My Seven Black Fathers A Young Activist's Memoir of Race, Family, and the Mentors Who Made Him Whole by Will Jawando

 Book Excerpt:

""Will Jawando's account of mentorship, service and healing lays waste to the racist stereotype of the absent Black father. By arguing that Black fathers are not just found in individual families but are indeed the treasure of entire Black communities, Will makes a case for a bold idea: that Black men can counter racist ideas and policies by virtue of their presence in the lives of Black boys and young men. This is a story we need to hear." —Ibram X. Kendi, New York Times–bestselling author of How to be an Antiracist.

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 in class and on the playground. 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 sickening casualty of gun violence, Will looked back on the relationships with an extraordinary number of mentors that enabled him to thrive.

Among them was Mr. Williams, the rare Black male grade school teacher, who found a way to bolster Will’s self-esteem when he discovered he was being bullied; Jay Fletcher, the openly gay colleague of his mother who got him off junk food and took him to his first play; Mr. Holmes, the high school coach and chorus director who saw him through a crushing disappointment; Deen Sanwoola, the businessman who helped him bridge the gap between his American upbringing and his Nigerian heritage, eventually leading to a dramatic reconciliation with his biological father; and President Barack Obama, who made Will his associate director of public engagement at the White House—and who invited him to play basketball on more than one occasion. Without the influence of these men, Will knows he would not be who he is today: a civil rights and education policy attorney, a civic leader, a husband, and a father.

Drawing on Will’s inspiring personal story and involvement in My Brother’s Keeper, President Obama’s national initiative to address persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color, My Seven Black Fathers offers a transformative way for Black men to shape the next generation."

Title: My Seven Black Fathers
Author: Will Jawando
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"My Seven Black Fathers" by Will Jawando

My Assessment:

'My Seven Black Fathers' was wonderfully written by 'author, civil rights attorney, and Montgomery County Councilman Will Jawando.' We find how these black men stepped up to the plate and were there for Will when his Nigerian biological father had failed in being around. Will had a caucasian mother from Kansas and a Nigerian father.

It was an excellent ride as this group of men stepped up from a 'stepfather, a coach, a gay man, a pastor, a Nigerian entrepreneur, and the former President Barack Obama'...all of these men were there for Will when he needed someone. And by the end, it seems like his father, who had been so isolated from his American struggle, finally came around.

Pick up this read that was so well-written where you will get some humor, good descriptions, and even some agony in what was going on at that time... in the life of Wiliam Opeyemi Taofik Alabi Jawando.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for the ARC read and my leaving my opinion of the read.