"All American Boys" Authors Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds Visit with Shaker Students

October 2, 2018—Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, authors of the New York Times bestselling young adult book “All American Boys,” visited an assembly of Middle School students and held small group discussions with High School students on Monday and Tuesday, October 1 and 2. The visit, facilitated by the District and co-sponsored by the Shaker Heights Public Library, the Shaker Schools Foundation and the Middle School and High School PTOs, also included an evening community discussion at the High School Large Auditorium on Monday night.

“All American Boys” is the winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature and the 2016 Coretta Scott King Honor. The book follows two teens—one black, one white—as they deal with the repercussions of a violent act of police brutality.

Mr. Kiely told students that he and Mr. Reynolds had been friends for some time, but that they decided to write the book after the 2014 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. “When that moment happened, we decided that we had to do something,” said Mr. Kiely. “We wanted to write a book together in response to what was happening to spark conversations in classrooms.”

In their personal friendship, Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Kiely have continued their discussions about police brutality and race. “It’s uncomfortable, but we have really intense conversations around these issues as often as possible. Over the years, they’ll only get easier because we know that we can have them and come out the end,” explained Mr. Reynolds.

During the school visits and community discussion, the authors answered student’s and community member’s questions about their own experiences with racism and the response they’ve had to the book, which varies by location. Some school districts have outright banned the book, while in other areas of the country, police officers have hosted community meetings with teens to discuss the book. “This book could be used to talk about what it means to be muslim, latino, gay, black or any marginalized group. And the situation may not be one of police brutality, but it may be that you can’t get the house you want or the job you want because you look or speak a certain way,” explained Mr. Reynolds. “This book isn’t just about police brutality. It’s about systemic and institutional racism. The reality is that there’s hate in this world. And that’s why we’re doing the work we’re doing.”