There are now many examples of picture books with African American characters, at least far more than those depicting other racial or ethnic groups. This is not to say that we no longer need to be concerned about the need for works that introduce a variety of African-American characters to young people.
Questions also remain about cultural and historical authenticity.
As numerous studies have shown, scholarly discourse has by no means been free of racial mythology. William Van Deburg has demonstrated that American historians have, until recently, largely continued to reiterate time-honored stereotypes of slavery and race. However, such stereotypes are often treated as if gender neutral, while woman's image in American historiography has rarely been examined as yet. But such assumptions have not been verified by research. And there are especially good reasons to investigate how Afro-American women may have figured in the story of American history, in light of recent recognition that they have been assigned a prefabricated history.