Daring to Make a Difference: Five Characters Fighting For Justice

As a ten year old, I spent half my time wanting to change the world and the other half wanting to hide from it. My grandmother marched for Civil Rights in the South. When my mother took me to a demonstration in New York City, I thought more about my sore feet than about fighting to fund the public library. Marching in a protest with thousands of others wasn’t for me. I wanted to do something that would make a tangible difference.

Today, young readers are faced with a broken world. The activist titles in this list are glimmers of light in the darkness, illuminating ways young characters can make a difference in their worlds.

The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes

The mostly white town of Great Mountain Mississippi, goes ga-ga over their prize Black football player, Henson Blayze. On his first day of eighth grade, this talented athlete, who is joining the high school team, is greeted with a parade of fans, a gourmet steak meal in the cafeteria, and special treatment from the strictest of teachers. Henson is considered to be a hero – until he walks off the field in the middle of a game in order to be with Menkah, his young friend who was unjustly beaten by the police. When the town turns against Henson, he remains steadfast in refusing to play and continues to stand up against racial injustice. This experience opened Blaze’s eyes as to how he, and other Black bodies, are seen only as entertainment. Historical background, fantastical elements, and a tender love story bring hope and perspective to a hard topic.

Unfadeable by Maurice Broaddus

Bella, aka Unfadable, is accustomed to taking care of herself. She’s been unhoused ever since her father died and her schizophrenic mother was taken away. Bella spends her time tagging graffiti, sketching, and living under the radar. When she makes a pitch for a public art class at a town meeting, she discovers some shady goings on with the community’s finances. With support from an unlikely crew she fights the misuse of their resources. This personal story of how gentrification affects lives is an action-packed mystery which is relevant to young readers.

Noodle & Bao by Shaina Lu

Inspired by real-life community organizing in American Chinatowns, this graphic novel tells the story of Momo, her best friend Bao, and their ah-ma, Noodle. These friends band together to save their neighborhood, Town 99, from changing. When Ms. Jujube transforms the neighborhood with her Fancé hotel, she evicts Noodle and her popular restaurant. After some struggles, Moma and Bao garner neighborhood support to fight gentrification. The descriptions of food, colorful illustrations and quirky characters make this an entertaining read.

Blue Stars: The Vice Principal Problem by Kekla Magoon and Cynthia Leitich Smith

When Maya learns that she and her cousin Riley will be sharing a room while they are staying at their grandmother’s house in Urbanopolis, she feels like her dream has come true. But it turns out that outgoing, robotics-loving Maya, who is Black, and her shy gymnast cousin Riley, who is from Muscagee Nation, rub each other the wrong way. It takes a villain to bring them together. The two girls are furious that Vice Principal Balderdash is siphoning funds from after-school programs to buy portable classrooms to increase detention space. The inventive tactics the cousins devise when they team up to fight injustices are clever. This satisfying graphic novel, first in a series, celebrates unlikely friendships and community activism.

Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution by Sherri Winston

Talented violinist Lotus is excited for her seventh-grade year at her new artsy magnet school. She’s been singled out to join the main orchestra and has a chance to join an international orchestra and visit her father in Paris. She rocks her own ’70’s fashion style and is especially proud of her impressive Afro. After some boys who are jealous of Lotus for being chosen as the concertmaster, throw spit balls and paper airplanes into her Afro, she is unfairly cited for violating the dress code. At first, Lotus agrees to compromise and change her hairstyle, but eventually her friend Rebel, an activist who is protesting the fact that the fancy magnet school gets all the resources while her regular public school is underfunded, persuades Lotus to fight back. This realistic story illustrates how dress codes discriminate against Black girls and the prevalence of inequitable funding of schools for Blacks and minorities.

Jen Kraar

Jen Kraar grew up chasing lizards in India, making up stories about the residents of the spirit houses in Thailand, and riding retired racehorses in Singapore. On occasion she would visit the Met in NYC, and, like Claudia and Jamie, dream of splashing among the muse statues in the cafeteria's fountain. Jen explores themes of finding home in the middle grade novels and picture books she writes. Now, as a Manager at Pittsburgh's beloved City of Asylum Bookstore, she builds a diverse collection of books, talks about kid lit with customers young and old, and reads every middle grade ARC (advanced reading copy) she can get her hands on. When Jen is not reading or writing she is baking scones, knitting while viewing French detective shows with her partner, or visiting her daughters in Brooklyn and Durham.