Recently, the public outcry after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police revealed a disconnect among some Americans between historical events (slavery, the Civil Rights movement) and the present day. That is, many Americans—particularly White Americans—had believed racism to be a mostly historical construct and failed to understand the ways in which past societal structures continue to influence racial inequities today. This article explores the use of historical and modern novel pairs to bridge gaps in understanding for middle grade readers. Reading high-quality, culturally authentic books such as Esperanza Rising (Ryan, 2000) and Return to Sender (Alvarez, 2009) can help students recognize the systemic nature of racism and critically consider ways in which they can use their own voices to disrupt it. Included in this piece are instructional ideas and multiple novel pair suggestions.

中文翻译：

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穿越线：探索中级小说中过去/现在的联系

最近，乔治·弗洛伊德（George Floyd）死于明尼阿波利斯警方之手后，公众的强烈抗议表明，一些美国人在历史事件（奴隶制、民权运动）和现在之间存在脱节。也就是说，许多美国人——尤其是美国白人——认为种族主义主要是一种历史建构，并且未能理解过去的社会结构如何继续影响今天的种族不平等。本文探讨了使用历史和现代小说对来弥合中年级读者在理解方面的差距。阅读高质量、文化真实的书籍，例如Esperanza Rising (Ryan, 2000) 和Return to Sender(Alvarez, 2009) 可以帮助学生认识种族主义的系统性本质，并批判性地考虑他们可以使用自己的声音来破坏它的方式。这篇文章中包括教学理念和多个新颖的配对建议。