Which is not to say that I want you to literally “knock yourselves out,” after school … because that would go against the school’s new zero tolerance policy on fighting. I mean, not “bad,” per se, if that’s what you - just not on school grounds. Not that I really want you to kiss … that would be bad. When the teacher breaks them up and euphemistically says the boys need to “kiss and make up,” he tries to correct himself: For example, when a teacher sees Drew and another boy seemingly preparing to fight, he reminds them - somewhat clumsily - of the school’s no-tolerance policy. It’s the kind of touching moment that Craft weaves seamlessly into moments of hilarity. Honestly, there are other parts of the book that had me straight up chuckling, both because the scenes are funny and because I could easily imagine some cloistered conservative pulling their hair out in response. It’s the world that makes us different,” Jordan says. “Of all the people in the world, the one who’s most like me is my friend Drew. Jordan, for example, frets over attending a new school in New York City’s Riverdale neighborhood, “a section of the city that’s so fancy,” he says, “its residents refuse to admit that it’s actually a part of the Bronx. Both of them embody the social consciousness Republicans often claim to be a threat to students - in particular, white students.
“Class Act” tells the story of a Black middle schooler, Drew, who’s a friend to the protagonist in “New Kid,” a fellow middle schooler named Jordan. Jerry Craft published “New Kid” in 2019 and “Class Act” in 2020. While some conservatives have targeted “New Kid” for removal from bookshelves - a testament to its value, in my opinion - the companion book Craft released after that, “Class Act,” is just as good and just as worthy of praise. I’ve been having a ball making my way through some of Craft’s earlier work, but I wanted to highlight a more recent book for today’s edition of “Black History, Uncensored,” our ongoing project focused on Black authors targeted by right-wing bans.
They are fun coming-of-age stories of Black students who are conscious of their differences - not only between themselves and white students but among Black students as well - and the personal, sometimes comical ways all people navigate these differences.
0 kommentar(er)
