Anti-Racism Picture Book

 

The title of the book I chose is The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson. This is the link for a flip-book version https://online.fliphtml5.com/iyfow/dyul/#p=8.

This book address anti-racism by having the little girls interact with one another and become friends even when their mothers told them not to go to the other side. Clover's mom told her that the other side of the fence "wasn't safe"(3). This was due to the fact that Clover's family was Black and the other side was White. Towards the end it the books address's anti-racism by having Clover and Annie go against the "the way things have always been" (9) and sit together on the fence. "That summer me and Annie sat on that fence and watched the whole wide world around us" (25). These little girls didn't see each other for the color of their skin, but instead as another person or friend that they could talk to. This continued to the rest of clovers friend group, "...we sat up on the fence, all of us in a long line" (29). Again this shows that the kids didn't care what happened in the older generations, but instead wanted everyone to be cordial. 

Before reading this book you would need to know what time this book takes place. For instance, whether it was before/during the Jim Crow Era or if it takes place in present day. This would allow me as a teacher to explain to my students how Black individuals and White individuals were treated differently during that specific time period. I would also need to be aware the railroad track placement. Something that I came across in one of my summer classes is that there is a reason that if you go across a train track it starts to get to the more "run down" part of town or "nicer" part of town. This directly relates to the book because the mothers didn't want their kids going to the other side (or the side that wasn't like them). I feel like if I were to read this to my future students and gave them the railroad example it would give them an opportunity to relate it something in real life. 

I feel like this book did really well on differentiating White individuals and Black individuals. On page 26 and 27 we are able to see what all of the children look like. The Clover and her friends all have their own style of dresses, overalls, and other clothing that they wore compared to Annie. They also show different hair styles. On page 27 it shows the Clover and her friends with their hair braided or in pig tails with a bow. It shows the different textures that their hair could be. Versus on Annie it shows her hair pulled back with curls. The illustrator took a lot of time to make them their own person. This book really took into consideration equal roles for the black and white individuals. I felt like it didn't favor or give more power to one side. I feel like this book is great for students to hear because it shows that not one race is over another! It also shows that every child is equal and can make a change. 

This book allows students to think critically by trying to figure out what Clovers mom meant by "Because that's the way things have always been" (9). It also allows for the students to think why Annie and Clovers mothers didn't want them to go to the other side of the fence. Starting out students may not understand what was so bad about another little girl, but this would encourage them to dive deeper into what the actual root of the situation was. This book encourages students to think what causes racism and how Annie and Clover took a small but mighty stand against it!

An activity that I could do with my students using this book is the worksheet from above. This would allow students to use what they just read and apply it to real life. This would also make sure that the teacher could see if the students understood the main point of the story. I like this because it teaches students to be kind and not judge others based off of differences. Or not judge people at all. Another activity that I would pair with this is a self collage craft. This is where students take images from magazines that they feel like they can relate to or feel a connection to. This would help create a sense of identity and have the students feel empowered and not shy about who they are and where they come from. This is important because "Colorblindness invalidates peoples identities" (Colorblindness Article). So basically making sure to embrace our color differences instead of "not seeing". This activity would embrace the differences that I have in the classroom and allow for everyone to get to know each other!