african american youth

"This graphic memoir . . . offers a deeply personal meditation on the 'the talk' parents must have with Black children about racism and the brutality that often accompanies it, a ritual attempt to keep kids safe and prepare them for a world that--to paraphrase Toni Morrison--does not love them . . . Bell examines how "the talk" has shaped nearly every moment of his life into adulthood and fatherhood. . . Drawing attention to the brutal murders of African Americans like Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner, and showcasing his award-winning cartoons along the way, Bell takes us up to the very moment of reckoning when people took to the streets protesting the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and when he must have 'the talk' with a six-year-old son of his own"--Provided by publisher.

"The author relates how her cousin was imprisoned at the age of fifteen for attempted carjacking and how she took him in upon his release, only to lose him to the deadly streets of South Central L.A."--OCLC.

"In 1954, after the passing of Brown v Board, one county in southern Virginia chose to close its public schools rather than integrate. Those public schools stayed closed for five years. This was the reality of the people of Prince Edward County. When the affluent white population of Prince Edward County built a private school--for white children only--they left Black children and their families with very few options. Some Black children were home schooled by unemployed Black teachers. Some traveled thousands of miles to live with relatives, friends, or even strangers. Some didn't go to school at all. But many stood up and became young activists, fighting for one of the rights America claims belongs to all: the right to learn. [The author] shines a light on this disturbing and important chapter of America's history, with ripple effects that still impact the country to this day"--Provided by publisher.

"At nine-years-old, D. Watkins has three concerns in life: picking his dad's lotto numbers, keeping his Nikes free of creases, and being a man. Directly in his periphery is east Baltimore, a poverty-stricken city battling the height of a crack epidemic just hours from the nation's capital. Watkins, like many boys around him, is thrust out of childhood and into a world where manhood means surviving by slinging crack on street corners and finding himself on the wrong side of pistols. For thirty years, Watkins is forced safeguard every moment of joy he experiences, or risk losing himself entirely. Now, for the first time, Watkins harnesses these moments to tell the story of how he matured into the D. Watkins we know today-beloved author, college professor, editor-at-large of Salon.com, and devoted husband and father. Black Boy Smile lays bare Watkins' relationship with his father and brotherhoods with boys around him. He shares candid recollections of early assaults on his body and mind and how he coped through stoic silence disguised as manhood. His harrowing pursuit for redemption, written in his signature street style, pinpoints how generational hardship, left raw and unnurtured, breeds toxic masculinity. Watkins discovers a love for books, is admitted to two graduate programs, meets with his future wife-an attorney-, and finds true freedom in fatherhood. Equally moving and liberating, Black Boy Smile is D. Watkins' love letter to Black boys in concrete cities, a daring testimony that brings to life the contradictions, fears, and hopes of boys hurdling headfirst into adulthood. Black Boy Smile is a story that proves that when we acknowledge the fallacies of our past, we can uncover the path toward self-discovery. Black Boy Smile is the story of a Black boy who healed"--.

"In the midst of civil unrest in the summer of 2020 following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, . . . Elizabeth Alexander, wrote a . . . reflection on the psyche of young Black America, turning a mother's eye to her sons' generation. Originally published in the New Yorker, the essay . . . observed the lives and attitudes of young people who even as children could never be shielded from the brutality that has ended so many Black boys and men's lives. With camera phones and internet access, the racist violence that has plagued America throughout its history has become more extensively documented, and . . . accessible through news articles and social media posts. The children of this generation were teens too when Trayvon Martin was murdered in 2012 before reaching adulthood, becoming the first in a series of . . . names, and any efforts from mothers to protect their sons from the . . . truth of our society was futile in the digital age of information. Now, the viral essay which spoke . . . to this . . . historical moment . . . is expounded upon, bookended by additional essays woven with . . . insight and heart and combined with . . . art by . . . Black artists. Taking the reader through our past and extrapolating its lasting impact through to . . . [the] moment, Elizabeth then turns her eye to the radical potential of our future"--Provided by publisher.

"The killing of Emmett Till is . . . remembered . . . as one of the . . . examples of lynchings in America. African American children in 1955 personally felt the terror of his murder. These children, however, would rise up against the culture that made Till's death possible. From the violent Woolworth's lunch-counter sit-ins in Jackson to the school walkouts of McComb, the young people of Mississippi picketed, boycotted, organized, spoke out, and marched, working to reveal the vulnerability of black bodies and the ugly nature of the world they lived in. These children changed that world. [This book] weaves together the . . . tales of those young women and men of Mississippi, figures like Brenda Travis, the Ladner sisters, and Sam Block who risked their lives to face down vicious Jim Crow segregation. Readers also discover the adults who guided the young people, elders including Medgar Evers, Robert Moses, and Fannie Lou Hamer. This . . . book of history for young adults from . . . author Robert H. Mayer is a . . . portrayal of life in the segregated South and the bravery of young people who fought that system. As the United States still reckons with racism and inequality, the activists working In the Name of Emmett Till can serve as models of activism for young people"--Provided by publisher.

"The numbers are staggering: Over the past twenty years in Chicago, 14,033 people have been killed and another roughly 60,000 wounded by gunfire. What does that do to the spirit of individuals and communities? Drawing on his decades of experience, Alex Kotlowitz set out to chronicle one summer in the city, writing of those who have emerged from the violence and whose stories reveal the capacity--and the breaking point--of the human heart and soul. The result is a . . . collection of deeply intimate stories that upend what we think we know about gun violence in America"--Provided by publisher.

"A tall tale about a local basketball hero nicknamed Gravity"--Provided by publisher.

"This book investigates how various constructions of identity can influence educational achievement for African American students, both within and outside school. Unique in its attention to the challenges that social and educational stratification pose, as well as to the opportunities that extracurricular activities can offer for African American students' access to learning, this book brings a deeper understanding of the local and fluid aspects of academic, racial, and ethnic identities"--Provided by publisher.

Justice stays out of trouble and spends his time writing rap lyrics and playing chess in the park. Then his teacher's phone and wallet are stolen, and Justice must prove his innocence before he is wrongly convicted of the crime.