Whitewash

by Ntozake Shange

In a story based on a series of true incidents, Helene-Angel and her older brother, Maurice, encounter a gang, who as part of an awful hate crime, beats up Maurice and paints Helene-Angel's face white.

Genres: Picture Books, Social Justice, Race, Childrens

32 pages, Library Binding

First published December 1, 1997

About the author

Ntozake Shange (pronounced En-toe-ZAHK-kay SHONG-gay) was an African-American playwright, performance artist, and writer who is best known for her Obie Award winning play for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.

Among her honors and awards are fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, and a Pushcart Prize.

Reviews

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Ntozake Shange's first children's book, she tells the story of racist attack against a young girl, Helene-Angel and her brother as they walk home after school. Helene-Angel, a pre-schooler, has white paint thrown on her face by a group of what appears to be adult white men and then is overwhelmed by the media attention drawn in by the attack. The ending of the book focuses on Helene-Angel's grandmother's assertion that she is "beautiful," "a hero of the race," and "A brave girl," as well as her classmates' love and protectiveness toward her. I tried finding the events that this book is based upon, and I think it might be this January 6th, 1992 incident, as described by the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/28/nyr...

The illustrations are cartoon-like and lack the depth found in other African American picture books, but they do emphasize community, family, and interracial friendship, despite malicious racism. I think it's an important work, though it lacks some of the cohesion of other children's book I've read that also directly confront racism, including Shange's _Coretta King_ and Long's _Courtney's Birthday Party_.

[Giselle Aguilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story reminds us that there are people out in this world that doesn't care about hurting people of color. However, it also reminds us that there are still many loving and caring people. As I was reading this story I imagined a child reading this to me which is because the book has an innocent nature to it. For example, the young girl did not understand why the racist gang was hurting her and her brother; she did not understand racism. The illustrations were very hard to look at. Besides the cover, the illustrations had a cartoon style yet as we get closer to the problem in the story we can see the fear and sorrow the child has due to the traumatic experience. This aspect makes the illustrations strong because they make us feel what the little girl feels.

[Hye Won · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was actually very sorrowful that even the grandmother could not say anything to her granddaughter's fear. It seemed like that adults already has admitted the world and racism, so they cannot really give any advice to their grandchildren as well. I felt really sad about how Helene got treated by gang. I can't even imagine how they put white paints on person's face. This book is one of the stories that I can use for my students in the future as it shows how much people have been treated badly and humiliated by racism. I would like to share some ideas how we can help our friends who are scared of leaving home because of racism.

[Jenny Dufault · Rating 5 out of 5]

This heartbreaking story is about a young girl who is assaulted by a gang, who spray paint her face white and follows her struggle to face the world afterwards. While this may be a children's book, the subject of racial injustice is written and portrayed so well, and in such a touching way. The illustrations used a lot of of darker toned colors and thicker, more rounded designs, and have every expressive facial features that express the girl's pain and hurt. The style of text used appeared more child like as if it was coming from a diary, which fits the book as it is being told from the girl's point of view.

[Anay Avena]

Whitewash is about a girl who walks to her home with her brother and goes through an accident. The young tired was painted with white paint as she is an African American and her brother was beaten up by the same people. Throughout the book, she goes through doubting herself, the person on who she is. By the end of the book, her friends were waiting for her and they made sure that no one will be walking alone. Whitewash is a hardcover book and the colours are dark but still shows all of the colours that need to pop out. The pictures of the book have a thing line to make you focus on the characters and where the text is placed. The way this book is set up in a square and it is horizontal.

[Alejandro Villa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its hard to talk about these kinds. It is especially more difficult to explain it to children that are still being protected by somebody's care from the cruel world we live in. Sadly, some of those kids know that feeling of being humiliated and being inferior. This book delivers justice of expressing the social issue of racism evolving whitewashing within society. Whitewashing may not be clearly seen but its slowly happening all through what could be and what could have been- the story acknowledges that.

[Amy Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book manages to be heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.  It showcases the cruelty of people, the empathy of others, and the frustration some feel when they are unable to do anything to prevent harmful things from happening.  The colors are striking and beautiful, and Shange and Sporn ultimately take a hopeful stance on a terrible hate crime.

Review cross-listed here!

[Kelly Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is detailed and well explained. It provides an insight in how cruel people can be towards people of color. It provides the ideal feeling of what it is liked to be judged on your skin color. Ntozake shows how parents, grandparents feel when they're kids come home crying about an experience no child should ever relieve. It is well written and provides great art work to have a more feeling towards the book.

[Bess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a powerful book that tells the story of a young girl who falls victim to an act of violence because of her race. I think that this would be a wonderful tool to teach students about discrimination because it talks about racism on a level that they can understand. This young girl could easily be one of their classmates, so it shows the importance of standing up against racism.

[Emily Fields · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very powerful book for children. This book can really teach them about the inequality in the world and how the community can come together to create equality. This book is about a young boy and girl who get hurt by a gang and gives them white faces when they are African-American. They both are traumatized but after some healing words from their grandma and a community around them supporting them they are able to go back into the world again.

[Essence Flowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages: Kindergarten- 3rd grade( 5-8 years old)

Summary: Whitewash is a book about a young girl Helene-Angel who is racially discriminated along with her brother on a walk home from school one evening. During the attack, Helene-Angel's brother is beating up by a group of white males and they proceed to pain Helene-Angels face with white paint to tell her she doesn't belong because she is black. News reporters soon find out about the attack and they try to question Helene-Angel because that was the first hate crime in which a person's face was painted white. Helene-Angel depressed staying in her room all day for days because she was too embarrassed to face her peers. One day her classmates come to visit her and encourage her to go back to school and they tell her they will stick with her to make sure she isn't discriminated against again.

Theme: If everyone sticks together, they can fight against racial discrimination and no matter the color of your skin everyone deserves to be treated as a human.

Personal Response: This book really touched my heart and was hard to read without getting mad. Using a little girl to show the racial discrimination was an eye opener for me because in most books authors would show a boy being bullied and trying to defend himself but using a helpless little girl, showed the other view of how things are handled and how the child responded to the attack. The pictures also added a lot the story line, showing each emotion of the characters.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book as a read aloud for a class to show the diversity of society and also during a time like black history month to show how times have times changed and how blacks and whites can be friends. This book could also be used to show how sticking together as one can help someone get through an event such as the one in this book.

Key Quote: "If we stick together,no one will dare bother you or anybody else,right?"

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked how the author decided to start the book because upon reading that sentence and seeing the illustration of the children with the scared look on their faces I was immediately drawn in. I also feel that the way they drew up each seen was very relatable to students. It also makes you feel like a part of the class at the same time. The children can also relate to the main character because everyone has been embarrassed in class before or been called on but didn’t know the answer and also the bullying that can sometimes happen behind it. I had no idea the story was going to take the turn it did as well. This is a great book to teach racism in an appropriate way. Although the book may be too violent for some children, its important they know what can happen. Racism can be a very hard and even harder to teach.

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whitewash, written by Ntozake Shange, is a wonderfully written story that sheds light on racism and discrimination. Helen-Angel is recalling a day when her and her brother, Mauricio, were walking home when a gang surrounded them. This gang bullied her and painted her face white. "Something about doing me a good deed, then about "how to be white" or "American."" This passage really stuck out to me. The author used such powerful words to portray emotions and feelings. This story truly touched me; the beautiful text, illustrations, and message spoke to me and I would recommend this story to anyone. This story teaches an important message about being strong and brave and standing up for what is right.

[Melody Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shange, N. and Michael Sporn. (1997). Whitewash. New York, NY: Walker and Company.

Subgroup: Brother-Sister relationships

Genre: fiction

Topics: brother-sister relationships, race relations

Synopsis: A young girl and her brother are walking home from school one day, as usual (despite their distaste for one another) until a gang of white boys surround them. They are told they aren't american and the boy is beat up and the little girl's face is painted white. They were both lucky to not be hurt more, but the damage was done and they were both ashamed. Through support from family and friends the children recover and are able to attend school. This time happy to be with one another and hailed as hero's for their race.

[Phillip]

White wash was a powerful piece that kept my interest through the entire story. The illustrations and bordering kept pages fresh as opposed to a stale, cookie cutter picture then text. The illustrations were interesting, they were very cartoon-like, which is inviting for children, but still lacked any enthusiasm to hook children into paying attention. The story however was very impactful, it gives readers and insight to blatant racism and the overcoming of feeling like you were beaten. This is a great story to introduce to children at a young age to show them that we all indeed have a right to be here and be who we are without being discriminated upon.

[Marissa Saul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book told the story of a young African American girl encountering racism. This book is very beneficial for children, allowing them to understand the harsh reality of racism in the South. The illustrations were very detailed, and the text was eloquent and descriptive. Altogether, this book really helped show a social issue and educates young children who read it.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was unfamiliar with this book. I came across it in a used book store and glad I did. It's a powerful story of young black girl who is the victim of a vicious racist attack.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book many times. It's a powerful tool for developing critical literacy. It is not a picture book for little children.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whitewash is a powerful and beautifully written story about discrimination and bullying. This story leaves you thinking.

[Emma Bleakman]

This is a hard book to read, not reading level, but reading about the awful events in this story. There are some difficult things to explain to children, but this book does a great job at telling a story about racism. I think it's an important book to read to students because they can really get into the story and gain some experience into what some people go through.