Fans are rallying behind Joanna Ho after the children’s book author was subjected to a racist rant earlier this week. The Eyes That Kiss in the Corners author shared the message she received with her Instagram followers.
Ho blacked out the sender’s name and part of the person’s email address for online sharing. She was sure to leave the paragraph written, which invited her to “move to North Korea” because she used pronouns in one of her videos.
“I’m not listening to nor buying anything from a person who uses the woke lame pronoun sh*t like you had on your video,” the critic wrote to Ho. “That is leaving America,” they continued. “If you need to keep using it, move to North Korea.”
Joanna Ho joined others in subtly blaming the message from her foe on the 2024 presidential election results, which rendered Republican contender Donald Trump the victor.
“So many others have said it much more eloquently and powerfully but hate has been emboldened, the masks are off,” Joanna told her social media supporters. “Authors, educators, storytellers, librarians, those who speak truth to power have been and will continue to be targeted and attacked,” she continued.
“DO NOT LET THE FEAR OR HATE quiet your voices,” Ho admonished her followers. “Also, if someone is upset about pronouns, I wonder why they ever bought my books to begin with. They clearly didn’t understand what they are about. And, they need them more than most.”
Joanna Ho is the author of several books for young readers, including Say My Name, We Who Produce Pearls, and The Silence That Binds Us. Her 2021 book, Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, tells the story of a young Asian girl who learns to love the shape of her eyes.
“I am an educator,” Joanna said during a recent interview. “I got into education because I have always been really driven by [a] desire to create change, and I’ve always been really passionate about anti-racism,” she added.
“The main reason I got an education is that I love teaching, but also because the school system is so broken. It’s oppressive. It’s so inequitable.”
Several of Joanna Ho’s Instagram followers supported her social media post responding to the racist rant she received. “I love everything about your books,” literacy ambassador Mychal Threets shared. “So happy you write them for the library kids, for the library people, for the people! I wish we had more of your powerful books and words to read,” he added.
Another fan wrote, “I’m ordering all your books in protest!”