Interview With Author Alejandra Domenzain

Alejandra thanks for this interview for La Bloga. Congratulations on your first children’s book, For all/ Para Todos. How would you present your books to readers? Tell us about it. 

 

The general description is:

A young girl named Flor and her father are driven to leave their country for the promise of a land called For All. When Flor comes to understand the deep impact of their immigration papers, she picks up her green pen and writes from the heart, telling the story of immigrants who have been excluded from “justice for all.” She inspires others to speak up and take action in the hope that their new country will live up to its ideals. A timely bilingual story, written in musical rhyme, beautifully illustrated, calling children to compassion and courage. You can find a lot more information on the book’s website.

The heart of the story for me is following the journey of an undocumented young girl finding her voice, discovering the power of storytelling, and becoming an advocate for immigrant and worker rights. There are other themes though, such as push factors for migration, the difficulties of adjusting to a new country and language, the stark situation faced by undocumented workers who risk deportation if they try to exercise their rights, the potentially life-changing role of teachers, the limits faced by undocumented youth in accessing higher education, the power of a father’s love, the hypocrisy of a country with immigrant roots rejecting the latest wave of newcomers, lack of representation in the media, the myth of the promise of “justice for all” versus the reality, and the need for collective action and policy change. 

I know it sounds like a lot for a children’s book, but somehow I managed to put a lot of on-ramps in there for discussion, connections, and exploration. It’s written in rhyme and kind of floats along at a kid-friendly level, but the seeds for all of these issues are in there. My hope is that educators, librarians, advocates and families can use the book as a tool to start conversations and learning journeys. I put in a section with more background on the issues and also suggested discussion questions. Proceeds of the book are going to RAICES, a national immigrant rights organization.

 

 Why did you write this book?

I was hoping to make several contributions. First, as a former elementary school teacher, I wanted to fill two gaps that I saw in the children’s book world: there are not many picture books that center current struggles for immigrant and worker rights. While there are more and more great books about the immigrant and refugee experience, not many focus on the issue of immigration rights or policy, so this book makes it explicit. Flor, the protagonist, comes to understand the effect of her status when she tries to go to school: “The guard said ‘I know your test score was great/ But the orders I have say ‘Don’t open the gate.’/ If you were born here, then you belong,/If you were not, you’ll always be wrong./ Our grandparents weren’t born here, yes that is true,/But we must draw the line, and we draw it at...you!” This matters because a policy is something that can be changed, and in fact, the movement for immigration reform, led largely by immigrant youth, is trying to do just that as we speak. In particular, I wanted to show a young undocumented immigrant not as a victim, but as an agent for social change. 

Likewise, there are not many books that depict current struggles for immigrant rights, and in particular the challenges faced by those who are undocumented. I’ve had the honor of working as an immigrant worker rights advocate for about 20 years, so I’ve seen up close not only rampant abuses and whole industries built on exploitation, but also the incredible leadership and courage of workers themselves in standing up for their rights and often even winning against all odds. I wanted to lift up this inspiring movement as well. I feel like it’s been normalized that millions of undocumented workers are denied their full labor and human rights because the moment they speak up, they can be ripped apart from their family, lose their home, community, and career, and be sent to a place where they may not have opportunities for livelihood or where they may be in danger. It’s an outrage and yet we’ve come to accept it as part of what makes our economy run, regardless of the human cost. Flor’s father explains what he has been told:  “You can’t get more money or work without pain/You’ll get into trouble if you dare to complain/ If you do, guards will come, in no time at all./We can have you locked up and removed with one call.” So I wanted to highlight that this is something that can also be changed, is being challenged, and is indefensible.

Second, I see this book as a love letter to writing and storytelling. Flor is given a green pen by a teacher who sees that she is struggling to adapt and find her voice: “When I was your age and was stuck, I would write/And worlds would reach into the dark like a light.” Flor goes on to capture her story, which connects her to others facing similar challenges. They then use this to get media attention as part of their organizing for change: “I’ll  go on TV to get out the word/ Tell voters the truths that haven’t been heard.” Flor has faith that: “If they know what it’s like, I trust that they’ll care,/Vote for schools for all kids, and jobs that are fair.”

Lastly, I hope that this book will motivate people to take action. It asks the reader directly to consider what they believe in: “What do you think is fair?” “What will you vote for?” “What will you do with your green pen?” For any social problem, we all have a collective responsibility to be informed, examine our part in the system, and decide what kind of a future we want to build. I don’t think children are too young for this-- in fact, most young people have a very acute sense of fairness and a sense of urgency about making things better. Also, I believe schools are the places where we start training people to be civically engaged, and that means modelling the process of questioning systems, having an informed opinion based on facts and others’ lived experience, being able to communicate your recommendations clearly, taking collective action, and proposing a better vision. In Flor’s words: “Immigrants should not be abused and left out/ Justice must be what this country’s about.”

 

 

You’ve also been writing articles and doing webinars about the role of children’s books in teaching social justice. What’s the difference between diversity/inclusion and social justice? 

The call for multiculturalism and diversity in children’s books and education is crucial to address the reality that there is very little representation of “minoritized” groups; in fact, in recent years there have been more books about non-humans than books about all non-white characters combined. For this reason, narratives that disrupt the norm and push against systems of oppression can help advance the fight for social justice.

However, I do think there is a difference between addressing diversity/inclusion and educating for social justice. Diversity is more about presenting different stories to reflect a range of realities and enrich or affirm the readers’ worldview. Social justice is about choosing stories that help young people analyze, question, look critically, and act consciously. Books chosen to address diversity may present a problem that is interpersonal or due to uncontrollable circumstances or bad luck. If a broader system is at work, changing it may not be presented as an option.  Usually, the implied solution is individual action-- maybe what’s needed is more compassion, open-mindedness, conflict resolution skills or self-responsibility.  In contrast, social justice books point at structures, policies, laws, and institutions which usually require collective efforts to change. Social justice books make it clear that some systems benefit some people while harming/exclude others.

Social justice books invite the reader to see and question power structures and commit to changing them so they work for everyone. It is possible to be kind, tolerant, or respectful of someone who is different than you without trying to change the systems that hurt or marginalize them. It is possible to address a surface level problem while leaving intact the social, economic, political, and cultural root causes that will keep recreating that situation for others.

I would invite all of us to find books that have on-ramps for learning about social justice. Many people use the metaphor about children’s books serving as mirrors (to see your own reality reflected), windows (to see others’), and sliding glass doors (to enter new worlds). I would add that books can also be magnifying glasses to help us read our world, look closer, think deeper,  and identify the root causes of what needs to be changed.

 

 

What was the process from manuscript to publication for your book?

 

I wrote the book without any idea of what it takes to get something published and I’m still on a learning curve about this industry! I was lucky that it found a home in Hard Ball Press/ Little Heroes Press, a small publisher that is mission driven and centers stories of working class people. It was wonderful to work with them because it was a labor of love for all involved, and I was a part of each step in the process.  The downside is that the big publishers have a direct pipeline to the mainstream review sites, blogs, etc. and also access to schools, libraries, fairs, bookstores, etc. and the smaller independent publishers do not. There is no marketing or promotion team or budget, and so it takes a lot more work to get the word out about these books, even though often they are really important books with a lot to offer. 

On the one hand, I’ve been able to collaborate with organizations I respect greatly: the National Association of Bilingual Education did a webinar on the book, the Cesar Chavez Foundation included it in its curated list of resources, the University of New Mexico’s Latin American and Iberian Institute designed a lesson plan for the book, RAICES is using it as part of their initiative for Immigration in the Arts, and I collaborated with UNIDOS US on a webinar about teaching about immigrant and worker rights. It was featured in the 2021 Miami Book Fair and will be part of the Bay Area Social Justice Children’s Book Fair this year. The book has also gotten great reviews from policymakers, labor and immigration leaders, authors, and educators, sites such as Social Justice Books and Children’s Book Review, and it won an Honorable Mention for the 2021 International Latino Book Award. 

On the other hand, you won’t see it on any of the mainstream lists for books out there about immigration or workers’ rights or social justice, or in school curricula or libraries because it’s just not on the mainstream radar. My dream would be that all educators had access to the books they need to address timely issues and advance important conversations, regardless of whether the books come from a big publisher or not. 

Also, I had a lot of privilege to be able to persevere for the four years that it took to shepherd this book from manuscript to publishing because I have another full time job and the energy to take on a side project. Not everyone has that-- and especially those that are under-represented as authors, including  immigrants in low wage jobs.  I’m a believer of the #ownvoices movement and the power of stories told by those living them. My hope is that by using my privilege to nudge the conversation about bringing immigrant rights to children’s books, it will help widen the path a bit for those that come after. My dream is also that authors with a new story to tell would face less obstacles to connecting with mentors, finding funding to have time to write, getting an agent, and having the opportunity to be published. 

 

Why was it important to make the book bilingual?

 

Spanish is my first language--  I learned English when we moved to the U.S. when I was 7, so I know the value of bilingual materials when you learn a new language or maintain your home language. I’m a huge fan of multilingualism: it’s a resource, a richness, a window to a history and worldview, a gift to be able to connect with people, arts, and culture. My kids are being brought up trilingual since my husband is a Brazilian immigrant.

In most countries, families often speak a home language or two and schools introduce additional ones. The U.S. is pretty unique in having a mainstream education system that says, “all you need is English” and missing the opportunity to expand kids’ horizons and build those skills from the very beginning when they pick it up more naturally. Often, “foreign”  languages are not offered until high school, when it may be harder to learn it fluently. In fact, with a lack of multi-lingual education, we not only deprive kids of the crucial opportunity to learn other languages but often manage to strip them of the ones they came in with.

The United States doesn’t have an official language, even though some states do. Historically, we have eradicated hundreds of languages-- indigenous languages, languages of enslaved Africans, and all the ones we don’t recognize in our communities today. Over 20% of Americans speak a language other than English at home; and in the five largest cities, that number is closer to 50%. We should turn the question around and ask those who publish monolingually, why did you choose to limit your book to just one language? 

 

Proceeds of your book are going to RAICES. Can you tell us about this organization?

The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Services, or RAICES, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees. With legal services, social programs, bond assistance, and an advocacy team focused on changing the narrative around immigration in this country, RAICES is operating on the national frontlines of the fight for immigration rights. One thing I love about their approach is that in addition to providing direct services and doing strategic advocacy, they also recognize the need for cultural shift and the role of the arts in that process. I’m really beyond honored to partner with them as part of their Immigration in the Arts program.

 

What are you working on now?

I still have my very meaningful day job, which keeps me learning and engaged and inspired. I would love to capture real, current cases of immigrant workers organizing and winning historic victories, because  those stories often don’t make it to the headlines, let alone the classroom or family storytime. I think it’s so empowering to realize there are active movements out there making the impossible possible, calling us to live up to our ideals, showing us how to make our society more just, modelling what it means to recognize the full dignity, worth, and contribution of all the members of our communities. For me, it’s been an honor to work alongside these incredible leaders and campaigns and I want desperately to capture the excitement and possibility so that young people feel invited to take part and find their own call to social justice. 

 

Thanks Alejandra, what are your final words for our readers at La Bloga?

Thank you for the work you do at La Bloga! For your readers, please be in touch if you are interested in connecting or collaborating in any way-- I’m really passionate about these subjects and hope to keep writing and supporting others on this path: forall.paratodos.book@gmail.com