Maybe I'm being hasty.
But when I found pulitzer-price winning Alice Walker's recent biography shelved under African-American Fiction in my local Borders, I got a little upset.
Back when I lived in North Florida-- part of the rural South, mind you-- I was outraged but unsurprised to find all black authors shelved in the African-American section, and all out Gay/Lesbian authors shelved in the Gay/Lesbian section. Books-A-Million was normally comprised of fifty-percent Christian reading material, and gauging by the overall intolerance of the regional area, it only served to follow suit and segregate in this manner. I really should have been surprised they allowed sections for blacks and gays at all. Still, I was upset then, in 1998, to find books by Alice Walker shelved between books concerning African-American studies. Jeannette Winterson novels could only be found among books posing the question of what it meant to be gay.
Imagine my surprise when, this morning, strolling to my local Borders in Los Angeles, I was unable to find Alice Walker: A Life in the Biography section. (Where it is correctly placed in the neighboring Barnes & Noble.) I did a quick search on the catalog computer, and not only was the Biography qualified as Fiction, but it was only shelved in the African-American Fiction area of the store. It was adjoined by a similar shelf for Gay/Lesbian work, reminiscent of the shelving schema of the Florida Books-A-Million. Alice Walker's biography was not misshelved-- it was accompanied by biographies for Zora Neale Hurston, Audre Lorde, and other prominent black poets and authors.
A quick search on Google brings up a Mother Jones article on the subject: Color Coding. I'm surprised I didn't find more articles on the subject, and I'm surprised that several of the black authors in the article thought it was alright or even in their favor to have a seperate, segrated section for literary figures who happen to be black.
Terry McMillan notes her mixed feelings in the Color Coding article, saying "...it's insulting and flattering at the same time that we get our own special section." I wonder if people were ever flattered that they got their own special drinking fountains too.
UPDATE: I went back to Borders.. which incidentally I frequent because it joins the ranks with Barnes & Noble as being the only two bookstores within walking distance of my house. I inquired of a store manager, who coincidentally happened to be black, why an Alice Walker biography was shelved with black fiction, and why the section existed at all. Apparently Borders has no Biography section, for one thing. Biographies are shelved according to subject-- so an Alice Walker biography is put on the shelf next to an Alice Walker work of fiction.
Fair enough.
But the section...? She eyed me dryly, saying she could clearly see both sides of the argument. Customers could find the books they wanted more readily with an African-American section in place. I wanted to ask what she thought, but obviously there was a conflict of interest, as a store employee. She sided with the store for the most part, and I felt awkward asking who to complain to, as she behaved as though no complaint were necessary.
I still find the system flawed, and ultimately upsetting. What to do about it? Advice from peers mostly falls into the range of "support your local independent bookstore." Which all in all isn't bad advice, but does it help?
Posted by Olga at November 18, 2004 07:51 PMThat article was written 5 years ago and nothing had changed much. Do you have any idea what we can do about this?
Posted by: lee tillman at November 29, 2004 07:42 PMnot surprised, really... Borders is like the Starbucks of bookstores - or maybe the Walmart. ---and shit, anyway, lady - go to Duttons! or Booksoup!! it was a dark day when Midnight Special closed - let us never forget, and support independents!
not for nothing, though, but i was at Hollywood video and they had Bamboozled in COMEDY! and yet i ask you: is it the least bit odd in the context of an empire which insists that freedom isn't free... which calls itself pro-life while slaughtering untold millions... ---which can't believe it's not butter...?
:(
...ok - that's my soapbox for the day. in response to your kind inquiry, i am fine thankyou ---despite the utterly demoralizing injustices of retail of course...
...you?
Posted by: Jesse at December 6, 2004 01:45 PMyou should know that booksamillion is an offshoot of Anderson Merchandisers which is a spin out from a Wallmart distribution contract. Anderson is the single largest distributor of newspapers, music and periodicals in the country. They exclusively shelve Wallmart music, books and magazines. They are also the largest supplier of newpapers, magazines and music to independent and chain stores in the country (think Sisco for media). They are so powerful that often artists must create a "clean" version of their art for Anderson distrubution (read Wallmart) and a seperate (original) version for distribution through alternative channels. I would venture that Borders has adopted a cataloging schema or other indexing system passed down from Anderson et al. Anderson also controls much of the "at the counter ranking" technology used to determine how well and album or book is doing. Controlling the data it seems can result in controlling the indexing of the data. Too bad more of us didn't shop at Midnight Special. Between Anderson, Ticketmaster and Clear Channel the media landscape is getting locked into a big box quagmire - sell to the masses and fuck the classrooms perhaps - oh also support your indie advertisers - it actually helps :-)
Posted by: Peter at December 6, 2004 01:46 PMword UP, mutherfucker!!! what he said.
Posted by: Jesse at December 6, 2004 01:46 PMit was listed in fiction because black people aren't real, obviously. *rolls eyes*
i love it in the movie "basquiat", where, when asked whether or not he considered himself a "black artist", he responded "are you a writer, or a white writer?"
Posted by: Dove at December 6, 2004 01:47 PM