My Brother's Keeper: A View of Blacks in Secondary-School Literature Anthologies

Secondary school literature anthologies, like social studies texts, present a narrow, prejudiced view of the black experience in the United States, when and if it is presented at all. Until recently, the literature included in these anthologies failed to achieve the objective stated almost 30 years ago by the National Council of Teachers of English that literature instruction should help to develop a keen sense of permanent social values and failed to reflect the multicultural and multiethnic society in which Americans live. An examination of six secondary school literature anthologies published during the 1960's reveals great variance ranging from token integration to a truly interracial view of humanity. Only two anthologies, whose magazine appearance makes them attractive to reluctant readers, successfully project a black image in literature. Secondary school students must be provided with literature which enables them to mesh their social perceptions with their artistic understandings. (JM)