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Reviews
Jwajiku
Korantema.
I'm African and Proud.
Illustrated by Kenya Lovelace
Brown Books Publishing
Group Hardcover, $19.95 20 pages, illustrated
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I’ve taught
in New Jersey schools for 32 years, 21 as a
kindergarten teacher. I’ve seen so many
children of African descent who have low
self-esteem and… didn’t like themselves:
their hair, nose, lips and other features.
Many parents
would be surprised to know that some
children today still call each other
derogatory names, refer to one another as
‘nappy-headed,’ or say, ‘You black this and
you black that,’ equating black with an
insult. Some even use the N-word. They still
prefer dolls with long straight hair,
because that’s what’s presented as the
beauty standard on billboards and on
television.
This book is
written primarily with preschool through
third grade in mind. However the messages is
for all ages… I want them to know that they
are a beautiful people.
—Jwajiku
Korantema on her inspiration for the book |
In the wake of Don Imus’
dismissal for his racist comments about the Rutgers
Women’s Basketball Team, it appears that some good has
been coming out of the ugly incident. For many
responsible leaders have pointed out that the sanctions
shouldn’t stop there and that the time has arrived for
the black community to purge itself of certain
self-destructive elements of African-American culture,
beginning with gangsta’ rap lyrics.
A critical aspect of
reversing the mindset involves instilling a positive
sense of self in the very young. With that goal in mind,
Jwajiku Korantema has written a timely book entitled
“I'm African and Proud.” Ms. Korantema, ironically,
happens to be a graduate of Rutgers herself which makes
this contribution to children’s literature all the more
significant.
As an educator with over
thirty years’ experience, most with kindergarteners, she
is well aware of the importance that the formative years
play in shaping a child. So, her elementary picture book
delivers positive messages about African ancestry,
features, contributions and potential.
The text’s lilting
rhymes are accompanied by lush illustrations by a gifted
artist named Kenya Lovelace whose soothing airbrushes
were created from photos of the author’s son, her former
students, folks from the community and role models such
as Dr. Martin Luther King. A joyous celebration of
blackness which ought to make a great bedtime read for
impressionable young minds.
* *
* * *
Mirah Riben
The Stork Market:America’s Multi-Billion Dollar
Unregulated Adoption Industry
Foreword by Evelyn
Robinson Advocate
Publications Paperback 260 pages, illustrated
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Adoption pits
woman against woman, rich against poor,
making it painfully difficult to look at and
admit. Adoption is racist and classist and
often exploits women and commodifies their
babies.
Mothers who
are resourceless and struggling to keep
their family together can either be offered
the help they need to stay together or be
seen as a source of supply to meet a demand.
Mothers and other family members in
developing countries unable to feed their
babies could be sent the funds they need to
do so, or have their misfortune exploited
for another’s advantage.
—Excerpted
from Chapter II (p.19): Motherhood, Myths
and Metaphors |
In the rush to anoint
icons like Madonna and Angelina Jolie for sainthood
following their adoptions of babies from Africa and
Asia, no one seems to be stopping to ask how widespread
this practice might be or whether it’s in the best
interest of the children and their birth parents. But
common sense ought to tell you that no mother really
wants to surrender her offspring to a stranger from
another culture or country, especially when the reason
really has more to do with money than with maternal
instincts.
Sadly, this readily
identifiable and burgeoning phenomenon is not at all
limited to celebrities, but a big business which is
depleting the Third World in much the same way those
regions have been drained of their natural resources.
Fortunately, one intrepid reporter, Mirah Riben, has had
the guts to investigate this shameful trafficking in
infants, and she is now blowing the cover off the racist
racket in The Stork Market: America’s Multi-Billion
Dollar Unregulated Adoption Industry.
In fact, Ms. Riben has
been speaking out about the need to reform, humanize,
and de-commercialize American adoption practices for
nearly three decades. She first started to shed some
light on this complex issue back in 1988 with the
publication of her previous book, The Dark Side of
Adoption. With a slightly shifted focus, The Stork
Market is a thoroughly-researched expose’ which
zeroes-in on every aspect of the black market baby
trade.
As a staunch family
advocate, the author also takes aim here at the foster
parenting system, pointing out that “The same funds used
to support foster care could be used to help preserve
families and eliminate child removal.” However, the bulk
of this invaluable book covers the corruption in the
adoption industry: the scams, coercion and exploitation
rampant in a market based on supply and demand where
prices are based such factors as age and skin color, and
the cost of the “merchandise” is set as high as the
often desperate consumers are willing to pay.
Highly-recommended for
anyone touched by adoption in any way, whether
considering it, working in the field, or if simply
interested in child protection and family preservation.
posted 2 May 2007 |
