The Trayvon Generation

THE TRAYVON GENERATION by Elizabeth Alexander will be on our Library shelves soon.  It received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus (“A dynamic critique on the sprawling effects of racism and its effects on today’s youth.”), Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly (“a thought-provoking must-read”). Alexander, an award-winning author, poet, and scholar, offers a series of essays on racism in America and the impact especially on Black youth, who have virtually witnessed the stories of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland … well, the list goes on and on. Alexander uses poetry and art in surprising ways to convey her points. She also references history and, for me, one of the more informative sections was her discussion of the 1966 debates over Land of the Free, an eighth-grade history textbook by John Hope Franklin; there were many echoes of today’s debate about critical race theory. Our students and teachers will find much to discuss here.