Carole Boston Weatherford

Carole Boston Weatherford is an African American author and critic, now living in North Carolina, United States. She writes children's literature and some historical books, as well as poetry and commentaries.

Criticism of "Pokémon" character

Weatherford claimed in a May 2000 newspaper article titled "Politically Incorrect Pokemon" that "Pokémon" #124, Jynx, is a negative stereotype of African Americans. [ [http://hk.geocities.com/hksar_dolphin/cbw1.htm "Politically Incorrect Pokémon" article] ] [ [http://hk.geocities.com/poke124mon282/cbw_jp.htm Japanese-language install pack required] ] . Nintendo apologized and agreed to change Jynx's face from black to purple in 2002, and Shogakukan (the company that produces the "Pokémon" anime) changed Jynx's face color to purple in 2005. Also, as a result of her campaign, Warner Bros. has banned all episodes that show Jynx in "offensive colors". [ [http://keytofire.net/banned.php List of banned "Pokémon" episodes which include the ones with Jynx in her offensive colors] ]

Other critiques

In two articles, Weatherford claims that the Cantonese name of Darlie, "Haak Yaan Nga Gou" (Blackman toothpaste) is offensive.

Also in that year, in an article in "The Christian Science Publishing Society", "Japan's Bigoted Exports to Kids" [ [http://hk.geocities.com/poke124mon282/cbw2.htm Japanese-language install pack required] ] she took issue with Mr. Popo, a character from the "Dragon Ball" franchise.

The "Dragon Ball" manga later released by Viz in 2003 had reduced the size of Mr. Popo's lips. [ [http://www.daizex.com/general/ask/archive/2004_07_04.shtml#2 Viz Media's modifications of Mr. Popo's lips in the manga] at http://www.daiex.com/]

Selected works

*"Juneteeth Jamboree", with Yvonne Buchanan (Illustrator), 1995, Lee & Low Books. ISBN 1-880000-18-0
*"The Tar Baby on the Soapbox", 1999, Methodist College. ISBN 0-9670994-3-9
*"Sink or Swim: African-American Lifesavers of the Outer Banks (Carolina Young People)", 1999, Coastal Carolina Press. ISBN 1-9285-5603-5
*"The African-American Struggle for Legal Equality in American History", 2000, Enslow Publishers. ISBN 0-7660-1415-0
*"The Sound That Jazz Makes", with Eric Velasquez (Illustrator), 2001, Walker Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-8027-7674-4
*"Sidwalk Chalk: Poems of the City", 2006, Wordsong. ISBN 1-5907-8415-4
*"Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom", with Kadir Nelson (Illustrator), 2006, Jump At The Sun. ISBN 0-7868-5175-9
*"Dear Mr. Rosenwald", 2006, Scholastic Press. ISBN 0-4394-9522-9
*"Birmingham, 1963", 2007, Wordsong. ISBN 1-5907-8440-5

References

External links

* [http://caroleweatherford.com The official website]
* [http://www.boydsmillspress.com/authors.tpl?command=showpage&authorid=0769 Biography]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/dolphin8ice/racial_problems.htm All articles about racist Pokémon by Carole Boston Weatherford] — See "Articles/ Information" section
* [http://childrensbookradio.com/childrensbookradiopodcast23.mp3 2007 Audio Interview of Carole Boston Weatherford]