While there are several picture-book biographies on rock stars and other ones on court cases, I believe We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants(r) Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court is the only one that covers a musician's legal battles. (Let me know if there are others in the comments sections.) Fighting to trademark their own name, The Slants (R), led by Simon Tam, and their case went all the way to the Supreme Court. "Would the court allow Asian Americans to reclaim a racist insult for their own—and allow The Slants to turn a negative into a point of pride?" We Sing from the Heart is not only the book's title but also the band's song about their victorious court case. The song lyrics used with the book's illustrations create a rock-solid harmony.
Today author Mia Wenjen discusses how she transformed this true story into a children's book.
What sparked your interest in Simon Tam?
When Simon Tam was preparing his appeal for his court case to trademark his band's name, The Slants, he reached out to hundreds of Asian Americans to ask if they found his band's name offensive and, if not, if they would write a letter of support. Simon emailed me because I was an Asian American blogger and I made him meet with me on the phone to learn more. I remember him telling me not to share his phone number because his fans were very enthusiastic!
First of all, I was impressed by how well-written his email was. He writes so beautifully. Then, I found him so eloquent when I talked to him and he explained what was at stake. I wrote a letter of support and followed his case on social media. I was thrilled to see that he won his case. But it wasn't until I read his memoir that I realized that future generations of children needed to know about him, especially Asian Americans, so I decided to turn his story into a picture book, with his permission, of course.
"Whenever I wasn't playing a show, I was pretty much glued to my laptop. I sent messages to every organization that I worked with over the years, trying to see if they'd be willing to help us out by filling out a declaration. It often meant long phone calls or presentations explaining the nuances of trademark law and why their involvement was important. I also combed through legal archives and read every law review article I could find about trademarks, especially around the disparagement clause." (p. 116 of his memoir, Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court by Simon Tam).
Was there one aspect of Simon's life—a specific scene, quote, or image—that guided you throughout the writing process?
I didn't realize that Simon was bullied throughout his childhood for being Chinese American, given that he grew up in San Diego. It turns out that 54% of Asian American teenagers say that they were bullied in the classroom.* I think the bullying, as terrible as it was, made Simon a fighter and is the throughline in his life. He started an all-Asian American band because he didn't see representation in the media or the music industry. When his trademark was denied for being racist against Asian Americans, he knew this was bogus given that his band was made up of ONLY Asian Americans. It would have been easy to give up, but Simon stayed the course—a battle that took nearly 9 years because he refused to be bullied by the court system. There were times when he worked six jobs and had to decide whether to repair the band's van or pay for the mounting legal expenses of the lawsuit, but he made sacrifices to keep fighting because he understood that he was fighting for something bigger than himself. When I researched other Asian Americans who had cases brought before the Supreme Court, I realized that while the media often portrays Asian Americans as passive, we have a history of fighting back in the court system, particularly against structural racism.
While researching this book, which fact surprised you the most?
Simon walked away from a $4 million dollar recording deal with a major label because they required that he replace his lead singer with someone white. He literally tore the contract up and walked out. This was at a time when the money could have funded retirement for his elderly parents.
Why do you think kids can relate to We Sing from the Heart?
I think all kids can relate to what it would feel like to be bullied in school and how music would be a safe space. They might be surprised to learn that our court system, which is supposed to be the epitome of fairness, can also be racist. Kids can also relate to Simon Tam as a role model who fought for justice. Asian American youth are especially in need of strong male role models because the media emasculates them.
Which sources were invaluable to writing this biography?
Simon Tam himself. I was so fortunate to have his support throughout the writing process. He read draft after draft. When a third-grade child in my community was called Asian slurs by a classmate, he agreed to do a Zoom visit with her class. It really hit home for me how in tune he is to handling Anti-Asian racism in the classroom.
How did you select the timeframe for your book?
I knew that I needed to center the story around his life as a child as the building block for how the court case unfolded. I decided the moment of truth was when he walked out of the Supreme Court after his case was heard not knowing how they would rule, and also not expecting popular support. He had teenagers from California who had been following his case for years skip school, fly out to Washington DC, and camp out to meet him. I used this moment to bookend the story for both the beginning and the end.
What's your #1 tip for writing true stories?
For me, it's reading the nonfiction adult book which can be an information overload when trying to parse it down to a picture book arc. I find that I have to noodle it over for sometimes years before finding the way into the story. It is also a challenge to make sure that every aspect of the story is actually true, so it helps me to fact-check myself. For example, when I create the bibliography for myself and not the publisher, I pull out every quote that I used either as a quote or to reference something and put it below the book with the page number to remind myself that this piece of info is verified.
If you could pick the ideal place for a We Sing from the Heart storywalk, where would it be?
On the lawn in front of the Supreme Court in DC.
What other books would you recommend to readers who love We Sing from the Heart?
Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda Hall, especially the author's note which talks about how the U.S. government incarcerated 120,000+ Japanese Americans during WWII through Executive Order 9066. It was a shameful day for the Supreme Court in 1944 when they upheld the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII in Korematsu vs the United States. Korematsu's conviction was overturned in a Federal Court on November 10, 1983, but the Supreme Court decision still stands. Paper Son, the inspiring story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant, and Artist by Julie Leung because it showcases the Chinese Exclusion Act, which denied Chinese from immigrating to the United States and also made them ineligible to become citizens.
I Am An American: the Wong Kim Ark Story by Martha Brockenbrough. This is an interesting take for me because the story does not include how Wong Kim Ark returned to China after he won his case that gave birthright citizenship to anyone born in the United States. It is most likely that Wong Kim Ark returned home with his family due to death threats. "Leading up to the case, Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans had suffered repeated violence and lynchings by mobs, said Gordon H. Chang, a historian and senior associate vice provost at Stanford University." I would still recommend reading this story with an eye towards understanding the backdrop of how dangerous it was for Asians and Asian Americans in America during this time and the number of Chinatowns that existed but were burned down during this time.
TRUE STORY TIDBITS
I recommend this biography on three shelves in my TrueStory Bookshop:
- True Stories~Musicians & Singers
- True Stories~Activists
- True Stories~Asian and AAPI Stories
To take a peek inside the book, checkout my Booktok.
Every day is a good day for a true story but here are some special tie-in dates for We Sing From the Heart:
- March 30: Simon Tam's birthday
- May: AANHPI Month
- July 7: National Day of Rock 'n' Roll
- June 19, 2017: The day the Supreme Court ruled in Matel vs. Tam that prohibits the government from rejecting trademarks on the basis that they find it "disparaging" based on the First Amendment right to free speech.
Mia Wenjen blogs about parenting, children's books, and education at PragmaticMom.com and is the co-creator of Read Your World, celebrating Multicultural Children's Book Day, a nonprofit celebrating diversity in children's books. She is the author of Sumo Joe as well as several illustrated nonfiction children's books, including Changing the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes, Asian Pacific American Heroes, and Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World. Mia Wenjen lives in Boston with her husband and three kids.