Author to Talk About Book's Removal From Schools

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Matt de la Peña

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Matt de la Peña writes about a boy like himself in Mexican WhiteBoy, a young-adult novel that was one of several books removed from Tucson, Ariz., classrooms last year.

De la Peña, who has taught creative writing at New York University and Vermont College, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, on the University of Arkansas campus on the topic, “Writing for Social Justice: Representing Multiculturalism in Young Adult Literature.” His lecture in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main is free and open to the public. It is being presented by the College of Education and Health Professions.

“As we prepare to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s Day and the progress we’ve made as a country in working to dissolve social barriers, it’s important that we acknowledge the inequities that continue to stand in the way of our fully realizing his dream,” said Sean Connors, assistant professor of English education who is coordinating the event. “By depicting the experiences of diverse characters in his novels, Matt attempts to do just that.”

De la Peña’s books explore the economic inequalities that marginalize the poor and working class in American society. Having grown up poor in a Mexican-American border town, the son of a white mother and a first-generation Mexican-American father, de la Peña acknowledges the roles that race and income level play in defining perceptions of contemporary urban teens.

In his lecture, de la Peña will talk about the removal last year of his novel Mexican WhiteBoy from classrooms in the Tucson School District after the state of Arizona passed a law making it illegal to teach courses in public schools that focus on a single ethnic group. A Mexican-American student at Tucson High School raised $1,000 to bring de la Peña to speak at the school a few months after the district discontinued its Mexican-American studies program.

“This past year, National Public Radio invited listeners to nominate their favorite young adult novels,” Connors said. “Of the resulting 100 titles that appeared on the final list, only two protagonists were persons of color. By bringing Matt to the University of Arkansas campus, our intention is to celebrate diversity, not only in young adult literature, but also in our greater Northwest Arkansas community. Like young adult literature, which has managed to find a following with adults and college students as well as teenagers, this event will appeal to a range of audiences.”

De la Peña’s writing enables teen readers to see a piece of themselves in true-to-life characters, many of whom are disenfranchised, alone, and trying to overcome their pasts. Lacking traditional support systems, they often face situations that are out of their control.

In addition to Mexican WhiteBoy, de la Peña also wrote Ball Don’t Lie, I Will Save You and We Were Here. All four books were named either a Best Book for Young Adults or one of the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers by the American Library Association, Young Adult Library Services Association.

Sponsors of de la Peña’s lecture are Dean Tom Smith of the College of Education and Health Professions, the College Council of the College of Education and Health Professions and the Center for Children and Youth, which is also based in the college.

De la Peña will also speak to area junior high and high school students while he is in Arkansas.