D.C.'s 'Big Read' choice sparks controversy

Flyers and signs advertising events are constantly put on display for library patrons to pick up inside the lobby of the Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library on G Street NW. One flyer is catching a lot of attention. "The Big Read," big bold blue font screams out, catching the attention of Sherly Crammer, one of the many library visitors. "It's almost time for The Big Read again," Crammer muses.

The Big Read, a national federal funded literacy program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, is about increasing literacy in over 100 communities nationally and kicks off this week. This year's selected book is F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel "The Great Gatsby."

"We try to choose novels that have some connection to the D.C. area to gain people's interest," said Michon Boston, project director at the Humanities Council. "We found out that F. Scott Fitzgerald's parent lived in the D.C. area and his sister also was here."

"The Great Gatsby" is a novel that centers on a quest for love during the summer of the "Roaring 1920's." The novel itself is considered a literary classic and has been reviewed by students in high schools and colleges alike. But, some people do not believe it is a book that should be used for discussion, especially in a program that promotes literacy in urban communities.

For example, Clyde McElvene, CEO of the Zora Neal Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation, the largest non-profit organization promoting black literature, is appalled by the selection. "In my opinion the book tells this lifestyle of people living it up in the American society when that was not the case for everybody," said McElvene from his office in Hyattsville, MD. "Blacks were being lynched during that time period. We need to let the D.C. community know the whole background information of this book. Don't just give them a book and tell them to read it."

Like McElvene, many opponents of the book selection point to the racist elements scattered throughout "The Great Gatsby." For example, Tom Buchanan, one of the lead characters in the novel, expresses his dislike for African Americans and integration.

"The idea is if we don't look out, the white race will be utterly submerged," said character Tom at the beginning of the novel discussing his fear of being integrated with African Americans.

The National Endowment for the Arts, the campaign co-sponsor, encourages all ages to participate in The Big Read discussions, which will be held from April 24th through May 24th at D.C. Public Library branches throughout the city. Films related to movie will also be shown.

One discussion to be held on May 4 at Busboys and Poets is called "Race, Money and Class." It will start at 4 p.m. at its Washington, D.C. location.

McElvene and Hurston/Wright are partnering with the IKG Cultural Resource Center, an organization that promotes the discovery of historic African culture, to host a counter discussion on the novel. The discussion forum entitled, "The American Dream and the Racial Divide of the 1920's and Today" has a tentative schedule for May 21st at 7:00 pm in the Thurgood Marshall Center located at 1816 12th Street, NW.

The panelist at the discussion will include African-American historians, authors, and culture activists. They will talk about the racist comments of the novel and the social conditions of African Americans during the time period of The Great Gatsby.

"I cannot fault them. They are supporting literacy, but we are going to piggyback off them and tell another side to the story," said Anthony Browder, founder of IKG Cultural Resource Center. "There are two Americas, a white America and a black America."

"The Great Gatsby is a novel that has racist elements in it and as a person of black decent, I was taken aback after the reading the novel," Boston retorted. "But, you have to ask yourself, 'Is the novel eye opening in terms of how the characters think and see things?' You can get a heads up in the novel or get a real slap across the face in real life. The novel exposes us to real characters that believed that. It reveals a certain type of people that we would not come across in real life. That is the knowledge part of reading."

For more information on The Big Read, visit any D.C. public libraries or visit www.neabigread.org. For more information on the panel discussion on race, contact the Hurston/Wright Foundation at 301-683-2134.