And they say Black people don't read....
hmmm...
Article - An Urban "Street Lit" Retirement
I've never read any of Omar Tyree's books for I never had an interest but I know people who told me I should check them out. That goes the same for Zane but I never had an interest. I have one book by each author that was given to me and I will read them to see what they are all about so that I will not make assumptions that I hear because I am very sincere when someone tells me that I should check an individual out.
When these authors were emerging I was in college studying the classics of American and African American literature. My school was keeping me up to date with competing with the real world in how I see and interpret everything. Though I wish I had more courses centered on African American Literature I did take Shakespeare courses, 19th Century American Literature, Renaissance Literature and other courses where I honestly could not relate or understand the authors but that was part of the requirement of being an English major at Spelman College and I was committed to the challenge.
When I am told that black people don't read, sometimes I wonder who is saying this and who are making up these reports. I know plenty of black people who read but it may not be what America believes they should be reading. I hope that more of my people will pick up a book about our rich cultural history and begin to understand themselves more. Now, that is power!
Comments
It's nice to see a piece by someone from the Caribbean addressing this - we (I mean people in the US) tend not to seek out the opinions and commentary of people from other countries. It's also interesting to me that the woman who wrote the 1st response (says she reads a lot) has an African surname... makes me wonder about US educational systems vs. those in former British colonies, as I suspect that both the author and the woman with the African name had a better education than me!