Charlemae Hill Rollins - Literature Reforms

Literature Reforms

Much of the literature available to young children in the earlier half of the twentieth century was rife with stereotypical portrayals of blacks, including false dialects, illustrations, and offensive words. While many libraries nationwide did not have a segregationist agenda, neither were they quick to invite blacks to utilize the collections.

Rollins crusaded to change the content in many children’s and young adult books to accurately portray black life. Her first publication in 1941, We Build Together: A Reader's Guide to Negro Life and Literature for Elementary and High School Use, is a bibliography of books suitable for young African-American children that sought to eliminate negative black stereotypes. Biographies, nonfiction, and sports genres are represented alongside picture and fiction books for children and young adults.

Rollins was primarily concerned with providing materials that portrayed African-Americans in a positive light, as well as materials by and about blacks. We Build Together was written to create an index of “books that Negro children could enjoy without self-consciousness, books with which they could identify satisfactorily, books that white children could read and so learn what Negro young people and families were like.” She also believed that positive black literature could also help foster tolerance between races by knocking these stereotypical conceptions down. We Build Together cemented Rollins's reputation as a prominent leader in children's literature. Publishers began sending her copies of books to evaluate.

Rollins was also a noted storyteller. In “The Art of Storytelling,” she wrote, “Storytelling is a wonderful way of breaking down barriers, or getting acquainted with new people, and drawing groups and individuals together.” Her stories were based on positive news articles about blacks, folk tales, or stories her grandmother had told her.

After retiring, Rollins turned her hand to writing. She published Christmas Gif’, an Anthology of Christmas Poems, Songs and Stories Written by and about Negroes in 1963. Her passion for storytelling is reflected in the variety of excerpts from Paul Laurence Dunbar, Booker T. Washington, and Gwendolyn Brooks.

The rest of Rollins’s books were biographies, in keeping with her strong sentiment that they were the best kind of books for young children: “ includes the greatest number of Negro authors. It is here that all children can build a firm foundation of knowledge of and respect for Negroes. They will be prepared for the first introduction to the concept of different skin color…They now can feel that America is indeed their country”