[haley-casey Posts: 1 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Hello,

I'm a literary agent, and I recently read a wonderful and well-written upper-MG contemporary novel that an author submitted. The main emotional arc is a queer Black girl coming to terms with her first crush on another girl, and the query included a note about #OwnVoices. It wasn't until I had a conversation over the phone with this author that I realized when she said #OwnVoices she was only referring to her sexual orientation, not her ethnicity.

Personally, I don’t tend to mind if a white author is writing diverse characters as some of a few voices in a cast, but I usually shy away from it when it’s the only POV, especially a new author, and especially a new author writing for a young audience. I'm hoping that some authors of color would be willing to give me their opinions on the subject—even if the consensus is a resounding "no"? I ask because one of a few external conflicts this protagonist experiences has to do with racism, and while it's not a driving force in the story, it's not nothing.

I do honestly love the manuscript and think the f/f MG romance deserves to be seen, but even if the book goes through sensitivity reads and through the hands of a Black editor, I don't want to encourage non-BIPOC authors to take up the wrong space in publishing. I'm considering all angles before I choose the best way forward.

Thank you!

[HDWestlund Posts: 951 Status: Offline writer and bookseller]

This is hard, because as a parent and former bookseller, I prefer to pick up books written from a viewpoint I can guarantee is authentic. i.e., a Black character written by a Black writer. But as a writer, I know that I am capable of putting a lot of research and care into a book, that I have friends who I can ask to help me get a viewpoint right, and that I am willing to do the work to edit until I get it right. I think that there CAN be well-written characters and stories from authors whose identities don't perfectly match their characters. But I also can't say that I would have the necessary trust in a debut author to pick up a viewpoint like this in a first book. I wonder if this particular manuscript might be better as an author's second or third published book? But full disclaimer, these are my thoughts as a white, cishet author.

[dinalapomy101 Posts: 1,875 Status: Offline Happy writing to all! WWW]

I think the question I would ask the author is why does she feel she needs to write a Black main character. Does it serve the story? Could she tell this story with a main character who shares her own ethnicity?

[Vijaya Posts: 7,172 Status: Offline Encourage WWW]

Haley. It is refreshing to read about an agent falling in love with a story. It's the story that matters and if you love it, I don't think it should matter who wrote it. I know this is NOT the prevailing attitude at this time. The current climate is "drive in your own lane." But we are writers and we place ourselves in other people's shoes all the time, otherwise we wouldn't write anything but memoir (which I also enjoy very much). I value research. I value authenticity. Sometimes I connect more with a story of pioneer white girls than I do with East Indians living in Boston (I'm from India, never lived in Boston ). Personally, I'd like the emphasis to be on the story, not the author. So the question to ask is if YOU are willing to overturn any obstacle to place this story? Do you believe in it? Do you believe in the author? If so, then this potential client is very lucky to have you.

I think the question I would ask the author is why does she feel she needs to write a Black main character. Does it serve the story? Could she tell this story with a main character who shares her own ethnicity?

This, too.

[shannon-perry Posts: 5 Status: Offline Reading Saved My Life!]

I'm really working hard on this question. I felt compelled to write a story about treatment of Japanese Americans in Hood River in WWII. In my naivety I wrote it from her POV but I am a white woman. I've consulted with JA friends  here, including having one read my draft and give me feedback. I'm thinking of finding an author whose identity fits with the story - or I may change the POV to a boy whose family stole land from Japanese neighbors during the war that's been a big secret. I'd love to discuss this with anyone interested. Thanks!

[david-bromberg Posts: 1 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

 I wrote a picture book told from the POV of an anteater. I just want to assure all lit agents, publishers, and booksellers that I am, in fact, an anteater. My parents are anteaters. My partner is an anteater. My college, though nonsectarian, was predominantly anteaters.  So, I am not taking publishing space away from other AE authors  (AntEater authors). So...the book is legit.

[sarah-swan Posts: 5 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Thank you for this discussion, because my current book is about a Black/Hispanic girl who wants to build rockets and travel to different planets. That is until she's visited by an alien boy who tries to point out to her that she should learn to travel by her mind instead. That way she won't leave more space junk out there. I am an 80-year-old white woman, but the character came to me as this mixed-race girl. I also want to encourage girls of any color to understand they're capable of aspiring to such things as being space engineers. I have contacts who are from these ethnic/race groups who are willing to be my experts. They have all been quite supportive in my endeavor.

[kim-hunter Posts: 12 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Are you saying that getting this book published will push a black, queer author with a similar story out of the way? Or will it open a door for a similar story? Is there a similar book written by a queer, black, female author in play right now?

I wrote a story about a girl and her mom, a Navy veteran.  The story is about the mom teaching her daughter how to drive so they can deliver supplies during the pandemic. They came into my head as a black family. I'm not black and I've never been in the military. I enjoy a tv show about the Navy and one of my favorite characters on that show is played by a black actress. This may be the source of my inspiration or it may be the numerous black voices asking for positive images of black people in the media. If I change the family to white, do I deny the black community characters who are female, engineers, computer programmers and a proud military veteran?

But maybe my white voice should stay in its lane or should we listen to a black opinion on the subject?  How about the one that said to judge a person, not on the color of their skin but the quality of their character, or in this case, the characters they wrote.

[mrh Posts: 4,759 Status: Offline www.marciahoehne.com WWW]

it may be the numerous black voices asking for positive images of black people in the media.

What they are really asking for is more chances to publish these stories themselves instead of white people doing it. I wish WNDB (We Need Diverse Books) had instead called themselves We Need Diverse Authors (or Voices). I think white people would have grasped the point faster.

If I change the family to white, do I deny the black community characters who are female, engineers, computer programmers and a proud military veteran?

Not at all. The idea that white authors have to write the books in order for black characters to be represented is an example of some of the mindsets we need to work on (and eliminate) as white authors. There are plenty of black authors who could do this story justice much better than any white person can, simply because living as a person of color is different in ways white people can't experience and therefore can't write the deep-down truth of -- and that affects character development. And it affects what might happen to the character in different situations. How they might approach different situations.

But maybe my white voice should stay in its lane

In the matter of race, yes. You are completely free to write this same story about a white family. Why not go for it? Also consider this: if you can change your characters to white with basically no other changes, or only superficial ones, is it possible they aren't really true to the black experience? And if you write your story about white characters, might it not be a better story because that's the experience you know? It isn't quite the same thing to say "But I've never been in the Navy, been a lawyer, run away to the circus, etc., either." Those are not irrevocable aspects of your personhood that have formed you from conception to death. 

or should we listen to a black opinion on the subject? 

Yes -- many, to get the prevailing view, as no group is a monolith. But do be aware that many members of marginalized communities in general are very weary of having to educate white people on this, and they really don't owe us any more free education and emotional labor than they've already given. Also, there are other writing communities online where ALL the members, no matter the race or other marginalization (including white, IOW), will not be as kind to you on this topic as we are here. I would research and listen to what people have said and are saying on this topic already rather than start off with a question.

[kim-hunter Posts: 12 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

My story has nothing to do with race relations. It's simply a mother teaching her daughter how to drive.  And it can't be written by anyone else because it is my interpretation of a mother teaching her daughter how to drive.  They stop at a Mexican grocery store too.

I considered writing the same story but providing illustrations of the girl and her mother as different races/nationalities. But that might encourage children to only read stories about people that look like them.  Instead I wrote a story where any child can say, hey that girl likes robotics just like me.

But your premise that all white people should only write white characters brings up another question. Does every human character on Sesame Street have a different writer corresponding to their race and gender?  What about other mix race tv shows? I think your position actually goes backwards in race relations because it claims the basic (that is not race related) human experiences are specific to race. And that divides people rather than bring them together as a community. 

[kim-hunter Posts: 12 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Let me ad. "The Hate U Give" is an amazing book. I would not attempt to write it because it is about specific experiences that I have not had. But I have had the experience of learning to drive a car.  I have the experience of having a mother. If Martin Luther King's words did not impress you,  maybe black author, John McWhorter's interview last Friday on, Real Time with Bill Maher (on Youtube)  would be interesting. My story was written a year ago to help kids under lockdown during the pandemic so not related to this interview. Try to find the full interview. It's a good one.

[mrh Posts: 4,759 Status: Offline www.marciahoehne.com WWW]

But your premise
your position
If Martin Luther King's words did not impress you

But this isn't about me, Kim.

What I'm trying to do is liaise some of what I've learned in almost daily conversation (and listening, 99% listening) with both BIPOC and white authors over a period of about three years,  and do so without the confrontational and even angry (sometimes rightfully so, sometimes not) response you would face if you were to take your views to similar venues. Dr. King's quote has nothing to do with whether we should write black characters.

No one will tell you that you can't write your interpretation of a mother teaching her daughter to drive. No one will tell you they can't stop at a Mexican grocery store. By all means, they can. But the industry -- authors, illustrators, agents, publishers -- are increasingly drawing the line at what race you write for your MAIN character. (Even for non-main characters, paid sensitivity reads will be required.) And if you choose to write a MC who is not your own race, and your book finds a publisher, you'll need to be prepared for backlash as soon as the deal is announced, to the point your publisher might drop you, and if they don't, the backlash gets worse. It happens regularly.

And none of this is worth it, because there's no reason for it. BIPOC can write their own people without white people's "help." Giving them room to get their own stories published is one step that will help make the publishing industry less overwhelmingly white.

[kim-hunter Posts: 12 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

I appreciate your warning to help my career. However, eliminating all non-white characters from works created by white writers is going to eliminate non-white characters from most of literature, tv and film. The Black Panther was created by a white man, Stan Lee. So that one would have to be taken out of circulation, the movie too, to satisfy this requirement. There were black characters in Star Trek, created by a white man, Gene Roddenberry. That series, watched as a child,  inspired black astronaut, Ronald McNair,  to pursue a career in space because he saw  black characters on the show in the '60s. So where is the benefit to society if we eliminate all diversity from our stories?  Michelle Obama is appearing on a show with a yeti puppet. The yeti is a mythological character from Nepal. Are you going to tell Mrs. O to stop appropriating Nepalese culture?

Flipping it - Shondra  Rhimes is black. SHe created the show, Grey's Anatomy, who's main character is white (but named grey so have fun with that). So this would have to be cancelled too. I'm trying to point out that, even if the concept is a trend right now, it is absurd and dangerous. 

I do understand that this thread started with a first person black character written by a white author. It was also said that the character was well written with, what the agent believed, was good sensitivity.  Is it not a step in the right direction when a person of a different race has enough empathy to write a character that would be accepted if no one knew who wrote it? Writers need to stay away from stereotypes, from negativity meant to degrade entire demographics or to pigeonhole groups of people - like making all female characters stay at home moms. When POC write stories about themselves and their experiences, they do need to be read but censuring everyone will also censure them because they will only be able to include characters that look like them.

Not every story is about race and trying to make it so by requiring racial purity is actually a very scary concept. Non-white authors should write whatever stories they want to write. It can be about racial tension but it should not be required just because the author is non-white. The industry should read their work and if it's good, publish it.  But it should not be a zero sum game that requires censuring some authors to make it happen. There's room in art for everyone and art is better when everyone participates. 

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 7,007 Status: Offline Language is so cool! WWW]

There's room in art for everyone and art is better when everyone participates. 

If this was historically true, we would not be having this discussion. But the number of books by black authors is still startlingly low.  It is up to us as white people to make sure there is room in art for everyone. That may mean giving others a place. That's what is happening today.

If your story is "simply a mother teaching a daughter to drive" than it does not have to be a black mother. You may not need to mention race at all. But if you don't, many readers will assume the characters are white, and that by itself speaks volumes.

MRH did state that it's just about main characters, the lens the story is told through. No one suggests you shouldn't write the real world.  Just write it from a POV you understand intimately.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the character of Black Panther around when Roddenberry introduced Lt. Uhuru. In those times, black creators weren't allowed to produce much for the mainstream market. Hopefully, we've grown since then. The Marvel Cinematic Universe allows the cast to have input into the characters, so some of what we saw in Black Panther came from the actors and others who worked on the film. (I have no idea what race each writer is.)

I commend those who paved the way for black creators to be allowed seats at the table to produce, write, and direct their own works. I'm creative enough to write my own works that do not take someone else's seat.

[Christine B. Posts: 367 Status: Offline WWW]

Are you saying that getting this book published will push a black, queer author with a similar story out of the way? Or will it open a door for a similar story?

I wanted to mention that Nancy Paulsen addresses this in her SCBWI podcast. In a nutshell, yes, this book could absolutely take away an opportunity from a Black, queer author, in that if a publisher takes this book, and then a few months later, a terrific manuscript comes their way that is by and about a Black queer teen girl, they will have to reject the latter book because they can’t afford to create competition for themselves. This is what she sees in practice.

Her podcast is terrific and really worth listening to if you want to hear a leading publisher’s opinion on this topic.

[edited to add: the original poster clearly considered this issue as well as many others in her thoughtful consideration. I didn’t mean to express an opinion on whether she should rep the book; just sharing a resource with anyone interested.]

[kim-hunter Posts: 12 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

But what if that book never gets written? And the audience for a black, queer character never get to meet her?  You're asking  to erase black people or at least fictional black people. Haven't they been erased enough already?

Going back to the original post. If  the agent likes the work she should send it to publishers but voice her concern about the black character and talk to the author about changing it if the publisher asks. And then the breaking news can be about publishing conspiracies requesting authors change things to make all their characters white.

This situation, as presented, has no winners.

[kim-hunter Posts: 12 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Actually, my story doesn't mention race at all. It would only be in the illustrations.  There's nothing in the words. I could illustrate Muppets and it wouldn't change the story.  It's just a mother and a daughter. And if I follow your advice, no black heroes. It will just be white people saving the community and dominating the culture. 

[Mindy Alyse Weiss Posts: 3,642 Status: Offline A long journey - but I'm determined to get there!]

Long before I heard about Own Voices, I heard conference faculty speak about writing the kind of story only we can tell. It took a while before I truly understood what that meant.

Lived experiences are so powerful and help us dig deeper into a story and add layers that someone who didn't have those experiences probably wouldn't have.

It took me a while to find the best way to tackle an Own Voices picture book manuscript close to my heart--with a main character who has a hearing disability. I had critiquers question having kids refuse to repeat things, saying it was so mean and they'd do it knowing she had trouble hearing. But it happens to me all the time.

What pieces of you are in your story? You mentioned you could illustrate Muppets and it wouldn't change the story...so I'm wondering if you've interviewed your characters (especially your main character). That often helps me get to know them well enough to have them fully fleshed out, even though a lot of the info is for me and doesn't show up in the manuscript.

I've seen how much groups like WNDB and BlackCreatorsInKidLit are making a difference...and love how many more diverse creators are not only getting published, but are becoming agents and editors, too. It's wonderful that you want to make sure Black people are represented. But there are ways to do that without writing books that aren't your lived experience. You can help spread the word about their books, buy their books, bid in auctions that help raise money to help their voices be heard, etc.

[dewsanddamps Posts: 2,303 Status: Offline]

Actually, my story doesn't mention race at all. It would only be in the illustrations. 

Kim, unless you're also the illustrator you'll have no control over the illustrations--the illustrator is an equal partner and brings their own vision to the project. So your MC might wind up being White, or Asian, or a hedgehog. That's not up to you.

[mrh Posts: 4,759 Status: Offline www.marciahoehne.com WWW]

It's wonderful that you want to make sure Black people are represented. But there are ways to do that without writing books that aren't your lived experience. You can help spread the word about their books, buy their books, bid in auctions that help raise money to help their voices be heard, etc.

This is a wonderful point. We do it by lifting others up, not by taking their place.

[karen-b-jones Posts: 279 Status: Offline Will draw for money! WWW]

I'm an illustrator rather than a writer.  And my illustrations are mostly for younger audiences, which tend to have less complexity in their character development than stories for older kids.  And they don't usually touch on deep issues like racism. 

I'm also white. 

However, I don't think that lets me off the hook for illustrating diverse characters.  I feel strongly enough about that that I make a deliberate point to draw all sorts of characters when the story gives me that option.  In fact, my portfolios have been skewing towards little black girls for awhile lately. 

I think this is overall good because the market already has plenty of white characters and diversity is good for both representation and marketing reasons.  However, it does put me in the odd position not always being the best choice for the job.  Although I'm fine for general stories that have characters that happen to be one race or ethnicity or another, when the story is deeper, where the race/ethnicity really matters to the tale and the full understanding of the character, it might be better to hire an illustrator that's actually of that group instead.   I would never be the right illustrator to do the cover for a book like "The Hate U Give".  But for picture books and hi-lo books, even some middle grade (depending on the story and genre) I think it's okay not to be of the race/ethnicity I am illustrating. 

I could be wrong, of course.  But that's how I'm seeing it right now. 

I'm not sure how that idea translates to all you authors in here, but is an issue I've put a fair amount of thought into from the illustration side of it. 

[kim-hunter Posts: 12 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

My issue on this is not really about my stories. I have, of the many I've been day dreaming over the years, only two with black characters. The very simple one of the mother teaching her daughter to drive has nothing in it that is unique to black culture or experience.  My other story is about a friendship between a black girl and a white girl (yes, my experience). Kinda hard to write without any black characters. The black girl's father is a cardiologist. The first open heart surgery in America was performed by a black doctor but the real inspiration was the kind cardiologist who tried to save my husband's life. So it is my personal experience but you say I need to make these characters white.

Black people are saying, in the media, that they are tired of being represented as dangerous, criminals, drug dealers...So I write a scientist and it has to be white. I write a hero and it has to be white. I write any educated person and it has to be white. I write a community leader and it has to be white. Do you not see that this is the goal of the white supremacist movement?

That's what bothers me about this. Just curious, is anyone on this thread black? 

[mrh Posts: 4,759 Status: Offline www.marciahoehne.com WWW]

No one is saying ALL your characters must be white. You can portray positive Black characters; just don't make them a POV character. Yes, write your story of a white and Black friendship -- if it's from the POV of the white girl. And if you have sensitivity readers to give you feedback on the portrayal of any major character who is not white. Don't make the mistake of thinking you understand the Black girl's inner life, or any part of her outward life that didn't include you, just because you were good friends, is what people are trying to say.

Also, Kim, we aren't the people you have to convince; we have no power to allow or disallow you to do this, nor would our approval mean beans. What we're doing is trying to share the reality of what you will face in the industry if you pursue this as is.

[Mrs. Jones Posts: 1,311 Status: Offline WWW]

This is a good discussion, and the most important thing is that we're concerned about the issue and talking about it. I think everyone agrees that there has not been enough diversity in books, EVER. Kids should be able to pick up stories and see/imagine people who are both like them, and different from them. This hasn't been a problem for white kids. But as some have said, part of the issue has been that there hasn't been enough diversity in the number of writers and illustrators. And what Mindy added to this conversation is extremely important. It's not just race that's at issue here. I would not be the best author to write a PB (or any book) about a hearing impaired girl. Could I? Yes. Of course. It's just going to naturally be a better story coming from someone who deeply understands the experience of that girl, and in that case, Mindy is a better candidate.

Till recently, it's been an "the experience exists, so if I just learn about it, or understand it somehow better than most, I can write it." But that's unfair to all the people who are writers and illustrators who haven't had the opportunity ... what we're going through in children's publishing is a transition into a new understanding and hopefully a world that is more evenly anchored with opportunities for all creators. 

I have not heard anyone say that a white author (or any author) can't have a wide cast of characters in their book. But the current thinking is that the main character will be more authentically drawn by a person who has lived as a member of that race (or specific experience, such as being hearing impaired or autistic, etc) --- and the experience of being black or asian and living in this world right now is a very unique experience.  Besides that, I think there are more than enough black or asian artists and authors who would tell the story (from a main character's pov) better than I could as a white author. There are things about living as a person of color in this country that I just do not get. I'm trying, but honestly, my whole growing up experience, my adult experience, my motherhood experience, is/was DIFFERENT. The times I haven't been treated fairly? I can count those experiences on one hand.

Does that mean that my white main character doesn't live in a diverse world? NO. So I do my best to paint that diverse world with my supporting characters. And right now, that's what I'm doing.

Also, I have a friend who is a white PB author.  The illustrator is a woman of color. The illustrations are of a girl of color, and isn't that awesome. There was a time when the illustrator would have been asked to make the girl white.

So we're getting there, but the people who have to think about this the most? That's us white creators.

Okay, I'm late for something and have to run .... maybe I didn't say something here quite right, but I wanted to say something.

I think we're all coming from the same place in the end.

[kim-hunter Posts: 12 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Thank you. I understand that you are just telling me how it is in the industry.  A few posts did say no black characters at all. I still think the agent should let the publisher decide. They are putting up the money and taking the risk.

[kim-hunter Posts: 12 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Clarification: I am writing as author/illustrator. The delay in my submissions is my illustration studies.

[Mrs. Jones Posts: 1,311 Status: Offline WWW]

. I still think the agent should let the publisher decide. They are putting up the money and taking the risk.

This IS what agents/editors/publishers are trying to do very proactively, and that's I think what everyone is trying to say. Editors are communicating in a big way that this is the approach they are taking. They want more diverse stories from authentic voices. They also want white artists and authors to consciously reflect a more diverse world. One person who gave me a critique, for instance told me something like "You can't just describe the black characters without describing the white characters, and especially when the white character shows up first." In my case I'd made this mistake: The white characters were introduced into the story first (main character and her family) with no descriptors of skin besides freckles and hair (if I'm remembering correctly). But when the black character (a friend) was introduced I described her skin. That is a typical white person mistake... why would my reader assume my main character was white? Is white the default? It shouldn't be. The point is it's important to describe everyone's skin, and not using food as a comparison. Just be frank about the way each character looks.

We're all learning here, and we'll all mistep. But this is important, and that's why we'll all keep trying to make kidlit better for the generations to come, as well as the ones who need books right now.

Again, an important conversation, and I'm so glad we're having it!

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,262 Status: Offline]

Okay, I'm chiming in because I hàve witnessed it a number of ways & I'm just wondering how mentioning the ethnicity of the character serves the plot. In today's climate, with the sensitivity of multicultural society it's very easy to offend a number of ethnic groups.
Mrs. Jones makes some very good points.
I lived n Bradford, a city which, after London in the UK, has the second largest ethnic diversity. Unless the topic of skin colour is relevant to the character, then why mention it? Sometimes, I think it could be left to the reader to take a lead from the plot & let them characterise the personality of who they are reading about.

[Mrs. Jones Posts: 1,311 Status: Offline WWW]

Unless the topic of skin colour is relevant to the character, then why mention it?

This was always my thinking, too, Thundering. I always thought, "Let the reader put him/herself in the place of the character. If I identify any physical characteristic, that will automatically leave out so many."

 But too often, the default in readers minds is to make characters white. And that automatically leaves out so many. Yes, even if skin color is not mentioned at all.  That doesn't represent the world that we live in .... and it's sad (and maddening and frustrating) for kids who are not white to look for books and see themselves in 1 out of 1000 stories. Think of dolls, from baby dolls to Barbie, to GI Joe, and how impossible used to be for parents to find a doll that looked like their daughter/son. Also, it used to be that publishers would whitewash covers, even if a character were explicitly asian. We had a Blueboard member who had this happen to her book. Why? The publisher thought an ethnic cover wouldn't sell. And that's not right. It took writers, artists, and editors speaking up for changes to BEGIN to happen, and it has been and continues to be a tough fight.

So I agree that plot is a crucial element of our stories. Of course it is! But so is representation of all the children we write for. And it's just as important that the writers and artists who get contracts are not just white men and women.

In my current book I mention skin color (of each main character) briefly ... and I tried to do it in a thoughtful way. Was skin color part of my plot? Nope. Not at all. They were three kids (two white siblings, and their black neighbor/friend) who were different from each other NOT because of their skin color, but because of their personalities, their fears, their confidences, their desires, and their quirks. In another story, maybe these kids would address skin color somehow, how it impacted them, but not this time. I wanted to write a story first -- a fun story where skin color wasn't the issue. My characters were too were busy dealing with all the other stuff I was throwing at them, LOL. But I don't live in an all white world and my characters shouldn't either. And it's my intention to help representation get better as best I can, as responsibly as possible.

Not everyone will agree with me. We all are coming at this from different places. I certainly think differently now than I did ten years ago . . . and I hope that my thinking on this subject will continue to advance and hopefully get better.  We'll see!

[217mom Posts: 1,290 Status: Offline "Keep the child in view"- Charles Dickens WWW]

In an ideal world we wouldn't need this painful discussion.
This is not an ideal world.
mrh is recognizing publishing reality as is. You can do as you think is right, but do so with eyes open. This is where we are now.

Like MLK, I dream of a day when young'uns would read such old threads and wonder what it was about, because racisms would seem as unacceptable and alien to humanity as slavery is now in most parts of the world. I have a dream...

But this is reality. Main character's POV should be told by someone who is of the same race. We still allow gender swapping, (F writer with M MC and vice versa) historical time changes, (writing about a period you didn't live in) and even nationality change, sometimes. But race is off the publishing companies table.

I'm Jewish and the child of a holocaust survivor. Personally, I'm fine with someone who is neither writing a MC that is. But that's me. Many others are not fine with it.

Go with your eyes open. Wide.