My Seven Black Fathers

240 pages | paperback |  “[A] rousing debut . . . Vivid and moving . . . Stirring . . . A powerful call to action in these fraught times.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Will Jawando tells a deeply affirmative story of hope and respect for men of color at a time when Black men are routinely stigmatized. As a boy growing up outside DC, Will, who went by his Nigerian name, Yemi, was shunted from school to school, never quite fitting in. He was a Black kid with a divorced white mother, a frayed relationship with his biological father, and teachers who scolded him for being disruptive. Eventually, he became close to Kalfani, a kid he looked up to on the basketball court. Years after he got the call telling him that Kalfani was dead, another victim of gun violence, Will looks back on the relationships he had with a series of extraordinary mentors who enabled him to thrive.Among them were Mr. Williams, the rare Black male grade school teacher, who found a way to bolster Will