Whose Lives Matter? An Author Searches for Signs of Empathy
How do we communicate the ideas and hopes that mean the most to us—and at what risk? That question recurs throughout Kaitlyn Greenidge’s debut novel, We Love You, Charlie Freeman, which is already earning major buzz. On its surface, it focuses on the Freeman family, tapped to teach a chimpanzee sign language at the morally questionable Toneybee Institute. But beneath their experiment run major questions of belonging, assimilation, and interpersonal communication, all of which tie into continued racial inequality.
Charlie Freeman‘s beautiful prose and surprising characters would distinguish it amongst its peers in any circumstances, but its focus on race renders it crucial, timely reading for all those who question, or who wish to discuss, the persistence of prejudice, or the insidiousness of its movements. I asked Kaitlyn about those elements of her novel, about what the Freemans teach readers regarding empathy, and about what’s next for her as a writer.
Well-meaning white characters in your novel speak a lot about mutual respect, but most of their actions end up reifying racism. What can readers today learn from their missteps, particularly in relation to movements like Black Lives Matter?
Kaitlyn Greenidge
Hopefully, it can start conversations about a reader’s limits to empathy. With each of the characters in this book, there’s a certain point past which they cannot extend their empathy for others. I think a big part of the conversation that “Black Lives Matter” has begun is really exposing the fault lines of many people’s own internal logic. People who believe they are not racist yet become uncomfortable when they hear the very simple declaration “Black Lives Matter”–you are talking about people who have put a very real stop on their own empathy for others.
Rather than endlessly lacerate oneself about this, I think the answer is to question why. Why can’t you extend empathy and the belief in another’s humanity to someone who does not look like you, is maybe a different gender, does not make as much money as you, has sex differently than you do, all those things that supposedly separate? And really, really look for hard answers. Too many times, the search for answers to that question is performed, and performed as a redemption story with the white protagonist reaching enlightenment. I would challenge people to think, as you search for answers to those questions, you are maybe constructing a story or an argument at which you are not the center. And that’s kind of the whole point.
Sign language plays an interesting role in your novel, enabling characters both to transgress and define boundaries. What can We Love You, Charlie Freeman teach us about the risks and rewards of learning someone else’s language?
I don’t know that it can teach anything. I think hopefully it’s a starting point to talk about the ways language can connect and also fail people. I think if you are part of a marginalized group, you are usually learning someone else’s language to get by, even if you nominally speak the same language. That, to me, is really interesting. And it can happen on a macro level or even a micro level: how we adjust our speech based on who we are speaking to.
You grew up in Boston—as did Charlotte and Callie, two of the girls in your novel. What, if anything, did your childhood experiences have in common with theirs?
Nothing very much in common. I wanted to set a book in New England because very rarely do we hear stories from non-white people from that area. New England is perceived as very, very white. Parts of it, of course, are but there have always been people of color living in the region and I find their histories fascinating.
The Tuskegee experiments are mentioned in connection to the institution at the center of your book. What other historical events informed your work?
No specific events, more just an understanding of history. I worked as a historical researcher for a long time and I would find all these interesting bits and pieces of information while researching things and I always wanted to include them in a story. I held on to them until I could figure out what to do with them.
What projects can we anticipate from you next?
I am not sure but I’m looking forward to writing them!
Michelle Anne Schingler is associate editor at Foreword Reviews. You can follow her on Twitter @mschingler or e-mail her at mschingler@forewordreviews.com.
Michelle Anne Schingler
