Writing from the perspective of a friend, Frederick Joseph

offers candid reflections on his own experiences with racism and

conversations with prominent artists and activists about theirs—
creating an essential read for white people who are committed
anti-racists and those newly come to the cause of racial justice.

THE BLACK FRIEND

ON BEING A BETTER WHITE PERSON
“We don’t see color.” “I didn’t know Black people liked Star
Wars!” “What hood are you from?” For Frederick Joseph, life
as a transfer student in a largely white high school was full
of wince-worthy moments that he often simply let go. As he
grew older, however, he saw these as missed opportunities
not only to stand up for himself, but to spread awareness to
those white people who didn’t see the negative impact they
were having.

Speaking directly to the reader, The Black Friend calls up

race-related anecdotes from the author’s past, weaving in his
thoughts on why they were hurtful and how he might handle
things differently now. Each chapter features the voice of at
least one artist or activist, including playwright Tarell Alvin
McCraney, who with Barry Jenkins received an Academy
Award for the Moonlight screenplay; Angie Thomas, author
of The Hate U Give; April Reign, creator of #OscarsSoWhite;
and eleven others. Touching on everything from cultural
appropriation to power dynamics, “reverse racism” to white
privilege, microaggressions to the tragic results of overt
racism, this book serves as conversation starter, tool kit, and
invaluable window into the life of a former “token Black kid”
who now presents himself as the friend many readers need.
Back matter includes an encyclopedia of racism, providing
details on relevant historical events, terminology, and more.
ON SALE DECEMBER 1, 2020
HC: 978-1-5362-1701-8
$17.99 ($23.99 CAN) FREDERICK JOSEPH is a writer and
Also available as an e-book an award-winning activist, philanthro-
and in audio pist, and marketing professional who was
once selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30
#theblackfriend list. He’s also the winner of the 2018 Bob
Clampett Humanitarian Award, given by
Comic-Con International: San Diego, and
was selected for the 2018 Root 100 list of most influential
African Americans. He lives in New York City.

Illustration © 2020 by Zharia Shinn

 THE BLACK FRIEND
features conversations with such
artists and activists as:
ANGIE THOMAS Producer, storyteller, and author of the best-selling book The Hate U Give

NAIMA COCHRANE Career music-industry executive turned music historian and writer
APRIL REIGN Diversity and inclusion advocate and founder of the #OscarsSoWhite movement
AFRICA MIRANDA Author, host, and digital personality
RABIA CHAUDRY Lawyer, author, and podcast host
XORJE OLIVARES Queer Tejano border native, social commentator, activist, and media personality
TONI ADENLE (Toni Tone) Social media content creator and public speaker
DANIELA ALVAREZ Writer, editor, and social media manager
JESSIE DANIELS Writer and professor at the City University of New York
JOEL LEON Writer, author, storyteller, rapper, spoken-word artist, and TED Talk speaker
JEMELE HILL Journalist, host, sports expert, and overall dope person
JAMIRA BURLEY Activist and social impact consultant
SAIRA RAO Racial justice activist and entrepreneur
TARELL ALVIN McCRANEY World-renowned actor, playwright, and Academy Award winner

MARKETING
• National consumer advertising • Teen Buzz title • Featured title at 2021 conferences
• Trade, school, and library • Best in Class title • Featured title in Candlewick
advertising • Discussion guide Classroom and Candlewick CIRC
• National publicity campaign • Author video e-newsletters
• Blogger outreach • Social media campaign • Select author appearances
• Extensive ARC distribution • Online giveaways • Radio tour
• YA Galley mailing • Featured title at librarian previews • Book trailer

Illustration © 2020 by Zharia Shinn

 From the book’s preface:

To My Reader:
My hope is that this book will be a tool to help others see and understand
the obvious and not-so-obvious ways in which racism and white supremacy
not only have infected our society but are actually the foundation of it.
That it might spark the flame in someone who one day helps burn down the
historic oppression we have faced. . . .
As I sit here contemplating the words I might use to explain to you how
detrimental 2020 has been to the souls of Black people, I find myself unable
to write them. Not because there aren’t countless thoughts floating through
my mind that could be shared. But rather because I don’t want to give them
to you.
This isn’t an attempt to be disrespectful, as much as an attempt to explain
just how tired I am. In this book I’ve already given my readers so much—my
pain, my trauma, and my life—in hopes that maybe future Black generations
won’t have to do the same.
I don’t want to use the very little energy I have left talking to non-Black
people about this moment in time.
Instead, I would rather help Black children understand it. Children like
my eight-year-old brother.
So I will write to him, and you may take from it what you will.

********************

My Brother, Brandon:
I saw you recently in the midst of everyone trying to survive the pandemic and
protesting for social justice, and as usual you didn’t have a care in the world. As it
should be for an eight-year-old.
I wish that I could make it so that your life was always that way, but it won’t
be long before the stress of being Black in this world finds you.
I am heartbroken by this unchangeable fact.
As I write this, you are still too young to understand that to be Black in
America is to be left with two options: either you pretend oppression isn’t
Illustration © 2020 by Zharia Shinn

happening or you fight back.

I say pretend because there is no way that any Black person who is born in this
house, which is on fire, and always has been, doesn’t come to realize that smoke is
filling their lungs. . . .
 But the smoke is just a symptom. What’s destroying the house—what’s
destroying us—is racism and white supremacy.
You deserve better, and I deserved better—and now, I demand better. Which is
why I’ve chosen to use every resource at my disposal to fight back. As long as I have
a platform, I will use it to make our voices heard. I will write, so long as it’s
the truth. And as our people put their lives at risk marching in the street for justice,
I must be with them. . . .
As a Black man, I don’t get to worry about being immunocompromised during
COVID-19, not while a police officer kneels on George Floyd’s neck until he dies.
As a Black woman, our mother doesn’t get to tell her son not to go protest for
justice, not while Breonna Taylor is murdered by police officers as she sleeps in
her bed.
We don’t get to unpack our fear of white supremacists lashing out while at
these protests, not while Ahmaud Arbery is gunned down by white supremacists
for simply jogging.
White supremacy. Racism. Police brutality. A global pandemic. Staggering
job losses. A white supremacist in the Oval Office. Only halfway into the year,
and 2020 has already been the combination of everything that is wrong with this
country happening all at once.
But as they say, it is darkest before dawn.
In every state and around the world, people have begun to rise against the
tyranny of white supremacy.
Ultimately, that darkness will take some of us, as it always has. None of us
know what’s going to happen. But I wanted you to know that when things got so
dark and so bleak and we were pushed against the wall—we pushed back.
No more police brutality. No more white supremacy. No more Black bodies.
We were prepared to pay the costs, prepared to make the sacrifices that
were necessary. I don’t know whether I will be sacrificed, and believe me, I don’t
romanticize the idea. I want to live. We all do. Don’t let them tell you any different.
But if sacrifice means victory, a chance for liberation, a future in which you
never have to write a letter like this, then it would have been well worth it.
Love,
Illustration © 2020 by Zharia Shinn

Your Big Brother

June 2020
 Praise for
THE BLACK FRIEND
“For every white person who ever wanted to do better,
inside this book, Frederick Joseph offers you both the
tools and the chance.”
—Jacqueline Woodson, winner of the Hans Christian
Andersen Award

“Toward the end of The Black Friend, Frederick Joseph

writes that his book is ‘a gift, not an obligation.’
I respectfully disagree. This book should be an obligation
for white people, especially white parents, because we
must raise anti-racist kids who will never be perpetrators
of or bystanders to white supremacy and who will never
mistake tolerance or appropriation for respect. Don’t
skip the painful parts—read every word.”
—Chelsea Clinton, author, advocate, and vice chair of
the Clinton Foundation

“The Black Friend is THE book everyone needs to read

right now. Frederick Joseph has written an essential
window into the movement toward anti-racism. Read it,
absorb it, and be changed because of it.”
—Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give

“With clear, powerful prose and a gentle dose of humor,

The Black Friend is essential reading for anyone wishing to
be part of a better world. I absolutely loved this book.”
Illustration © 2020 by Zharia Shinn

—Julie Klam, New York Times best-selling author