Scholastic pulls book about Washington's slave
The book, A Birthday Cake for George Washington, written by Ramin Ganeshram and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, had been released by Scholastic in early January. Almost immediately, critics raised questions about whether it offers a rosy picture of slavery--or simply presents a snapshot of one slave who attained a position of status.
On Jan. 17, the publisher announced that it was pulling the book, although A Birthday Cake for George Washington is still available through third-party sellers. Here is the background:
About the book: The book's description on Amazon.com reads: "Everyone is buzzing about the president's birthday! Especially George Washington's servants, who scurry around the kitchen preparing to make this the best celebration ever. Oh, how George Washington loves his cake! And, oh, how he depends on Hercules, his head chef, to make it for him. Hercules, a slave, takes great pride in baking the president's cake. But this year there is one problem--they are out of sugar." The narrator of the story is Delia, the chef's young daughter.
Reaction: A review in the School Library Journal points out that “when Washington congratulates Hercules on a job well done, Hercules responds, ‘An honor and a privilege, sir.’ Young readers without sufficient background knowledge about the larger context of American slavery may come away with a dangerously rosy impression of the relationship between slaves and slave owners, and those with a deeper understanding are likely to find this depiction offensive.”
The author's explanation: On the Children’s Book Council website, Ganeshram wrote that the discussion and criticism has “been focused on the literal face value of the characters. How could they smile? How could they be anything but unrelentingly miserable? How could they be proud to bake a cake for George Washington?”
She points out that some slaves had a better quality of life than others.
“It is the historical record--not my opinion--that shows that enslaved people who received 'status' positions were proud of these positions--and made use of the 'perks' of those positions. It is what illustrator Vanessa Brantley-Newton calls out in her artist’s note as informing her decision to depict those in A Birthday Cake For George Washington as happy and prideful people.
“In a modern sense, many of us don’t like to consider this, fearing that if we deviate from the narrative of constant cruelty we diminish the horror of slavery. But if we chose to only focus on those who fit that singular viewpoint, we run the risk of erasing those, like Chef Hercules, who were remarkable, talented, and resourceful enough to use any and every skill to their own advantage.”
An editor's point of view: “Delia, Hercules’ daughter, often worked alongside her father, and was also keenly aware of her life as an enslaved person,” writes Andrea Davis Pinkney, vice president and executive editor of Scholastic Trade Publishing, in a blog post. “In A Birthday Cake for George Washington, young Delia tells us the story of how her remarkable father does the impossible and makes a birthday cake for the most famous man in America--without any sugar.The story illuminates Hercules’ purposeful work as a chef and the pride young Delia feels at the tremendous achievements of her father.”
Pinkney also notes that the illustrator "took great care in her research, which revealed that Hercules and the other servants in George Washington’s kitchen took great pride in their ability to cook for a man of such stature."
They were not happy about being enslaved, she wrote, "but there was joy in what they created through their intelligence and culinary talent."
Why Scholastic pulled the book: In its decision to pull the book, the publisher noted: “While we have great respect for the integrity and scholarship of the author, illustrator and editor, we believe that, without more historical background on the evils of slavery than this book for younger children can provide, the book may give a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves and therefore should be withdrawn.
“Scholastic has a long history of explaining complex and controversial issues to children at all ages and grade levels. We do not believe this title meets the standards of appropriate presentation of information to younger children, despite the positive intentions and beliefs of the author, editor, and illustrator.”
The website for George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, has devoted a page to Hercules. Born in approximately 1754, Hercules was "mortgaged" to Washington in 1767. He married one of Martha Washington's slaves, Alice, and the couple had three children, Richmond, Evey and Delia. By 1786, he was listed as chief cook for the Mansion House. When he became president, Washington brought Hercules with him to Pennsylvania.
"The Washingtons often returned their slaves to Mount Vernon from Philadelphia to circumvent a Pennsylvania law that allowed slaves to claim freedom after residing in the state for a minimum of six months," Mount Vernon's website explained.
Soon after returning to Virginia in 1797, Hercules was assigned to regular labor--as opposed to his chef duties. He ran away.
To know more:
- Children's Book Council Diversity website: The First Bite: Slicing Through a Birthday Cake to Reveal Layers of Truth by Ramin Ganeshram.
- George Washington's Mount Vernon: Hercules.
- Scholastic: New statement about the picture book: A Birthday Cake for George Washington.
- Scholastic: Response on A Birthday Cake for George Washington.
- Scholastic: A proud slice of history.
Related:
5 reasons to note Washington's birthday
Quick Study: George Washington
Quick Study: Who are the Founding Fathers?
Cartoon Truth: Yellow Fever in Philadelphia
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