taking up space

One of the things I learned as a child in Canada was how to take up as little space as possible. I was intelligent but insecure, and by the time I was a teenager I had perfected my ability to blend into the background. If I didn’t draw attention to myself, no one would pick on me or scrutinize me and find fault (a favorite family pastime). That desire to disappear lasted through college but by the time I reached NYC and started graduate school, something had to give. I couldn’t fight to restore Black women who had been erased from the historical record if I was silent and invisible myself. Plus I discovered that I loved to teach and that meant taking center stage despite acute anxiety. I know some people think I’m a loudmouth but I won’t grab the mic unless I have to…it’s got to be urgent for me to surrender the security of the sidelines.

I’ve written and presented on the need for inclusive kid lit for about a decade now, and I do feel like a broken record at times. But it’s rare for three Black Canadian women to have half an hour to discuss this issue—and that’s exactly what happened last night. We taped this segment for The Agenda when I was in Toronto last May, but it aired on TVO last night; you can watch the full episode here.

I’ve done a few TV interviews but it’s clear to me that I was totally at ease talking to host Nam Kiwanuka and activist/literary agent Leonicka Valcius. It still feels a bit strange suddenly being so visible in Canada, but hopefully I’ll be able to build on that visibility when The Dragon Thief comes out in October…