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Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
Sixteen-year-old gay African-American student Moss Jeffries feels stuck in his run-down West Oakland High School. Still mourning the death of his father, shot by police years earlier, a violent incident at his school prompts Moss to channel his simmering anger into community activism against a corrupt authority system.
The Black Friend: on Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph
Chronicles the reflections of Frederick Joseph, award-winning marketing professional and writer, and other prominent African American artists, writers, and activists on their experiences with racism and white supremacy. Discusses ways for white people to be anti-racist through their behavior and knowledge.
Light It Up by Kekla Magoon
Told from multiple viewpoints, relates how Shae Tatum, an unarmed, thirteen-year-old black girl, is shot by a white police officer, throwing their community into upheaval and making it a target of demonstrators.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds; Ibram X. Kendi
This adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi's "Stamped from the beginning" explores the history of racist ideas in America by examining the lives of notable historical figures, from Cotton Mather and Thomas Jefferson to W.E.B. Du Bois and Angela Davis. Discusses how racist ideas spread and how they are also discredited.
Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles
African American teen Marvin Johnson and his twin Tyler witness police brutality, gangs, and drug activity in their poor neighborhood on a daily basis. One night Marvin follows Tyler to a party to keep an eye on him. While at the party, a shooting happens and the police arrive. Tyler goes missing in the chaos, and is later found dead. In the midst of Marvin's grief, a video surfaces online that shows Tyler was shot by a police officer.
When They Call You a Terrorist (Young Adult Edition) by Patrisse Cullors; asha bandele; Benee Knauer (Adapted by)
Patrisse Khan-Cullors’ story asks us to remember that protest in the interest of the most vulnerable comes from love. Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement have been called terrorists, a threat to America. But in truth, they are loving women whose life experiences have led them to seek justice for those victimized by the powerful.
This Is My America by Kim Johnson
While writing letters to Innocence X, a justice-seeking project, asking them to help her father, an innocent black man on death row, teenaged Tracy takes on another case when her brother is accused of killing his white girlfriend.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds; Brendan Kiely
When sixteen-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend.
Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
Incarcerated teen Quan Banks writes letters to Justyce McCallister, with whom he bonded years before over family issues, about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system.
Call Number: HS - Print & Digital Collection
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seventeen-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him.
The Talk by Wade Hudson (Editor); Cheryl Willis Hudson (Editor)
As long as racist ideas persist, families will continue to have the difficult and necessary conversations with their young ones on the subject. In this inspiring collection, literary all-stars such as Renée Watson, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Adam Gidwitz, and many more engage young people in frank conversations about race, identity, and self-esteem.
This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell; Aurelia Durand (Illustrator)
Offers young people twenty illustrated lessons with activities for standing up to racism. Provides information on understanding your own identity, personal and institutional racism, the history of prejudice, and ways to take action against racism.
I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina; Stacey Robinson (Illustrator); John Jennings (Illustrator)
The ghost of fifteen-year-old Alfonso Jones travels in a New York subway car full of the living and the dead, watching his family and friends fight for justice after he is killed by an off-duty police officer while buying a suit in a Midtown department store.
How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson is shot to death, his community is thrown into an uproar because Tariq was black and the shooter, Jack Franklin, is white, and in the aftermath everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events agree.
Color Outside the Lines by Mandanna, Sangu; Ahmed, Samira; Silvera, Adam; Smith, Eric; McLemore, Anna-Marie
This modern, groundbreaking YA anthology explores the complexity and beauty of interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships where differences are front and center.
Read in:
EMS | WMS | Sora
After the Shot Drops by Randy Ribay
Told from alternating perspectives, Bunny takes a basketball scholarship to an elite private school to help his family, leaving behind Nasir, his best friend, in their tough Philadelphia neighborhood.
I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Segal, Gilly; Jones, Kimberly
One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite; Maritza Moulite
When Kezi Smith loses her life after an encounter with police at a Black Lives Matter protest, her sister Happi questions the media's portrayal of a sister she was never really close to. Pressed by her older sister and other friends, Happi joins a road trip along Route 66 to commemorate the memory of her sister, stopping at historical black safe houses noted in the "Negro Motorist Green Book."
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi; Yusef Salaam
Even though Amal Shahid is an artist and poet, he's still viewed as disruptive at his diverse art school. A fight breaks out between Amal and his friends and a group of white boys, leaving one of the white boys in a coma. Amal is convicted of the attack and sent to prison, even though he's not the one who put the boy in a coma. His despair and rage at having his bright future destroyed threaten to overcome him until he discovers the refuge and hope that his words and art give him.
The Black Friend: on Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph
Chronicles the reflections of Frederick Joseph, award-winning marketing professional and writer, and other prominent African American artists, writers, and activists on their experiences with racism and white supremacy. Discusses ways for white people to be anti-racist through their behavior and knowledge.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil (who was unarmed) at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline.
Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults) by Bryan Stevenson
Lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares his efforts to end racial and economic injustice through his organization Equal Justice Initiative. With personal stories from his work, he sheds light on a broken justice system he's working to change.
Anger Is a Gift by
Sixteen-year-old gay African-American student Moss Jeffries feels stuck in his run-down West Oakland High School. Still mourning the death of his father, shot by police years earlier, a violent incident at his school prompts Moss to channel his simmering anger into community activism against a corrupt authority system.
The Black Friend: on Being a Better White Person by
Chronicles the reflections of Frederick Joseph, award-winning marketing professional and writer, and other prominent African American artists, writers, and activists on their experiences with racism and white supremacy. Discusses ways for white people to be anti-racist through their behavior and knowledge.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by
This adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi's "Stamped from the beginning" explores the history of racist ideas in America by examining the lives of notable historical figures, from Cotton Mather and Thomas Jefferson to W.E.B. Du Bois and Angela Davis. Discusses how racist ideas spread and how they are also discredited.
Tyler Johnson Was Here by
African American teen Marvin Johnson and his twin Tyler witness police brutality, gangs, and drug activity in their poor neighborhood on a daily basis. One night Marvin follows Tyler to a party to keep an eye on him. While at the party, a shooting happens and the police arrive. Tyler goes missing in the chaos, and is later found dead. In the midst of Marvin's grief, a video surfaces online that shows Tyler was shot by a police officer.
When They Call You a Terrorist (Young Adult Edition) by
Patrisse Khan-Cullors’ story asks us to remember that protest in the interest of the most vulnerable comes from love. Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement have been called terrorists, a threat to America. But in truth, they are loving women whose life experiences have led them to seek justice for those victimized by the powerful.
Dear Justyce by
Incarcerated teen Quan Banks writes letters to Justyce McCallister, with whom he bonded years before over family issues, about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system.
The Talk by
As long as racist ideas persist, families will continue to have the difficult and necessary conversations with their young ones on the subject. In this inspiring collection, literary all-stars such as Renée Watson, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Adam Gidwitz, and many more engage young people in frank conversations about race, identity, and self-esteem.
I Am Alfonso Jones by
The ghost of fifteen-year-old Alfonso Jones travels in a New York subway car full of the living and the dead, watching his family and friends fight for justice after he is killed by an off-duty police officer while buying a suit in a Midtown department store.
One of the Good Ones by
When Kezi Smith loses her life after an encounter with police at a Black Lives Matter protest, her sister Happi questions the media's portrayal of a sister she was never really close to. Pressed by her older sister and other friends, Happi joins a road trip along Route 66 to commemorate the memory of her sister, stopping at historical black safe houses noted in the "Negro Motorist Green Book."
Punching the Air by
Even though Amal Shahid is an artist and poet, he's still viewed as disruptive at his diverse art school. A fight breaks out between Amal and his friends and a group of white boys, leaving one of the white boys in a coma. Amal is convicted of the attack and sent to prison, even though he's not the one who put the boy in a coma. His despair and rage at having his bright future destroyed threaten to overcome him until he discovers the refuge and hope that his words and art give him.
The Hate U Give by
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil (who was unarmed) at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline.
