Unequal : a story of America

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Title:

Unequal : a story of America

Author:

Dyson, Michael Eric, author.

Favreau, Marc, 1968- author.

Summary:

The true story of racial inequality—and resistance to it—is the prologue to our present. You can see it in where we live, where we go to school, where we work, in our laws, and in our leadership. Unequal presents a gripping account of the struggles that shaped America and the insidiousness of racism, and demonstrates how inequality persists. As readers meet some of the many African American people who dared to fight for a more equal future, they will also discover a framework for addressing racial injustice in their own lives. -- Amazon.

Audience:

Ages 12 & up Little, Brown and Company

Edition:

First edition.

Contents:

Mary Church Terrell fights back against segregation -- Ida B. Wells exposes America's lynching epidemic -- Buck Franklin bears witness to the destruction of Black Wall Street -- Ned Cobb confronts racial inequality on the job -- Dr. Ossian Sweet breaks through the color line to find a home in Detroit -- Pauli Murray discovers the key to ending segregation in schools -- Daisy Myers integrates the white suburbs -- Malcolm X launches a struggle against police brutality -- Fannie Lou Hamer takes back the right to vote -- James Meredith integrates the University of Mississippi -- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Memphis's sanitation workers protest for equal pay -- John Carlos and Tommie Smith raise a fist for Black pride -- Ruth Batson uncovers segregation in Boston -- Michelle Alexander confronts the New Jim Crow -- Catherine Flowers, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, and Barack Obama expose America's crisis of environmental racism -- Yusuf Salaam battles racial profiling -- Stacey Abrams leads the fight against voter suppression -- Dr. Susan Moore calls out America's unequal health care -- The Black Lives Matter Movement opens the final battle for racial equality -- Nikole Hannah-Jones taps into the power of history.

Physical Description:

xiii, 348 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Subject Term:

African Americans -- Civil rights.

Civil rights workers.

Civil rights movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Race relations.

Author(s):

Favreau, Marc, 1968-

Publisher:

Little, Brown and Company,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9780759557017

Publication Information:

New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2022.

Call Number:

YA 323 DYSON

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003616458	Young Adult Nonfiction	323 DYSON	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
33607003660050	Young Adult Nonfiction	323 DYSON	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award

New York Times bestselling author Michael Eric Dyson and critically acclaimed author Marc Favreau show how racial inequality permeates every facet of American society, through the lens of those pushing for meaningful change

The true story of racial inequality--and resistance to it--is the prologue to our present. You can see it in where we live, where we go to school, where we work, in our laws, and in our leadership. Unequal presents a gripping account of the struggles that shaped America and the insidiousness of racism, and demonstrates how inequality persists. As readers meet some of the many African American people who dared to fight for a more equal future, they will also discover a framework for addressing racial injustice in their own lives.

Author Notes

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of over twenty books, a widely celebrated professor, a prominent public intellectual, an ordained Baptist minister, and a noted political analyst. He is a two-time NAACP Image Award winner, and the winner of the American Book Award for Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster . His book The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America was a Kirkus Prize finalist. He is also a highly sought after public speaker who is known to excite both secular and sacred audiences. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee. This is his first book for teens. Follow him on Twitter @michaeledyson and on his official Facebook page (facebook.com/michaelericdyson).

Marc Favreau is the acclaimed author of Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America and Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia , and co-editor (with Ira Berlin and Steven F. Miller) of Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk About Their Personal Experiences of Slavery and Emancipation . Favreau is also the director of editorial projects at The New Press. He lives with his family in New York City and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up--An incisive look at how race has been woven into the fabric of our country since its inception. Spanning from 1865 to 2021, this work profiles 20 Black Americans, including Ida B. Wells and Nikole Hannah-Jones. Other subjects who are not as widely known include 16-year-old Mary Church, who desegregated a train car in Bowling Green, KY, and went on to be one of the first Black women to graduate college, and Michelle Alexander, a lawyer who fought against "the New Jim Crow," the over-policing of Black people during the "War on Drugs" in the 1990s. The authors' goal is to feature the freedom fighters from all walks of life who have been at the center of U.S.'s 150-year struggle for equality and to emphasize that "ordinary" people have pushed back against white supremacy. They make the case that this history cannot be disentangled from the broader American story. Teens can digest the substantial narrative profile by profile, but the work is best read as a whole. This is an excellent, accessible selection for history and political science classes. Thoroughly sourced and richly researched, it can be shelved alongside Stamped and Tracey Baptiste's African Icons. VERDICT Empowering, profound, and necessary, purchase for all collections serving young adults.--Shelley M. Diaz

Publisher's Weekly Review

Dyson and Favreau examine significant moments of injustice and inequality throughout U.S. history in this crucial nonfiction volume, which posits that "the first step to changing the world... is to understand what has come before." Blending stories of historic Black activists with those of today's prominent movers and shakers, the creators shed light on the changemakers of America's history and explore how inequality affects every aspect of society, from housing laws to healthcare. The authors "have a hard time imagining that anyone would want to make history illegal in the United States of America," and use each chapter to highlight a historical event not often taught in classrooms, such as Ossian Sweet breaking the housing color line in 1925 Detroit, and James Meredith integrating the University of Mississippi in 1960. The creators also tie each historic moment to a contemporary counterpart, including Stacey Abrams fighting voter disenfranchisement, as well as legislation seeking to replace real-life history with "more patriotic views" in America's curriculum. This searing look at attempts to block students "from learning the truth of inequality in the United States" encourages readers to acknowledge the deep-seated presence of structural racism in America. A must-read and a must-teach. Ages 12--up. Agent: Tanya McKinnon, McKinnon Literary. (May)■

Prologue: A Note to Readers	p. xi
1 Mary Church Terrell Fights Back Against Segregation	p. 1
2 Ida B. Wells Exposes America's Lynching Epidemic	p. 19
3 Buck Franklin Bears Witness to the Destruction of Black Wall Street	p. 33
4 Ned Cobb Confronts Racial Inequality at Work	p. 47
5 Dr. Ossian Sweet Breaks Through the Color Line to Find a Home in Detroit	p. 61
6 Pauli Murray Discovers the Key to Ending Segregation in Schools	p. 77
7 Daisy Myers Integrates the White Suburbs	p. 91
8 Malcolm X Launches a Struggle Against Police Brutality	p. 105
9 Fannie Lou Hamer Takes Back the Right to Vote	p. 119
10 James Meredith Integrates the University of Mississippi	p. 135
11 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Memphis's Sanitation Workers Protest for Equal Pay	p. 151
12 John Carlos and Tommie Smith Raise a Fist for Black Pride	p. 167
13 Ruth Batson Uncovers Segregation in Boston	p. 181
14 Michelle Alexander Confronts the New Jim Crow	p. 199
15 Catherine Flowers, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, and Barack Obama Expose America's Crisis of Environmental Racism	p. 213
16 Yusef Salaam Battles Racial Profiling	p. 229
17 Stacey Abrams Leads the Fight Against Voter Suppression	p. 245
18 Dr. Susan Moore Calls Out America's Unequal Health Care	p. 259
19 The Black Lives Matter Movement Opens the Latest Battle for Racial Equality	p. 273
20 Nikole Hannah-Jones Taps into the Power of History	p. 285
Afterword: The Story of Inequality in America	p. 295
Acknowledgments	p. 303
Source Notes	p. 305
Index	p. 335

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Publisher's Weekly Review

Table of Contents