MORE ABOUT WRITING BLACK…IF YOU’RE WHITE
It isn’t that I would never include Black characters in my writing, assuming it felt right.
In fact, I have long known that Ray, Henry King’s long-time partner in the Kansas City Police Department, was Black, and he and his wife Rose show up in one of my novels and in a short story ( “A Dangerous Dance”) in “Solving Peculiar Crimes.”
But I let them be themselves, and it felt a lot like them telling me about how they fit in a story rather than me creating space inside their thoughts and actions as part of the story, like I often do with other characters. All in all, that turned out to be a very pleasant experience.
Haven’t a clue if I am unusual in this thinking and in what I write as a result. Maybe others can add to these ideas,–or dispute them.
Radine
newest »
Radine, I wrote a short play, "Someday," that had black characters. The setting of the play, Gurdon, AR, lent itself to doing so. I lived in Arkadelphia, a neighboring town, and understood the racial makeup of the area. I also grew up in Texarkana, AR, with black kids; we went to school together. So, I felt comfortable in writing such characters. However, that doesn't mean I truly understand the black experience in this country (the play's plot didn't revolve around racial issues). I have, I think, caught glimpses. For example, I once held a job sacking groceries in a store near the downtown area of Texarkana. It was surrounded by a black neighborhood, but the owner and all the employees were white. I got the job, I found out from an employee there, because I was the only white applicant.
