Written by contributor Jeanette Zhukov
The Nerd Daily recently had the pleasure of speaking with award-winning novelist, Jewell Parker Rhodes. She is the author of countless adult and middle-grade novels and Rhodes takes audiences on an emotionally impactful journey in her newest middle-grade release, Black Brother, Black Brother.
In the interview, Rhodes discusses with us the social issues that have inspired her work, the importance in knowing and teaching Black history, and on how she has approached difficult topics in her writing. Released on March 3rd, Black Brother, Black Brother is out now for your reading enjoyment.
Hello, Jewell. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us about your newest novel, Black Brother, Black Brother. First off, if you could describe your novel in five words, what would they be?
Anti-racist & bullying. Pro-brotherhood & family. Triumphant!
What was your inspiration for writing Black Brother, Black Brother?
My inspiration was two-fold. Researching Ghost Boys, I learned elementary through high school students of color are often unfairly suspended and arrested. Once arrested even for minor infractions, the odds that a student will be entrapped by the criminal justice system and not graduate, double. Black Brother, Black Brother addresses this bias.
My characters, Donte and Trey, are also inspired by my own experience raising two bi-racial kids (one, light-skinned; the other, darker). Skin color should not determine the ease with which one child is more fully embraced by society and the other is subject to racism. Yet, in both public and private schools, my son was treated with suspicion. Typical childhood moodiness was seen as criminal when an employee threatened to call the police. While as a family we’d discussed “driving/walking while black,” the thought of school being an unsafe space, upended my family’s world.
Fencing plays a huge role in the novel, can you explain a little bit about why you chose to incorporate the sport? Does it hold a personal connection or was it something you had to conduct further research on?
Decades ago, I discovered Alexander Dumas’ was mixed race (Haitian and French) and his novels were based on his father’s exploits as the “Black Count,” a swordsmen and general in Napoleon’s army. Yet popular culture and media historically has rendered fencers as aristocratic and white.
I mourned not having black D’Artagnan as a role model for youth—especially since in the twenty-first century, fencing can be a path toward college scholarships, global travel, and Olympic competition. My husband and children fenced a little; I cheered and did research. Most helpfully, Ben Brattan (a three-time fencing all-American and the youngest to win a gold medal at the World Team Championships) hosted my visit to the Peter Westbrook Foundation in NYC. There I glimpsed dozens of youth and instructors striving for fencing excellence.
You depict the importance of addressing issues regarding racial prejudices and identity in the novel, what advice can you give to parents and educators that want to teach and hold these types of discussions with children and young students?
Fiction, in particular, can foster empathy. Allowing the imaginative connection between one’s self and a character allows youth to vicariously experience events, emotions that can affect identity. Encouraging critical thinking, exploring cause and effect, asking about motivations and best reactions to racial prejudice all lay the groundwork for great discussions. Kids especially want to control the narrative of their own lives. Stories can model various life pathways and affirm choices that nurture an amazing, self-loving identity.
In the novel, Donte realizes the importance of community. Are there instances in your own life where a sense of community uplifted and supported you?
My childhood and young adult life were traumatic. My grandmother was the lifeline who supported me during intense self-doubt and loneliness. As I’ve matured, I’ve realized that I also had an amazing, supportive community of teachers and librarians who were shaping and sustaining me. But as a child, they were invisible to me—I didn’t appreciate their impact! Now I do. All my novels celebrate teachers, librarians, mentors, elders, and other adults besides parents who can provide uplift and support.
The middle-grade novels you write often look at serious events in history through the eyes of children. Do you ever feel any trepidation, or on the other hand, a sense of freedom when exploring these topics for a young audience?
Social injustice, familial and economic stress, environmental disasters and physical and mental traumas have always been a part of life. Having learned to persevere, to be more mindful and optimistic, I now feel both the freedom and obligation to demonstrate that while life can be hard, the universe “always shines down with love.” Challenges shouldn’t prevent you from exclaiming, “I like being me!” or urging yourself and others to: “Be You. Even if others can’t see you.” Also, during national crisis like 9/11 and the pandemic, holding onto historic American values and spiritual empathy can allow love to flower and sustain community.
Nonetheless, particularly, as a parent, writing Ghost Boys nearly undid me. I was a child when Emmett Till was murdered and having raised my son, I know personally that my son’s life has been “at risk” because of skin color. Ultimately, my faith in today’s youth who are learning and discussing real social issues made it possible for me to finish the novel. Kids and their brave teachers/parents should be celebrated for these honest and meaningful conversations.
You’ve written about Marie Laveau, Emmett Till, and in Black Brother, Black Brother you mention Alexandre Dumas, is there a Black historical figure that you want to see written about or want to write about yourself?
Mathew Henson, co-discoverer of the North Pole in 1909, has always fascinated me. What was he like as a child? How did he endure Arctic expeditions? Maybe, one day, I’ll write a novel inspired by him.
The biography on your website mentions that while writing your first novel, Voodoo Dreams, you mainly ever wrote at night, has your writing process changed much and how would you describe it now? Also, what advice can you give to aspiring writers?
As my children needed me less in the day, I shifted to daylight hours. But I still spend a great deal of time dreaming, thinking, musing about writing. First drafts explode in bursts. Sometimes I write for an hour…sometimes less. It’s not until I have a draft does my actual writing time start to extend to two hours…four hours…even twelve hours when I’m deep in revisions.
What book, movie, podcast, or television show are you currently consuming?
For my Ethnic Literature class at Arizona State University, I’m teaching Little Fires Everywhere (both the book and television adaptation).
What can readers expect next from you?
Paradise on Fire (a working title) is about climate change and how an African American city girl learns how to survive in a drought-stricken countryside and save her friends from a wildfire.
