Prof. Donna Gilton and her Dedication to Diversity by Padma Venkatraman

Prof. Donna Gilton and her Dedication to Diversity by Padma Venkatraman

Padma is one of the "oldest" friends of the blog. We have written posts about her and her work and she has written posts

Here are a few links that you should check out:
Better and Verse
http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/better-and-verse-by-padman-venkatraman
Expanding our Embrace
http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/expanding-our-embrace-including-stories-with-international-settings-by-padma-venkatraman
No Problem with Problem Books
http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/no-problem-with-problem-books-by-padma-venkatraman
An Interview with Padma Venkatraman
http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/an-interview-with-padma-venkatraman
Banned during Banned Book Week
http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/banned-during-banned-book-week

Here is a link to a YouTube Video with Padma on Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday channel. https://youtu.be/iJM27qQizfU?si=AUPFuBjIlgyfwqlj

Today she reminds us that there are many unsung heroes who have been pioneer work around multicultural literature. She celebrates the life of Donna Gilton.

Sometimes, it’s easy to pinpoint precisely when a friendship began. With my writer-friend Elly Swartz, for instance, it started at an NCTE conference, when we shared a ride on an elevator  (and in the 3 minutes we spent together in that setting, we became friends). Other times, as with my longtime friend Dr. Donna Gilton, one cannot remember a specific incident that precipitated the friendship. 

I assume that Donna and I were drawn together because of our mutual dedication to the cause of promoting diverse books and authors - during that long-ago era when they were referred to as “multicultural” books. I was an oceanography professor at the University of Rhode Island and had just published my debut novel, Climbing the Stairs. Donna was one of three BIPOC faculty in the library sciences department. I remember Naomi Caldwell, a brilliant indigenous scholar who was, at the time, a professor in that program, invited me to speak about my novel - and I think that was the first time that I met Donna.

Shortly after we met, we began discussing our mutual passion for “multicultural” books - and I spearheaded an initiative that foundered - I wrote a proposal for a conference that would focus on authors (and books with protagonists) who self-identified with communities that had been underrepresented. We hoped to bring librarians, teachers, professors, students and writers who had a shared interested in amplifying marginalized voices, together, in conversation, in our beautiful ocean state. My proposal failed - and although I had sent the manuscript of CLIMBING THE STAIRS to 30 agents before I finally secured one - I didn’t try quite as many times with our diversity conference proposal. I gave up trying to get funding after about 5 tries. But although that initiative failed, by then I had forged a friendship with Donna, which flowered over the years. ​

Some people described Donna as quiet. To me, she was anything but. She was a fierce fighter for justice and equity. Daughter of the late Rev Charles W. Gilton Sr. And Hattie (Franklin) Gilton, she was a woman of faith - and one of the first to articulate how overjoyed she was to see that faith played a role in the lives of my characters. This, in itself, as an expression of her commitment to multiculturalism - the Hindu protagonist of CLIMBING THE STAIRS, and the Andaman Islanders in ISLAND’S END, had religious/spiritual beliefs that differed vastly from her own - but she rejoiced that they added religious diversity to children’s bookshelves.

Donna had a busy life - in addition to  teaching courses in reference services, information literacy and multicultural literacy, and all the other demands on her time as a library science professor at the the University of Rhode Island, she was also a member of more than one church, taught or coordinated Sunday School, worked with Children and Family Ministries, conducted choirs, served on several church and library boards and even composed music. But she always found time in her busy schedule for us to meet. Sometimes we’d go to a book reading or attend a library or university event together, sometimes we’d share a meal together with my family or celebrate a milestone with her large circle of friends. Every once in a while, we spoke about the prejudices we’d faced and the hurdles we still faced, as women of color. And often, I listened as she shared her extensive knowledge of the history of multicultural books for young people, in the English language. ​

When I met Donna, she had already written one of the first books on diversity in children’s literature - and it not only covered the state of the field in America, but also in some other parts of the English-speaking world. “You’ll be in the second edition,” she promised, “because you are among the first in this field.” Sure enough, my work and name are mentioned in the revised version of her book, that was published a few years ago. She also authored another book on lifelong learning in public libraries. I have both copies of her book on “Multicultural Literature” - and reading it taught me a great deal about the long history of the field; and it is, in part, to Donna that I owe my deep understanding for the many who came before even I did. I hope I will never be one of those who forgets to acknowledge and respect the long struggle that has been going on to give children access to excellent books with diverse protagonists, many of whom appear in Donna’s academic treatises. But Donna wasn’t content only with writing about the past. She was the co-founder of Cornucopia of Rhode Island, an association dedicated to diversity; and an active member of the American Library Association, Rhode Island Library Association, the Association of Library and Information Science Educators. ​

When Donna retired, after 20 years of work at the University of Rhode Island, she amazed and impressed me more than ever by starting to learn tap dance! And when my daughter, then in middle-school, was asked where her grandparents had been during the Civil Rights era, she chose to interview Donna instead. I’ll never forget Donna sitting up straight in our home, looking into my daughter’s eyes, and saying, “I integrated a school. Do you know what that means?” 
​
Donna later shared with me that she had been honored as one of the first Black women to graduate from Simmons University in 1975, with a master’s degree in library science; in 1972, she graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Simmons University. She continued to delve into library science and obtained her Ph.D. in the subject from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988. After that - and before becoming a library science professor at URI, she worked for many years as a reference librarian at the Boston Public Library, the Belize Teachers College, Western Kentucky State University, and Pennsylvania State University. We both loved libraries - and shared a pet peeve - that libraries were being renamed “media centers” or “educational commons.” 

Last fall, when we visited her at a center that cared for the elderly, she was as forthright and strong and full of ideas as ever. She told us she was planning to do a series of interviews, showcasing the lives and experiences of families raising children of color in Rhode Island. We were on her list, she said, and if she survived the illness she was battling, she’d be calling us. Unfortunately, I instead received a call last December from her beloved sister, Joan Pratt, to let me know that Donna had passed away. 

On a cold and grey morning, my husband and daughter joined me for the graveside service at New Fernwood Cemetery, Kingston. At Donna’s funeral service, I listened as her compositions were played. Donna had planned everything, down to the last detail, Joan told us. It didn’t surprise me. Donna was nothing if not organized and efficient - as her tomes clearly prove. 

Her contributions to our field may not be quite as widely recognized as they should be - especially in this day and age of social media (which she wasn’t fond of at all). But through this short personal tribute, I wanted, in at least a small way, to respectfully record her dedication, commmitment and perseverance to raising and amplifying marginalized voices in the world of young people’s literature. ​