DeRay Mckesson Book Recommendations

Written as a letter to his teenage son, this brief book—published by the same house that issued James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time—details what Coates has learned growing up black in America. He has explored the realities of Black life in a structure of society where racial discrimination was an integral part, grappling with themes on identity, fear, and resilience. He posits questions at large in his musings as to what then is the very basis of the American dream and what it makes of the Negro body. This is a deeply meditative work on race, power, and the ways in which the world continually asks those with less to offer more.

A novel set in a future America laid waste by climate change and societal collapse, where a young woman with the power to feel the suffering of others profoundly sets out to build a new kind of community, one based on her own philosophy of change and resilience. This subsequent dystopian novel strings a tale of survival and hope further, looking into adaptation, faith, and the power found in unity amidst a world that is on the decline.

The novel takes the dual narrative perspectives of two artistic twin sisters, as they struggle to find truth in the tumultuous throes of adolescence, family tragedy, and personal identity. Making for a vivid emotional journey through the high-stakes experimentation of artistic expression, sibling rivalries, and self-actualization. Moving skillfully between past and present, the story reveals the profound connections and secrets that define the sibling relationship and the individual paths toward healing and acceptance.

This book brings to life for me the world of the Neanderthals, so often depicted as a brutish and unsophisticated character. It integrates a comprehensive selection of some of the most recent archaeological findings in an exciting synthesis about these ancient people and their complex behavior.

Tiger Lily desperately wants to be a retelling of the classic "Peter Pan," only this time from the point of view of Tiger Lily and altogether darker and more complicated than the original. The book epitomizes themes of love, loyalty, and identity with the finest relationships and the fateful choices which the characters of Neverland will

"The People Could Fly" by Virginia Hamilton is a collection of African American folktales interspersed with stories of magical realism, which include current themes of human resiliency, hope, and the power of the human spirit. These stories provide a telling of how the people could fly, binding an important legacy of cultural storytelling and reflecting the enduring strength and spirit of the African American community.

"Honey, I Love" is really a magnificent book of poetry for children from Eloise Greenfield. It speaks about the very deep wonders of life in common simple moments that are full of innocent life's joys. The text within the book uses the language, joyous and playful, to celebrate the appreciation of little delights in the world and the wonders of the world, voiced from the open-heartedness of a child.

Dianne M. Stewart critically takes a keen look at some of these historical and social challenges that, until today, continued to wreak havoc on the romantic and family relationships of Black women in America. The book unseats the systemic barriers that have undergirded the experiences of Black love and family life through a mix of history, cultural studies, and self-disclosed accounts.

"The Testing of Luther Albright" by Mackenjson Bezos is a character-based novel that follows the life of an obstinate engineer, Luther Albright, in his struggle between his private and professional affairs. It is a story of reflectiveness—complexities in family dynamics, the nature of love, and trust with the trials of being close to our nearest and dearest.

Joanna Schwartz takes a deep dive into the legal protections and barriers that come between victims of police malpractice and recompense in "Shielded." The book takes readers from qualified immunity to a cornucopia of other legal protections through detailed research that really gives the full picture of how protection to law enforcement officers is commonly protected from legal liability.