There was a decrease in Black characters featured in children’s bestselling books as support for the Black Lives Matter movement loses momentum among Millennial parents.

There was a decrease in Black characters featured in children’s bestselling books as support for the Black Lives Matter movement loses momentum among Millennial parents. Following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, books about race became bestsellers—and it was also the first year where more Black characters were featured in children’s bestsellers than White characters. However, a new WordsRated study, which analyzed 1,511 children’s bestsellers published between 2012 and 2021, found that momentum for the movement seems to be fading. The research shows that the percentage of Black characters in children’s bestsellers decreased by 23%, while there was a 31% decrease in the percentage of children’s bestsellers written by Black authors from 2020 to 2021, with the largest increase among bestsellers written by White authors. While YPulse’s Representation in Action trend data found that more than half of Millennial parents have bought a toy (i.e. a book) to teach their kid about diversity, our Causes / Charity & Activism research found that support for the Black Lives Matter movement fell from 40% in 2021 to 33% in 2022 among Millennial parents who say they are passionate about the social cause. (WordsRated)