The Black Friend

If you've already read Kendi, Oluo, Saad, and others, there won't be much new here for you. But this is an incredibly accessible book and would be a great one for tweens, teens, and the people in your life who still say things like “I don't see race” or “All lives matter.” I loved Joseph's conversational tone, music recs, and the little callout boxes in each chapter telling folks what to Google for more info.

When I was 13, the staff of the psychiatric ward where I spent some time were very fond of saying, “Sometimes in life you have to do things you don't want to.” Mr. Joseph begins his introduction with this timeworn cliche but claims that this is a Black people thing. It would have been the perfect time to establish a sense of shared humanity (especially when writing for teenagers!) but the author drops the ball and never bothers to pick it up. Repeatedly, the author misses a teachable moment that seemed obvious to me. Racism and discrimination are framed as some kind of competition; although he deigns to mention the nonsense Muslims face these days, the author insists that to be a Black person is the worst thing in the world to be and I can't help but feel he has very little appreciation for how much privilege he has derived from his Y chromosome, nevermind from being healthy and able-bodied.

The writing itself is very sound and there were stories I enjoyed hearing but this book should have been written by someone who knows how to write for young people. (Lord knows there are plenty of talented Black YA authors out there.)

I received an ARC of this book free from Candlewick Press for review.