Amal Shahid is a sixteen-year-old artist and poet whose life changes when a neighborhood skirmish results in a tragic injury. Despite his innocence regarding the physical altercation, Amal is convicted of assault and sent to a juvenile detention center. The narrative flows through verse, documenting his struggle to maintain his humanity within a system designed to strip it away. He uses his sketchbook and spoken word to resist the dehumanizing conditions of incarceration, grappling with the racial biases inherent in the American legal structure and the school-to-prison pipeline.
Readers interested in the intersection of social justice and creative expression will find a detailed account of institutional prejudice here. The book appeals to those who study how systemic racism influences judicial outcomes for Black youth. Readers walk away with a specific understanding of how incarcerated individuals use art to preserve their identity and psychological sovereignty. It provides a technical look at the emotional cost of wrongful conviction and the role of creative resistance when physical freedom is restricted by the state.
- Published
- 2020
- Language
- EN
