viable as any mainstream writer and categorized accordingly. So, she has written two books without black characters. Oddly, the first book, THE GREAT PRETENDER, was shelved under African-American Lit, even though there was nothing in the context of the book that indicated African-American, either by character or culture. She wanted to make sure that didn't happen again, so in her next book, THE GREAT BETRAYAL, she peopled her novel with white characters. And then was flatly told by her publisher that she would have to change the characters from white to black. That was the last straw for the author, who decided to fight than cave in. Rumor had it that she even retained a lawyer in a possible racial discrimination suit. That was several weeks ago. Now Millenia is back to report that her publisher has now acquiesed to keeping the characters as written. They will redo the cover (yes, they had already printed up a cover with black characters even though they didn't match the story; that's how sure they were that Millenia would capitulate). But my girl carried on with her torch, and got what she wanted and deserved. Moral of the story: it does pay to fight when you know without a doubt that you are being wronged. Concession and compromise have been trumpeted so long in the publishing industry that the industry takes notice when someone actually takes a stand. In Millenia's own words: "a final thought, I think it's a shame that, as an American author in America, I've essentially been forced to take extremely burdensome steps, obtain an attorney, to assert and preserve my right to non-racial treatment---a grossly fundamental freedom---but still, in 2006, an insidious privilege in the United States. "Once all is said and done, my hope is that all authors will be treated as per the content and merit of their work---not the color of their skin..."
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