The Whitewashing of YA book covers . . . it does matter

This is a well researched article with good visuals attesting to the whitewashing of Young Adult covers in the publishing world. Here’s an excerpt and link to the full engrossing blog post:

 

It Matters If You’re Black or White: The Racism of YA Book Covers by Ann Schutte

Most of the time, I love young adult literature and am proud to be a YA librarian. But there’s usually a moment once a month when I feel sick, tired, and embarrassed to be working with YA books for a living — and that’s when I flip through my stack of review journals and see a menagerie of gorgeous white girls staring back at me from the covers of upcoming releases.

Whitewashing in YA

If a YA book features a white, female protagonist (and this accounts for a not insignificant portion of YA released each year), it seems inevitable that the book cover will display an idealized and airbrushed masterpiece of her on the cover. And when a YA book actually does have a protagonist of color, too often one of three things seems to happen:

 

Please read the entire article here:

http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2012/12/10/it-matters-if-youre-black-or-white-the-racism-of-ya-book-covers/

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