Jessi race in the bsc and Black history month

[alula]

It really bothers me how often Claudia is described as "exotic," actually. (Lol, I guess no one at Scholastic was an English major who had to read Orientalism, although I guess that book probably wasn't quite as much canon as it is now.) I guess it's because I have friends who are Asian who get some creepy guys hitting on them because they're "exotic" (and also because they expect Asian girls to be submissive, and stuff like that.)

But yeah, I know what you mean about the books making it a big deal. In one of the Stacey in New York books (I think #28) she's sitting for the Walkers and she says something like, "When I'm with the Walkers, I don't think of them as black, just as people. And I was like. . .uh, good for you? Am I supposed to be impressed?" I grew up in a town that rivals Stoneybrook for WASPiness, and I would never have said that, because, well, duh, they're people! How magnanimous of you, Stace! There's a very self-congratulatory tone to a lot of the descriptions that bugs.

In Kristy and the Secret of Susan, the Pike kids are complaining about being called "Spider" (in relation to people calling the Hobarts "Crocs") and Jessi says that she's been called names because of her skin color and "they weren't as cute as Spider." Also, in Jessi's Baby-sitter, Aunt Cecelia says part of the reason she was so strict with the girls is that she knows they'll sometimes be judged more harshly on account of being black, which for the BSC is actually a pretty nuanced comment.

[sugarandspicexx]

I also have never really understood why there was such a big deal about Jessi being black, when like you said Claud being asian wasn't made as much of a deal of... Was racism towards blacks really such a big thing in the states in those days? I wouldn't have thought to that extent. :/

[booboobrewer]

Oh man, I hate that Stacey comment about not seeing the Walkers as black, just as people. You're such a sophisticated New Yorker that way!

[m0drnmoonlight]

Jun 3, 2009 19:31:54 GMT -5 alula said:

But yeah, I know what you mean about the books making it a big deal. In one of the Stacey in New York books (I think #28) she's sitting for the Walkers and she says something like, "When I'm with the Walkers, I don't think of them as black, just as people. And I was like. . .uh, good for you? Am I supposed to be impressed?" I grew up in a town that rivals Stoneybrook for WASPiness, and I would never have said that, because, well, duh, they're people! How magnanimous of you, Stace! There's a very self-congratulatory tone to a lot of the descriptions that bugs.

In Kristy and the Secret of Susan, the Pike kids are complaining about being called "Spider" (in relation to people calling the Hobarts "Crocs") and Jessi says that she's been called names because of her skin color and "they weren't as cute as Spider." Also, in Jessi's Baby-sitter, Aunt Cecelia says part of the reason she was so strict with the girls is that she knows they'll sometimes be judged more harshly on account of being black, which for the BSC is actually a pretty nuanced comment.

There's other instances of that too, and in those cases, they just don't make sense. In Mallory and the Dream Horse, Jessi's babysitting for Nina, who's upset because the kids at her preschool are teasing her because she brings Blankie to school with her. Jessi's piece of advice is "Well, kids at school used to tease me because of how I look!" and while Nina says she thinks she looks fine, that's just such a bizarre analogy to make. Getting picked on for being a different race is a whole other ball game than being picked on for bringing your blankie to school.

I guess it became more prevalent in the later books, because Jessi turned into such a one-note character by that point. I didn't read this book, but I picked up on it when someone snarked Mary Anne in the Middle on the snark LJ and mentioned this too. When Jessi and Mallory are fighting after Mallory announces she's heading to boarding school, she says one of the reasons is because of the whole Spaz Girl thing. And Jessi says something along the lines of "Well, kids made fun of me and I learned to get over it!" Again, it's two very different instances and it's just so random and weird that the author would have Jessi bring it up as an example.

[Sideshowjazz1]

I don't really understand racism in the first place. If the sitters didn't mention it, I'd probably not even think that there was anything that made Jessi different, because there really isn't anything different. I mean, I don't understand why the sitters assume that the kids are going to think it's weird to have an African-American in the club. I mean, it was the 80s, right? We'd already passed the "Black Is Beautiful" stage. I guess Ann wanted to show a non-racist message in her books, but honestly, most kids that read the books probably wouldn't be aware of African-American discrimination and therefore, it actually might cause them to think there was something that wasn't normal about dark skin, because people make a big deal out of it.

[Honeybee]

I notices in general. People don't say, that person is yellow or that person is red. Verses that person is black or that person is white.

[cnj]

Jun 3, 2009 20:51:52 GMT -5 sugarandspicexx said:

I also have never really understood why there was such a big deal about Jessi being black, when like you said Claud being Asian wasn't made as much of a deal of.

I think it was because Stoneybrook actually has a sizeable Asian population.

Yeh, that was annoying that the early books felt compelled to point out Jessi's race more than the rest of the BSC.

Thankfully, it improved as the books went on and the later books no longer made a huge deal about Jessi's race and also did not treat the Ramseys as the "only" black people in Stoneybrook.

Also, Connecticut is a New England blue state, so although racism exists in New England, it is not as glaring or as prevalent in some other parts of the U.S.

Jun 3, 2009 20:51:52 GMT -5 sugarandspicexx said:

Was racism towards blacks really such a big thing in the states in those days? I wouldn't have thought to that extent.

Sadly, yes, it was a very big thing as late as the 1990s and in some parts of the U.S. still is a serious issue even today.

That was why there were so many Black Lives Matter protests across the United States last summer as late as 2020, especially in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Even though I grew up in the 1980s, I was fortunate enough to grow up in a big, diverse city in a blue state where race was no big deal and biracial and tri-racial families were common.

I remember being surprised to learn that in many southern small towns, flagrant racism was still an epidemic and that there were still some all-WASP towns and areas left.

I once visited a small town with a friend somewhere in the midwest and it was so weird to me that everyone I saw there was Anglo and there was virtually no one of any other race or ethnicity there.

Needless to say, I was relieved to get back home to the northeast.