The invitations start around Thanksgiving: Greetings, Ms. Jones! I am events coordinator for the Mayberry Public Library and we are delighted to invite you to be our Black History Month speaker! About ten years ago, when I was struggling to make a name for myself as a writer, I greeted these requests with an uncomplicated delight: my handful of short stories and essays had reached an audience and had earned me a place not just as a spokesperson on black history but as example of black excellence. These invitations usually came without honoraria and I often shared the docket with three or four other “emerging” writers. Some of my peers who are not black writers grumbled a bit about the idea that I could score invitations “just” for being black. And I must admit that at that stage of my life, I did think of this as lagniappe, just a tiny leg up. Since then, I have published two novels and have begun to chafe a bit at these invitations. Like many black writers, my schedule is frequently packed during February, but comparatively lean during the rest of the year. If February is Black History Month, is the rest of the calendar reserved for white people?
