I'm about halfway through my current WIP and I'm contemplating changing my MMC's race. I based the character around my dad, who was white, so the character has always been white in my head. However, I've been reading so many articles about the lack of diversity that have really saddened me. Especially this one. I typically just write characters as they appear in my head, but the noticeable lack of diversity has me wanting to be more intentional.
This story is told from two POVs. The FMC is mixed (Mexican/Cherokee/German). The MMC has a best friend who is white and an older mentor type character who is black who plays a very important role. There are other diverse characters (a doctor is black, an investigator is Korean, friends of the FMC are of different races). That's how they all appeared in my head. Lately, I've felt compelled to make the MMC black as well. This article on CNN popped up on my Google homepage today and caught my attention. What stood out was this:
Except a critical part of the plot is that the MMC is a thief. He robs banks, albeit for a "good" reason, but he's still a criminal, and "black guy criminal" is not a stereotype I want to fall into. I don't want this character to get pigeon-holed, you know? I also can't change this aspect of the plot. It is the plot. The story is kid who robs banks who happens to have cancer.
I'm torn. I want to promote diversity, and like I said, I do have diverse characters. I guess I just feel like it's not enough. I don't want to perpetuate this myth of the criminal black male, but I would love for a conflicted, emotional, weak, yet strong, black main character to carry this story. What do y'all think? Am I over-thinking this? Should I just write what I feel I should write? Or am I right to stop and question this?
This story is told from two POVs. The FMC is mixed (Mexican/Cherokee/German). The MMC has a best friend who is white and an older mentor type character who is black who plays a very important role. There are other diverse characters (a doctor is black, an investigator is Korean, friends of the FMC are of different races). That's how they all appeared in my head. Lately, I've felt compelled to make the MMC black as well. This article on CNN popped up on my Google homepage today and caught my attention. What stood out was this:
I'd already been considering it, then I read that article and it pushed me to make the switch. The MMC is 18 and has cancer, he's depressed, he goes through a swell of emotions and internal struggles and conflict. It shouldn't be a complicated question, I should be able to just change his race if I want.Black man in pain is a story rarely told.
Hip-hop is considered a safe and powerful space to tell black men's stories. Yet Eminem is the rapper best known for narratives about suicide, addiction and emotional pain.
It's easy to imagine someone who looks like Eminem, Kurt Cobain or Alexander McQueen as suffering from depression. But Lee Thompson Young?Not so much.
There's no quintessential cult movie -- a "Black Boy, Interrupted" so to speak -- where we see a black man who struggles with depression or distress. There are even fewer examples of black men seeking help. "The Bob Newhart Show," "M*A*S*H," "Frasier," "In Treatment" and "The Sopranos" are all shows involving men in or providing therapy. They are all white.
Except a critical part of the plot is that the MMC is a thief. He robs banks, albeit for a "good" reason, but he's still a criminal, and "black guy criminal" is not a stereotype I want to fall into. I don't want this character to get pigeon-holed, you know? I also can't change this aspect of the plot. It is the plot. The story is kid who robs banks who happens to have cancer.
I'm torn. I want to promote diversity, and like I said, I do have diverse characters. I guess I just feel like it's not enough. I don't want to perpetuate this myth of the criminal black male, but I would love for a conflicted, emotional, weak, yet strong, black main character to carry this story. What do y'all think? Am I over-thinking this? Should I just write what I feel I should write? Or am I right to stop and question this?