Have you ever wondered why there have been no challenges to the urban fiction (street lit/hip hop fit) that often appears in school media centers and young adult corners of public libraries? I have. And I also wonder how an educated person would suggest that we not provide alternative reads to street fiction which glamorizes drug dealers and criminals. This is exactly what I read in the current issue of VOYA.

When I was able to find time to read the journal, I was glad to see another article on street lit. The more I read, however the more disappointed I became. This raw, base fiction DOES NOT appeal to every Black and Latino student who enters a library. Although too many like to imitate a life based in poverty and decorated with recreational drugs and crimes, not all have that kind of life. Students of color read a wide variety of literature from anime to craft books to American classics. It can be eye opening to read about lives different from ours, and sometimes a good book is a good book no matter the color or background of the character. Yet, most often students prefer to read about people with lives similar to themselves. Heck, we all enjoy that! I remember when I discovered The Soul Brothers and Sister Lou and I could not believe there were books about people who looked like me! I’ve had middle class Black male students ask me ‘Where are the books for kids like me?’

After creating the position that ALL Black and Latino students read these books, the author continues to create the premise that these books that justify illegal and immoral acts should be placed into young people’s hands sans thought or reservation.

And here again, I wonder why these books are never challenged. As more public libraries carry urban books and when White students begin to read them or when White authors begin to imitate them for young adults, will these liberal librarians still promote them so freely? Will publishers begin to publish books that appeal to other audiences for Blacks and Latinos?

Now, I do know that many librarians have used these as hooks to get students reading. Even Vanessa Morris, who was referenced in this article, provided example of using these books responsibly with teens (see Street lit: Flying off teen fiction bookshelves in Philadelphia public libraries. Journal of Young Adult Library Service, 5(1): 16-23). She and her co-authors used them with reading groups, getting students to openly discuss the situations in the books. My colleague, Mary Ann Laker has found that many of her students find their cousins, uncles and even parents in these books. She requires parental permission for students under 18 to read urban fiction and she discusses the books with the students when they have finished reading. She has found that they often tire of reading the same story re-hashed and she is able to put other books in their hands because they’ve come to trust her literary sense.

I’ve chosen not to put urban fiction in my library. Instead, I work to find a variety of books that will appeal not only to Blacks and Latinos, but to students of color (i.e., not European descent) from all over the globe. Yes, even these books push the envelope from time to time, but such is the nature of YA lit. I just try to be responsible about what I promote.

Now I’m stepping down off my soap box, wrapping up in a nice quilt and reading some Walter Dean Myers.