A MANA Moment Editorial: How An English Handbook Can Reflect Diversity

By Dr. Fairy Hayes-Scott
Owner, MarketingNewAuthors.com
Robbie Dean Press

When I decided to write an English handbook, I wanted it to be different from the many I have surveyed. Most showed little effort to showcase their students' works, most definitely not any by Black or other racial minorities. I wanted my handbook, Bare Essentials: A Handbook For Beginner Writers, to be different. 

Having an essay that focused on the service that Black soldiers gave during the Civil War gave my student, Marcus Howard, much to be proud of and added to the legitimacy of the African Americans participating significantly in history. 

Also, the most insignificant I wanted mentioned. For example, the grammatical section of the handbook listed different nouns, keeping in mind different minorities: John Red Feather, Tanesha, Mr. Okemba, and Howard University. 

A section on verb usage, again, provides the reality that the world is not one color: 

(Sample sentence): Either Gonero or Mario we're purchasing the car. 

CORRECT: Whether in an "either/or" or "neither/or" structure, the verb should be SINGULAR: "Either Gonero or Mario was purchasing the car."

As a student of twelve years of excellent Catholic education by Dominican and Sisters of Charity nuns, not one of the English texts or other texts I used demonstrated any acknowledgment of more than one race existing. The one text, History, contained one paragraph about the Civil War period. There were Black slave children playing. That was it! And so, when I decided to write an English handbook, I did not want to make the same error. 

For something as detailed as an essay about a minority and written by a minority or something as minuscule as a list of nouns or examples of verb errors, I wanted my handbook to reflect diversity. 

Yes, even with an English text's content, Black authors have represented the importance of recognizing Black History Month. 

I have recorded excerpts from the essay, "The Early American Black Soldier," by Marcus Howard. Go HERE to listen to the audio and read the entire essay posted on this blog, the MANA Sunriser. 

Visit MANA's website to preview Bare Essentials: A Handbook for Beginner Writers.