This definitely says that there were no people of color in the room to make those decisions. But then we're shouted down or talked over, so it rolls out. Because if you did think that that was a thing that could happen, you would have things in place and people in place to be able to prevent it from happening, right? I've been that person, you know, that one black voice, that one person of color in the room or maybe there are two or three of us who says, maybe this isn't a good idea. No one thinks they're capable of making mistakes at this level. We're doing that, so feature those books if that's the angle you want to go. Or if you want to do this thing where you connect to the ideas of the classic canon, we are out there writing reimaginings and retellings and putting ourselves in the narratives of these stories. Give their covers updates and put them on your tables. If you're wanting to put a spin on classics, feature classics that are by black and brown authors. It's not going to sell the book.''īook Reviews For October, 3 Romances To Keep You On The Path To Happily Ever Afterįeature black people, that's the beginning and end of it. Just maybe one, two years ago, people were saying in meetings, 'Yeah, you can't put black people on covers. They're essentially just slapping a cover on it to 'celebrate diversity.' But a lot of us felt that you're just trying to cash in on the fact that it's Black History Month, and now all of a sudden, black faces and brown faces will sell books. 'And none of this has changed within the contents of the story itself. 'It's still a story by a white author, featuring a white character, told via the white gaze,' McKinney says. Out of the 12 books chosen for the campaign, only one was written by a black author - The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas.

In the statement, the chain said 'it was a project inspired by outwork with schools and was created in part to raise awareness and discussion during Black History Month, in which Barnes & Noble stores nationally will continue to highlight a wide selection of books to celebrate black history and great literature from writers of color.'īut what was supposed to be a celebration of diversity to kick off Black History Month turned into a moment where black writers weren't actually part of that celebration. And none of this has changed within the contents of the story itself. It's still a story by a white author, featuring a white character, told via the white gaze.

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