Using comics or graphic novels to teach about race and racism

Although my daughter is an avid reader of a number of YA novels, she is also an avid consumer of manga and graphic novels. That was why I opted to skip her bookshelf and see what else was out there that we don't own. The first stereotype I get to whack here is that graphic novels are not just the campy Batman comics of the 60's that I typically think of.

With the vast array of material available now, you can find those that have some serious subjects contained within those inked pages. A quick Google search brought me a cornucopia of material to sift through. I landed on the graphic novel American Born Chinese written by Gene Luen Yang, who is an Asian-American cartoonist and educator.

The novel addresses cultural tropes about Chinese-Americans, racial stereotypes, assimilation into the American culture, and this desire that everyone has to fit in to where they live. The three intersecting story lines follow the legend of the Monkey King who tries to do everything he can NOT to be a monkey so he can fit in with the rest of the world, Chin-Kee who embodies every single Asian stereotype in existence, Jin, Chin's cousin who in an attempt to distance himself from Chin goes through a type of identity crisis and changes his name to Danny, and Jin's friend Wei-Chen who seems to be the most comfortable with his own identity in the book. We are shown the struggles of these Chinese-American students trying to make their way in a predominantly white society. One panel in particular pointed out how painful labels can be, and it made some very powerful statements.

This novel is an excellent example to use in the classroom to point out the issues with racial stereotyping and assumptions that are made when you encounter people of another culture. 

I found a great lesson could be used to lead off the discussion called Understanding Stereotypes, to bring in some solid background information about labels, bias, and racial stereotypes. I also found an atrocious news piece that aired on Fox News during the 2016 election, Watters' World: Chinatown Edition , which shows how prolific racial stereotyping is in the media, even today. To point out as well some of those stereotypes that show up in pop culture, this comic could be used to discuss how stereotypes can be harmful even when trying to find a job in Hollywood: 

Once those materials are reviewed, you can read through the novel while considering some important discussion questions, such as: What kinds of connections can you make between stereotypes and racism/sexism? How do stereotypes hinder someones ability to attain the American dream? What kinds of identity crisis do many children of immigrants face when growing up in the US? Is cultural identity separate from personal identity or are they mixed together? (I found a full unit online to use for this novel, and I adapted my questions from there) I think that the discussions and writings that would take place after reading the novel will really be helpful when trying to dig into that enormous issue of racism in society.