Thank You Oprah. American Dirt — Is Getting too Dirty

James Baldwin said, “Perhaps I did not succumb to ideology … because I have never seen myself as a spokesman. I am a witness.” Oprah understood that sentiment when she stood by Jeanine Cummins, author of American Dirt. When a writer is attacked, all writers need to raise the bar. We should protect fellow writers whose safety is compromised, especially when we’re responsible for instigating necessary conversations that have become hostile. If we don’t, who will?

American Dirt is the story of a Mexican bookstore owner Lydia and her 8-year-old son trying to escape a Mexican drug lord who is a poet. The novel’s publisher boldly marketed the book as more than just another fictional thriller — they touted it as a defining novel of the immigrant experience. Movie rights were sold, Oprah chose American Dirt as her book club pick, and Barnes and Noble picked it for their national book club. Then all hell broke loose.

Flatiron, the publisher of Jeanine Cummins’ New York Times bestseller, canceled Cummins’ book tour, citing security concerns after receiving threats of violence. Cummin’s agent, Amy Einhorn, said Cummins was unfairly singled out because of an industry problem far broader than American Dirt. One hundred thirty-eight writers, many with first-hand experience with migration and some who are Mexican immigrants, signed a petition…