Writing stories for children

Many years ago in a writing class in college, I was told that it was impossible for me to write a story about the Black experience in the U.S.   On the one hand,  I agreed, because I am not Black, and could not personally know about how people suffered under the boot of oppression.   On the other hand, I disagreed that I could not write a story that would appeal to children, as long as I used empathy in a sincere and serious way.    In a class I took called The Black Child, I learned about the many facets of African-American culture:  how it was not one big monolith, but made up of folks from many African nations who had suffered the same fate, and how each of their family dynamics had been torn asunder.    I wrote two stories about an African-American boy named Dusty.   You can decide whether or not I was successful in forming strong, male role models for these children.