BLACK LIVES MATTER READING GUIDE “READING IS AN EXERCISE IN EMPATHY; AN EXERCISE IN WALKING IN SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES FOR A WHILE.” MALORIE BLACKMAN Why have we put this guide together? We are very proud of our community at Archway Trust and the diversity of students’ backgrounds who all come together to make this community special. We want to ensure that all of our students are introduced to a variety of different voices and one way that we can do that is through reading. Ms Gregory, the Librarian at Emmanuel school, has put together a reading guide of books that exemplify the principles of the Black Lives Matter movement. The books are sorted into three categories - 11+, 13+ and 16+ - and have been chosen to help young people appropriately explore race, identity, family and community. A complete list of all these books can be found at the back of this booklet. If you are interested in reading beyond this list, the National Literacy Trust also provide book lists appropriate for all age groups and you can find them at this link: https://literacytrust.org.uk/resources/black-lives-matter-book-lists-ages-0- 16/ Many public libraries have limited eBook services; nevertheless some of these books can be found online at your local library. Students over 14 can sign up for their local library easily online here: https://myaccount.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/service/join_a_library Unfortunately, you can only sign up online if you are 14 or over. Students under 14 cannot sign up online themselves and would have to go to the library in person which is not possible at the moment. A COMPLETE BULLET POINT LIST (- WITHOUT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SUCH AS BLURBS)- CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS BOOKLET 11 Star Pick: Ghost Boys + In Chicago, a white police officer shoots and kills black 12-year-old Jerome, mistaking a toy gun the child is playing with for a real one. As a ghost, young Jerome witnesses the aftermath of his death, including scenes with his family, the police and the media. Jerome goes on to meets another ghost, that of the real life figure Emmett Till: a black boy whom himself was murdered in 1955. Till shows Jerome that hundreds of other "ghost boys" just like them are left to roam the streets of America. The story also follows other characters, including Sarah, the daughter of the white officer who killed Jerome, Jerome's friend Carlos, whose toy gun Jerome was playing with, and Jerome's younger sister Kim. Sometimes, Donte wishes Who are you? What is he were invisible. As one of racism? Where does it the few black boys at come from? Why does it Middlefield Prep, most of exist? What can you do to the students don't look like disrupt it? Learn about him. They don't like him social identities, the history either. Dubbing him "Black of racism and resistance Brother," Donte's teachers against it, and how you and classmates make it can use your anti-racist Black Brother, clear they wish he were This book is Anti- lens and voice to move the Black Brother, by more like his lighter- Racist, by Tiffany world toward equity and Jewell Parker skinned brother, Trey. Jewell and Aurelia liberation. Rhodes Durand Living on the South Isabella has always felt Crongton council estate has pulled between two its worries. Having strayed worlds, and now that her off his turf on a 'heroic' (if parents are divorced, she's misguided) mission to help is beginning to realize that out a girl, McKay finds being split between Mom himself facing a friend's and Dad is more than crazy ex-boyfriend, some switching houses, power-tripping hood- switching nicknames, Crongton Knights, rats and a notoriously Blended, by switching backpacks: it's by Alex Wheatle violent gangster with a Sharon M. Draper also about switching vendetta. identities. Her dad is black, her mom is white. Jacqueline Woodson, the acclaimed author of Another 1 Brooklyn, tells the moving story of her childhood in 1 mesmerizing verse in Brown Girl Dreaming. + Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement Written in the spirit of Nina Simone’s song “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black,” this vibrant book is a perfect introduction to both historic and present-day icons and heroes. Meet figureheads, leaders and pioneers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks, as well as cultural trailblazers and athletes like Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey and Serena Williams In Crossover, by Jason Reynolds, 12-year-old Josh and his twin Jordan have basketball in their blood. They’re kings of the court, star players for their school team. Their father used to be a champion player and they each want nothing more than to follow in his footsteps. Both on and off the court, there is conflict and hardship which will test Josh’s bond with his brother. In this heartfelt novel in verse, the boys find that life doesn’t come with a play-book and it's not all about winning. Clean Getaway by Nic Stone tells the story of William "Scoob" Lamar, an eleven year old black kid, and G'ma, his white grandmother, and the road trip they embark upon across the American South. Set against the backdrop of the segregation history of the American South, Scoob is about to discover that the world hasn't always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren't always what they seem--his G'ma included. In The Faraway Truth by Janae Marks, Zoe Washington never met her father, who was sent to prison right before she was born. When she receives a letter from him on her twelfth birthday, it's a huge surprise. Zoe's mom always told her that Marcus was a liar, a monster, but he sounds ... nice. Zoe starts to investigate the crime - and the deeper she digs, the more she doubt the conviction. Is her father innocent? Or is he a liar? Zoe is determined to find out. 13 Star Pick: The Hate U Give + 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 at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life. More books that explore POLICE BRUTALITY... When Marvin Johnson's A bag of chips. That's all twin, Tyler, goes to a party, sixteen-year-old Rashad is what starts as harmless fun looking for at the corner turns into a shooting, bodega. What he finds followed by a police raid. instead is a fist-happy cop The next day, Tyler is found who mistakes Rashad for a dead, and a video leaked shoplifter. online tells an even more Two teens--one black, one chilling story: Tyler has white--grapple with the Tyler Johnson was been shot and killed by a All American boys, repercussions of a single here, by Jay Coles police officer. by Jason Reynolds violent act. When sixteen-year-old Justyce McAllister is top of Tariq Johnson dies from his class and set for the Ivy two gunshot wounds, his League – but none of that community is thrown into matters to the police officer an uproar. Tariq was black. who just put him in The shooter, Jack Franklin, handcuffs. is white. In the aftermath of Justyce looks to the Tariq's death, everyone has teachings of Dr. Martin something to say, but no Luther King Jr. for answers. How it went down, two accounts of the events Dear Martin, by But do they hold up by Kekla Magoon line up. Nic Stone anymore? 13 Star Pick: Noughts & + Crosses Sephy is a Cross: dark-skinned and beautiful, she lives a life of privilege and power. But she's lonely, and burns with injustice at the world she sees around her. Callum is a nought: pale-skinned and poor, he's considered to be less than nothing - a blanker, there to serve Crosses - but he dreams of a better life. They've been friends since they were children, and they both know that's as far as it can ever go. Noughts and Crosses are fated to be bitter enemies - love is out of the question. Then - in spite of a world that is fiercely against them - these star-crossed lovers choose each other. But this is love story that will lead both of them into terrible danger . and which will have shocking repercussions for generations to come. Voted as one of the UK's best-loved books, Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic. Now a BBC TV series! Biggie Smalls was 1 right.