Don, thanks for starting your own blog. I am sorry to discover, but not surprised, that Austen Authors pulled this article because it was "too controversial." I am African American. I am not surprised that British English sent their Black children back to England to be raised. It was a common practice for slave owners who cared about their children to deed them property or free upon their death. This is how many mulattos in America received property. My maternal grandmother has the distinction of being the only African - American buried in all-white cemetery because her father was a member of the family. Her mother died in childbirth, so his wife (white) raised her. My great-grandmother was a freed slave. I recently discovered this at this year's 47th family reunion. What people think is impossible or improbability isn't. I am 64. I have an Italian cousin who is 10% African-American. We discovered each other on Ancestry.com. We are in the same age bracket. We share grandparents on my father's side of the family!
I am loving the diversity of P&P. Shakespeare wrote Othello. People of color as well as Black people have lived in the world for centuries. What is wrong with these people?
JB... What bothers me the most are reviews and comments that begin "I read JAFF (they never write Austenesque) to escape..." Escape from what?The fact that there are POC in their world? That Austenesque fiction refuses to marginalize/vanish them to protect sensibilities of those who would wish to see POC as utterly incapable of anything above being a menial laborer (god forbid they elect one President of the USA--he could only have been named to the Harvard Law Review by liberal white guilt or that his wife bare her arms--a refence to the trope of the sexulaized Black woman bruited about by white patriarchy males seeking a justification for their rapes of women slaves)?
I will not countenance any further erasure or attempts to justify it. Selling a book is not worth it. If my success depends on denying my own truths. See the opening of Book Three in "The Grail: The Saving of Elizabeth Darcy" where Darcy and Cornelius Johnson peel back the story of life in 1840 along the Ohio near Cincinnati.
I completely agree. There should be little debate about allowing POC to be a part of the JAFF. To be even more sure in the conviction of adding POC as characters in JAFF, authors should read Gretchen Gerzina "Black London".
I think followers will appreciate this reference. Also, I hope they would follow your wonderful Black Girl Loves Jane FB site...and BTW, I am eagerly anticipating "Persuaded!" Thank you for your comment.
Don, thanks for starting your own blog. I am sorry to discover, but not surprised, that Austen Authors pulled this article because it was "too controversial." I am African American. I am not surprised that British English sent their Black children back to England to be raised. It was a common practice for slave owners who cared about their children to deed them property or free upon their death. This is how many mulattos in America received property. My maternal grandmother has the distinction of being the only African - American buried in all-white cemetery because her father was a member of the family. Her mother died in childbirth, so his wife (white) raised her. My great-grandmother was a freed slave. I recently discovered this at this year's 47th family reunion. What people think is impossible or improbability isn't. I am 64. I have an Italian cousin who is 10% African-American. We discovered each other on Ancestry.com. We are in the same age bracket. We share grandparents on my father's side of the family!
I am loving the diversity of P&P. Shakespeare wrote Othello. People of color as well as Black people have lived in the world for centuries. What is wrong with these people?
JB... What bothers me the most are reviews and comments that begin "I read JAFF (they never write Austenesque) to escape..." Escape from what?The fact that there are POC in their world? That Austenesque fiction refuses to marginalize/vanish them to protect sensibilities of those who would wish to see POC as utterly incapable of anything above being a menial laborer (god forbid they elect one President of the USA--he could only have been named to the Harvard Law Review by liberal white guilt or that his wife bare her arms--a refence to the trope of the sexulaized Black woman bruited about by white patriarchy males seeking a justification for their rapes of women slaves)?
I will not countenance any further erasure or attempts to justify it. Selling a book is not worth it. If my success depends on denying my own truths. See the opening of Book Three in "The Grail: The Saving of Elizabeth Darcy" where Darcy and Cornelius Johnson peel back the story of life in 1840 along the Ohio near Cincinnati.
I completely agree. There should be little debate about allowing POC to be a part of the JAFF. To be even more sure in the conviction of adding POC as characters in JAFF, authors should read Gretchen Gerzina "Black London".
I think followers will appreciate this reference. Also, I hope they would follow your wonderful Black Girl Loves Jane FB site...and BTW, I am eagerly anticipating "Persuaded!" Thank you for your comment.