Malcolm Williams hasn’t been himself in a long time. He’s enraged and sad, believing that nothing positive ever happens in D.C. for teenagers like him. All he wants for the summer is to be left alone in his room to draw or play video games, but that isn’t going to happen. Malcolm is not thrilled when his mother sends him to his father’s family farm in Mississippi due to rising violence in his area.
His great-aunt informs him a few days after his arrival that the state is acquiring the farm in order to build a roadway. It’s not news that Malcolm is concerned about, but it’s something that someone intends to become his concern. One minute Malcolm is drawing in the farmhouse attic, and the next he’s looking through the eyes of his ancestor Cedric Johnson in 1866.
Malcolm, as Cedric, encounters real-life Black statesmen who battled for reform during the Reconstruction era, such as Hiram Revels, Robert Smalls, and other historical figures. Even after witnessing their valor, Malcolm’s faith in his own future remains fragile, especially since he knows that the advances these statesmen won were quickly reversed.
Black Was the Ink by Michelle Coles is a stunning coming-of-age narrative and an eye-opening exploration of an era that shaped contemporary America, perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Nic Stone, and featuring drawings by emerging artist Justin Johnson.
