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BLACK KIDS PLEASURE
17 Stories Celebrating Black Childhood
Edited by Kwame Mbalia
Danielle Young coined the term “Black Boy Joy” after watching Chance the Rapper radiate happiness at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2016. A welcome contrast to how young Black men are often portrayed in the media, it soon became a hashtag. In the introduction to his anthology of the same name, Kwame Mbalia (author of the Tristan Strong series) admits that he didn’t like watching the news, because growing up “it was always about covering a local shooting attack, a death, or some other event. the tragedy that made my mom shake her head and my dad scowl… because nine out of 10 a face like mine was on screen.”
That’s why Mbalia invited 16 Black writer friends to help her highlight “the revel, excitement, and pure fun of growing up as kids in and out of it all.” From stories (like Jason Reynolds, Varian Johnson, and Tochi Onyebuchi) to poetry (Dean Atta) and comics (Jerry Craft), “Black Boy Joy” has something for every reader.
Written by Jamaican-American poet and filmmaker Don P. Hooper, “Got Me a Jet Pack” explores a day in the life of Rodney Halfway Tree Clarke, a boy from East Flatbush, Brooklyn. (His middle name, Halfway Tree, is where his family met in Jamaica.) When Rodney accidentally kicks a soccer ball into his Jamaican neighbor’s backyard and Rodney takes him home, Rodney is sure to scold him, but instead he gives him a special black hoodie to wear (” It supplies the boob with oxygen”) and produces a large crystal. Before you know it, “in a frenzy” Space.“So beautiful: endless wonders and bright colors that can never be captured in a photograph.” It turns out that his parents led a double life, and his father, who participated in races to settle disputes between rival galaxies and planets, disappeared. (“We lost track of him before the last race. Yuh mudda went off earth to find him.”) If he doesn’t show up, Earth could be invaded. In this empowering sci-fi story, it’s up to Rodney to take his father’s place and save the day.
A more realistic story by young adult novelist Julian Winters, “The Legendary Lawrence Cobbler” follows seventh grader Jevon Lawrence, who aspires to be a chef and competes in his school’s cooking competition. She recently told her father, who shares her passion for cooking, “I think I like men,” while they were making red velvet cakes together, and things have been “weird” between them ever since. He fears that his father’s incompetence will mean that he no longer loves him. But when Rodney’s evangelist, two-stage G’Ma comes to teach them how to make peach cobbler and shares a not-so-hidden secret of his own, he realizes that what his father has always told him is true: “Fear is forgetting that all is well. ” This poignant tale will resonate with young Black children everywhere as they struggle with newfound emotions and crave acceptance.
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