Sarah Jeon

I am a firm believer and advocate in the importance of diversity. And while I do believe diversity is important in all aspects of life, currently I dedicate a lot of interest in diversity in books.

Once upon a time there were too many books and not enough time. There are still too many books and still not enough time, but what has changed is my perspective. Whenever I browse for a book two things pop up into my mind. Is the main character not white? And is the author a person of color? I am always surprised and disappointed by how often if I am not looking for a specific book (has a non-white main character) or a specific author (not white), that the answer to those two questions is always "no".

Why does it matter? Because we live in a global world and as an American, I live in a country home to a diverse group of people. By having representation, people realize all sorts of things. There are so many stories out there, about the black girl who never thought she could be considered pretty until Disney introduced Tiana. It's the story of the girl who realized she's gender fluid. It's the story of the boy who learns that sexuality is a fluid thing.

There are so many people with diverse stories. It's time to let their stories be heard and shared.