Will Jawando tells a deeply affirmative story of hope and respect for men of color at a time when Black men are routinely stigmatized. As a boy growing up outside DC, Will, who went by his Nigerian name, Yemi, was shunted from school to school, never quite fitting in. He was a Black kid with a divorced white mother, a frayed relationship with his biological father, and teachers who scolded him for being disruptive in class and on the playground. Eventually, he became close to Kalfani, a kid he looked up to on the basketball court. Years after he got the call telling him that Kalfani was dead, another sickening casualty of gun violence, Will looks back on the relationships with an extraordinary series of mentors that enabled him to thrive.
Drawing on Will’s inspiring personal story and involvement in My Brother’s Keeper, President Obama’s national initiative to address persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color, My Seven Black Fathers offers a transformative way for Black men to shape the next generation. Join Will Jawando on his book tour for My Seven Black Fathers.
Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, May 3, 5 p.m. ET
Politics and Prose
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Ticketed in-person / virtual conversation with Michael Eric Dyson
Virtual Event
Wednesday, May 4, 6 p.m. ET
Community Bookstore (Brooklyn, NY), Source Booksellers (Detroit, MI), Books and Books (Miami, FL), and Raven Book Store (Lawrence, KS)
In conversation with Jelani Cobb
Harrisburg, PA
Friday, May 6, 7 p.m. ET
Midtown Scholar
Ticketed in-person / virtual conversation with DeRay Mckesson
Atlanta, GA
Monday, May 9, 7 p.m. ET
A Cappella Books at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library Theater
In-person conversation with Pastor Tony Lowden
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, May 10, 7 p.m. ET
Harvard Book Store
In-person conversation with Ibram X. Kendi
Thursday, May 12, 6 p.m. ET
Loyalty Books
Virtual conversation with Michael Strautmanis, Executive Vice President, Civic Engagement, Obama Foundation
St. Louis, MO
Friday, May 13, 7 p.m. CT
St. Louis County Library
In-person / virtual conversation with Mayor Tishaura Jones, with book sales by Left Bank Books
Chicago, IL
Sunday, May 15, 5:30 p.m. CT
American Writers Festival
In-person conversation with Ambassador Carolyn Curiel, with book sales by Seminary Co-op
Gaithersburg, MD
Saturday, May 21, 12:15 p.m. ET
Gaithersburg Book Festival
In-person conversation with Sean F. Felix, with book sales through Politics and Prose
Will Jawando is an attorney, an activist, a community leader, and a councilmember in Montgomery County, Maryland, a diverse community of more than one million residents. Called “the progressive leader we need” by the late congressman John Lewis, Jawando has worked with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Sherrod Brown, and President Barack Obama. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post and The Root and on BET.com, and his work has been featured in The New York Times and New York magazine and on NPR, NBC News, and MTV. He regularly appears on CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets.