Barack Obama has not just stood out as a senator and presidential-elect per se.
He is also a source of hope as a role model, and a fairly a tech-smart one at that. Far more than his predecessors, he is comfortable with electronics and the use of the Net as a tool for fund-raising and organizing.
The e-book angle
Now here’s an e-book-related issue. Is it possible President-elect Obama could further literacy by reading an e-book from time to time and telling the press about it?
Granted, paper books exist, too, and the world is already talking about his reading them—and even writing them. But e-books have a special role to play in literacy campaigns among African-Americans and other minorities and young people in general:
- They can easily be distributed on many phones and MP3 players, including iPod Touches. Imagine the benefits in rural areas and urban neighborhoods without good libraries nearby. Having better eyes and a more open attitude, young people are more likely to try out smaller screens than older users are. What’s more, big-screen e-book readers will appear in the future and come down in price. Furthermore, improved book distribution isn’t just a minority issue. Some Caucasian Alaskan are hundreds of miles from well-stocked libraries.
- Distribution is cheaper and easier than for p-books, especially in an era when even giant bookstore chains like Borders are are in peril. At least some savings can be passed on to consumers even if editorial costs and some other expenses will be the same. There is a shortage of good books with minority themes, and E would be one way of economically addressing it.
- Freebies are available of many classics, including some by minority writers (not enough of these books—but a start).
- Young people lead busy lives; now what if they could check out p-books at the library and download the e-versions to read when they were in line at the movies or were stuck in study hall? Cellphones are spur-of-the-moment devices that the young can stash away in pockets or purses (at least when schools allow phones and other electronics). Dedicated readers could be used, too, especially within school systems that banned phones and other interactive devices.
- Some of the young would actually rather press a button than turn a page. So reports an acquaintance of mine who works with K-12 students from a Virginia housing project.
- E-books could reduce backstrain from p-textbooks. Not every textbook lends itself to digitization, especially for small screens. But many do.
No, I don’t have an illusion that all minority children will suddenly start reading E and P just because the Obama loves books ranging from Roth novels to Moby Dick. And tech is just part of the equation: parents and teachers count far more. But E could help. And if Mama wants to read a Harlequin romance on a cellphone—well, even that could be useful to her as a role model.
Beyond e-books
Needless to say, I would encourage Obama to consider the TeleRead proposal, which consists of three parts: a well-stocked national digital library system blended in with local libraries and schools, the promotion of the availability of appropriate hardware and connections, and multiple uses.
With appropriate hardware in the hands even of the poor, it would be easier for Obama to automate government and encourage the same in areas such as health care. I’m not just talking about the financial aspects. How about e-books for health education? Or tracking fitness efforts? And what if patients, discharged from the hospital, could instantly receive instructions on proper pill dosages and have them consolidated in standard, easy-to-absorb formats? Government and industry could work together toward this goal.
Helping public libraries cope with a dreaded Google scenario
Another pro-TeleRead argument is the threat of libraries being able to offer just limited, terminal based access to copyrighted Google-stored books. Nothing against Google. In fact, I’m a very small shareholder. But this scenario is a stinker. Let Google and other companies serve as contractors with arrangements, too, for proper compensation for actual publishers and writers (a goal of a recent agreement). Just please: Use TeleRead and related hardware—from a variety of vendors—to bring the e-books home!
About the African-American e-coloring book shown in this post: I spotted it at Diesel E-Books. I have no idea whether it’s good or bad. I’ll welcome reader comments on it—as well as recommendations on the best places to buy e-books for minority children.
Related: Statistics suggesting that the iPhone is more attractive to low-income people than expected (scroll down toward the end of the item).
The tone of this post was perhaps more condescending than the author intended.
FYI – African-American and “low income” are not synonymous. Also, African-American youth are not inherently averse to reading, nor is there only exposure to technology centered around cellular phones. Your readers who live in ethnically homogenous areas or have limited positive experiences with non-whites might be inclined to jump to such conclusions after reading this post. I know that you feel very strongly about e-books but contributing to the persistent defamation of a whole race of people is an awfully counterproductive and silly way of achieving your goals.
Pardon my spelling and syntax, I’m a tad drowsy.
Many thanks for speaking out, R.H.S. African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and other minorities—plural—are very diverse even within their groups. I totally agree with your major point, then, but also will stand by the original post.
First let’s look at our areas of strong agreement. In education, Barack Obama is a world apart from many African-Americans and whites at the grassroots level—enough for some political enemies to see him as an elitist, irony of ironies. For me, he’s a perfect example of this diversity among African-Americans (a label I’ll use for convenience since, to be precise, some would prefer the word “multiracial” to describe him—an issue I won’t address here).
Nowhere, in fact, do I say that all African-Americans are poor or live in the slums. Furthermore, if the word “minorities” is used, we could well be including Asians, too, many of whom have out-achieved Caucasians. I’ll live longer because of the brilliance and steady hands of the Asian surgeon who presided over my heart bypass and did the actual sewing. What a shame that the U.S. corporate world, even today, often discriminates against Asians. Significantly, the doctor excels not just in the operating room but also as a leader.
All this leads to the leadership, economic and role model issues in the Obama context. Partly because of discrimination, many African-Americans and some other members of minorities, including Asians, have not seen themselves or peers as presidential material. Many bright young African-Americans even have trouble envisioning themselves as candidates for upper-middle-class life, period, despite progress over the years. The Obama winning of the presidency doesn’t instantly clear away self-image problems or actual racial or class discrimination but certainly is a good step in this direction. And what is one way in which Barack Obama overcame the barriers? Reading, of course.
In the post, I’m suggesting that e-book-reading, which can happen economically on cellphones and at the spur of the moment, is a habit to encourage. Not just among minorities but youth in general—whether or not they face discrimination.
But back to African-Americans in particular. I suspect that Barrack Obama himself would point out that many African-Americans are underachievers because of the legacy of slavery. Hence his “Yes, I can”-style encouragement (not just limited to them, of course). Meanwhile he’s aware of the very real problems from actual discrimination. His Web site says, “Pay Inequity Continues: For every $1.00 earned by a man, the average woman receives only 77 cents, while African American women only get 67 cents and Latinas receive only 57 cents.” Apparently, although thousands of African-American millionaires exist, America is still not nirvana for many black people and other members of minorities. And, unfortunately, the discrimination, self-image and achievement issues often are intertwined. If the system won’t give African-Americans a chance, that’s less incentive for them to achieve or appreciate their own potential.
But what about the issue of exposure to technology, beyond cell phones? I suspect you’d find that while computers are common among African-American families, their utilization of technology lags behind whites. Furthermore, cellphones often are more optimal for reading e-books than an old, flicking computer monitor. And beyond that, I’ve mentioned other platforms as well, not just cellphones.
Of course, I’m glad you see good intentions in my post, but please read it again, and I hope you’ll then realize that it is the antithesis of “defamation.”
Thanks, and keep the comments coming, whether or not we agree! Worry not about spelling and the rest; just do your best. This is the Web, after all, and with so much copy to crank out for TeleRead and elsewhere, I commit my own share of atrocities (I’ve just caught a bunch and probably overlooked some others). This is an e-book blog, not an audition for copy editing jobs.
David
P.S. Wikipedia is hardly the ultimate authority on any subject, and I also wonder about standardized tests and other matters covered there, but you might check out a stat-based entry there—titled Education outcomes in the United States by race and other classifications.
David – I appreciate that you took the time to respond in an engaging an informative manner. I feel that I may have overreacted a little. Please allow me to clarify my initial displeasure with your post.
Pervasive patterns of underachievement, and a relative unpreparedness for the 21st century high-tech workplace, are real problems in my community (I am of African-American and Puerto Rican descent). I am 1000% in agreement with you on these points, and I sincerely commend you for addressing them regularly, with persuasive logic.
I guess I am occasionally annoyed at every discussion about ethnic minorities in the US centering around dysfunctional behavior, bad luck, or tragedy. It was certainly misguided for me to put the onus of reversing such widespread practices on your website, particularly when your intention was to illuminate real life disparities and offer possible solutions. I suppose that every now and then I’d like to hear about how upwardly mobile and high achieving Blacks and Latinos are currently utilizing or embracing technologies that have the potential to be socially transformative. We are out here and we do exist, is all I’m saying, recognizing now that your post in no way implied the contrary.
In any event, thank you once again for your courteous and thoughtful reply. I am an avid follower of this blog and consumer of books of both the electronic and classic make. You’re doing great things here.
Thanks, R.H.S.! I love success stories. If you have any e-book stories involving AAs or Latinos—or anyone—just write them up and I’ll publish them with your byline. I can use your initials or a pseudonym if you prefer. The other suggestion is to go out and make your own news. I’m hardly omniscient on minority affairs but will happily serve as an adviser from afar if your start your own e-book project. No simple solutions here. It’s just a matter of finding the right people to try e-books on, and of experimenting to see what works. And of locating the right books. People in the end will care more about the content than about the technology!
David
It’s a difficult equation to solve, David. E-books or P-books or A-books (audio), what will bring the student to the table? I spent about thirty years of my career developing libraries for students. Trying to find the key that would enrich children’s lives with the smorgasboard of literary delights which I had chosen to provide for their consumption. It made no difference which community I served in, and I was employed by a variety of school districts, the key seemed to be whether or not there was a model provided for students by their parents, teachers and peers to relish the acquisition of the fruits of knowledge.
A model of a President concerned for the enhanced education of children, a President who reads himself, who reads to and with his children and enjoys thoughtful and productive discourse as a result of that reading would certainly do wonders for some of the problems we have in our homes and schools today.
So anything we can do as educators of our children by fostering the skill and talent of learning to read well and comprehend that information will profit our society for the future. And aren’t we all looking for ways to restore the health of our economy. Nothing would do better than investing in teaching the art and science of reading.
Totally agree with you, Don. The books and tech will mean squat if parents and teachers don’t cooperate—but maybe now some change can happen from the top! Thanks. David