© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2019 | DOI:10.1163/9789004389311_009 ASHLEY JOHNSON AND MARY L. NEVILLE 9. USING COUNTERSTORIES TO CRITIQUE RACISM Critical Race Theory, Beloved, and The Hate U Give INTRODUCTION I (Ashley) first read Toni Morrison’s Beloved 20 years ago for summer reading as a high school senior in an AP literature course in Mobile, AL. I have vivid memories of two moments in that reading. First, when my teacher gave us a quiz, one student knew that Beloved had a red ribbon around her neck. My teacher told all of us that it was clear she was the one to have really read the novel. Second, I thought the novel must be a “good book” because it was so difficult to read – something my teacher said repeatedly. If I close my eyes, I can still see her drawing a picture of what looked like a hurricane on the board to describe its structure and I can hear her repeatedly discussing the concept of stream of consciousness. I am sure that my teacher had a number of goals beyond these for having her seniors read Beloved, but that is what I remember. Fast forward and I can appreciate that my teacher included Beloved in her 1997 syllabus. Given the mostly White, male canon that continues to comprise high school reading lists (Borsheim-Black, 2012), the inclusion of Beloved, a still fairly new novel about slavery written by a Black woman, was surely controversial. Indeed, it continues to face censorship for its allegedly inappropriate discussions of such topics as racism, violence, sexual content, and bestiality (i.e. ALAN Office for Intellectual Freedom, 2017). Still, Beloved has taken its place in the canon of books sanctioned for inclusion in high school English. First, it has been cited on the AP Literature exam 13 times since 1990, the same number of times as The Great Gatsby and only three fewer times than The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have been included on the exam since 1970 (Advanced Placement List of Novels Tested Since 1971). Moreover, when The New York Times asked authors to name the best fiction of the last 25 years, Beloved topped the list (Scott, 2006). It was also awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988. Beloved, then, has been recognized repeatedly for its outstanding literary merit. Even how it is taught in schools emphasizes its canonicity. Much like my experience, a Google search for lesson plans to guide the teaching of Beloved emphasizes supporting students in making sense of the challenging structure and in identifying and analyzing symbols. A few lessons or units reference how the novel might help students make sense of the Civil War and its aftermath. For use by the Author only | © 2019 Koninklijke Brill NV