Does it matter that little Tony is black?

Use this forum to discuss the July 2018 Book of the Month "Toni the Superhero" by R.D. Base
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Gikonyo Caroline
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Re: Does it matter that little Tony is black?

Post by Gikonyo Caroline »

Yes I do believe the author's main objective was to redefine the concept of superheroes and heroism, perhaps to teach children that being a superhero doesn't have to mean one posesses superpowers or does superhuman acts . I think the author seeks to communicate that all of us are superheroes, because we each have our own unique likes, persona, gifts. I believe the author als intends to show that heroes are humans who like and do ordinary activities
In this context then , in order to redefine the concept of superheroes the author uses Toni who is black to perhaps address the racial stereotype to make it clear that being a superhero is not about colour, age or possessing supernatural abilities or powers. Heroism is embracing your individuality and doing ordinary activities extraordinarily well
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Christina Rose
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Post by Christina Rose »

joshfee77 wrote: 14 Jul 2018, 02:24 I think it's great to see a young superhero who breaks the stereotypical "white superhero" mold. While his activities may be relatively mundane in this book, that doesn't preclude a sequel where he busts out some real superpowers. I don't think the author intended to imply that the only superpowers a black kid could have would be doing chores around the house.
I agree. The author made it fairly clear, at least to me, that super powers would be discussed in a later book. This book is about what Toni enjoys while he’s not saving the world.
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Christina Rose
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Post by Christina Rose »

Samanthajayne12 wrote: 15 Jul 2018, 05:28 When reading this book I never even considered anything about the colour of the children. I was completely focused on the message the story was given. It's such a shame that questions like this have to be asked!
Yes! The question surprised me, as well. I’d like to think that children reading the book would simply enjoy the illustrations while learning to read as I’m guessing the author intended.
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Christina Rose
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Post by Christina Rose »

Thedogmoxie wrote: 15 Jul 2018, 17:19 Sometimes it is just nice to see yourself represented in a book. As a young child’s of color, most books did not have characters that looked like. The lesson in this book is that he can be a superhero by helping. I don’t think he is meant to have superpowers. So to the question “Does it matter?” I think the answer is yes. It matters because representation matters.
I do agree with you that representation matters.
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Post by Kcorry »

To be creative with our mind, as writers , our imagination have to run with out any racist, so Toni could be black sending a message that it's OK to be called a black superhero, but to stress upon it more the reality about proving one self it takes a lot of people to help developed one hero.
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Post by Amin10 »

I don't think there is anything wrong with tony being black as far as it does not affect his role,anybody can be a superhero and children are only interested in adventurous actions of superheroes skin colour doesn't matter at all
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Post by Nyeesha »

As a mother it didn’t come to mind to occur to me such an comparison.its an good idea to have an black superhero since we don’t see so many.
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Post by Mathee007 »

One can actually say children don't actually care about the colour of their skin the way adults do. But saying the superpowers belong to the white kid is not true at all. I believe superpower in this contest should be what they find doing the most and what brings about the best in them. And if you ask me every single kid has one irrespective of their skin color.
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Post by Roggyrus »

I think the fact that Toni is black stems from some provisions on media that there should be no hints of being sort of racist by limiting the choice of characters through a color bias.
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Post by Joe Hadithi »

Personally, I think his skin color was empowering to children of color. Think about it, how many black superheroes have children seen in the history of superheroes? At least now black children have someone they can identify with.

I am also hoping that Toni gets to save the world when he grows a little bigger too. 😊
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Post by Fu Zaila »

Bianka Walter wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 11:31
cristinaro wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 11:20
Bianka Walter wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 10:30 The fact that Toni is black didn't even register on my radar until this thread. So I obviously felt none of the above.
And I don't think it will for kids either. They just see another kid, it's us adults that notice the colour :)
I guess my cultural conditioning and scholar training are to be blamed for my observations. :) It could be interesting to show the book to a number of children and see what happens. We learn about racial distinctions in time, so it's a good idea to have a black superhero to make sure we get rid of any prejudice and misconceptions.
I totally agree. And you're right, it would be interesting to see how many kids commented on Toni's colour - if any :)
Really interesting question though!
I agree with the general notion that Toni being Black wouldn't matter to children. It would be a wonder if children notice the racial inclusion in a superhero book. But being an adult, I guess we'll have opinions on the race and color of the 'superhero' in question. Toni doesn't have superpowers but he is considered one by doing daily chores and helping out his mother. I think it provides a great message overall.
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Post by Sanyesto »

I think color of Toni doesn't matter a big deal as to whether he has super powers or not. So long as he is able to depict that doing simple chores and activities is being a superhero, that it. Let's not overemphasize on the skin tone of him. Moreover, the author being an African American could have seen it fit to portray him that way.
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Post by amsula_2018 »

I do not think that is the message of the author. I think it is more of what a child can do to be a good son or daughter and a simple reminder that anyone can be a hero by doing little good deeds for others. The superhero thing is for the enjoyment of children of ages 2-7.
cristinaro wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 05:33 Tony is a jovial little black kid always with a broad smile on his face. He is engaged in the typical activities of a kid his age.

Is he meant to defy the superhero stereotype especially since he does not seem to be doing anything extraordinary?
Did you feel the book undermines the myth of the white superhero and carries a message of inter-racial tolerance?

My fear is the message could be exactly the opposite. Little black kids can only do ordinary things like helping their mother, sweeping the floor or dusting the furniture. The superpowers still belong to the little white kids. I am wondering if Tony will actually have some superpowers in the next books of the series. What do you think?
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Post by Northernbird84 »

Bianka Walter wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 10:30 The fact that Toni is black didn't even register on my radar until this thread. So I obviously felt none of the above.
And I don't think it will for kids either. They just see another kid, it's us adults that notice the colour :)
An exceptional point! You only need to watch a group of children playing to see that they don't see race / gender the way that adults do. We are not born prejudiced, this is learned, mostly from parents and other adults in their lives.
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Post by bookierme »

This is an interesting question with answers that can only be based on personal opinions. I honestly never considered Toni's color. I focused on the premise of the book which is that he is a superhero who also enjoys doing ordinary things. If you are going to discuss the color, you might as well also discuss his gender: why not a little girl superhero? I don't think that the author intended it to be about race, but about the message. I think kids will enjoy it as it is.
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