by Carmen Van Kerckhove
I have a confession.
For the past few months I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around starting a book proposal. But I’m having a really hard time figuring out what kind of book I want to write.
It’ll be about race, of course. That much I know. But beyond that, I’m struggling with pinning down my idea. One day I’ll be absolutely sure I want to write a sort of “the state of race in America today” book. The next day, I’ll be more into the idea of writing a primer on race. The week after that, I’ll be convinced that a memoir is the way to go.
I have no shortage of ideas, no shortage of things I want to say. It’s just the exercise of wrestling it into some kind of framework… that’s the part I’m finding most challenging.
In short, I need some help. 
I would really, really appreciate it if you would take 15 minutes out of your day to fill out this survey.
The more detail you can provide, the more helpful you’ll be. Also, when thinking of other books on race that you’ve read in the past, please don’t limit them to non-fiction books. If you’ve read novels or memoirs that deal with race in a significant way, please include those as well.
Thank you so much! YOU are the audience for this book, so I want to make sure I deliver what you need and want.
Look on your book shelf at your favorite biography and then use that as a template and for inspiration. Rebbecca Walker’s auto-biography is a great example of how to write a fresh memoir.
When you write a primer on race please do NOT leave out Paul Robeson, who was central to the US civil rights and anti-colonialist movements which fought for the liberation of all races.
Best wishes
Check out Soong-Chan Rah’s new book “The Next Evangelicalism”. It focuses on the cultural captivity of the church in the US and how the “white” church is decreasing in numbers whereas the multi-racial and minority churches are thriving. Very good stats and insights in his book.
Notate each premise or idea and dedicate a day or so of freewriting to each one. The exercise might stimulate your creativity or clarify what you want to spend the time working on. All of your ideas may be good but one or a comination of two or more might be more relevant at this time in your life and this time in American history.
Rah’s book above comes from a very strong religious perspective and I don’t think you’ll be writing for / from that angle.
I think a memoir might be better because it reaches across the aisle and might communicate more effectively to those who otherwise don’t give much thought to race issues. You would win over more people in the process, and not just talk to those who are already in the race dialogue.
Hey everyone,
Apologies for the late response. Sean got her first cold this week
and of course, I caught it too. So I’m catching up on work today…
Amanda – Thanks for the tip! Rebecca Walker is definitely an inspiration, though I’m not sure I want to do a straight-up memoir.
Holly – That sounds really fascinating, thanks for letting me know about this book – I hadn’t heard of it.
dymond – I have to say, for a linear-thinking Type A like myself, freewriting is such a challenge. I know it’s stupid but I always feel like I have to have an outline before I can write anything. I blame my British-style high school education, but really it’s probably just my problem. I’m working on it though!
Wayne – Yeah I’d definitely like to include memoir-ish elements, but I’m not sold on doing a straight-up memoir just because my life hasn’t really been dramatic enough… But I agree with you that good story-telling is key when not preaching to the choir.
Hi Carmen,
Try writing about ending racism, rather than dancing with it. I don’t see any books written about ending such a powerful system. Even if it’s not possible it would be nice to see what the idea would look like. Although I am aware that writing such a thing would not make you much money, because those who have tried have faded away. Making candid, politically incorrect, truth popular and profitable is a hard thing to do, but it’s worth a try.
As an African American/American Indian mother of a multi-racial 11 -year-old son, how do I teach my son on the issue of racism,and the effects of how to deal with this particular topic. In 2007, my then nine year old son sustained a broken arm while playing on the playground at school, the child who attacked him stated that the reason why he attacked my son was because he love the KKK,and the school that my son attended took the position of protecting the child who attacked my child,and every since the attack, my so labels every caucasian he sees a racist,and he is contantly saying that he dislikes African Americans because they did’nt come to his defense at school
My son is of African American/Hawaiian/Japanese/German/Jewish descent.
The African American kids at school refer to him as “Obama look-a-like” and the white kids refer to him as just “black”, and they have spit in his face,he hates being refered to as just black, he contantly asks ” Why is everyone at my school calling me black,”
I have raised my son with a sense of diversity,and I’ve always taught him that hating is wrong but he refuses to accept what I’m saying since his attack, he has totally changed he use to be a fun loving happy little boy,and now he does not trust people at all. He only communicates with asian or hispanic kids.