Black Brother, Black Brother

Black Brother, Black Brother

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade realistic
• Originally Published: 2020
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 400L; grades 5-9
• Structure/Length: Approx. 272 pages; approx. 4 hours, 36 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Twelve-year-old Donte experiences injustice and inequality at Middlefield Prep; some episodes are especially pronounced because he presents as Black while his brother Trey presents as white. When a run-in with the school bully compounds trouble for Donte, he enlists the help of a former Olympic athlete to beat the bully at his own game: fencing.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Bullying; racism; hinted-at instances of the n-word; social injustice

Jewell Parker Rhodes, Author

• Bio: Born in 1954 in Pittsburgh; raised in California but later returned to Pittsburgh; earned degrees at Carnegie Mellon University; lives currently in Seattle; writer of fiction for adults and children; professor; recipient of the Yaddo Creative Writing fellowship, the National Endowment for the Arts Award in Fiction, the Fiction Award of the Black Caucus of the ALA, and two nominations for the Pushcart Prize; Founding Artistic Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing and Narrative Studies
• Other Works: Ninth Ward (2010); Towers Falling (2016); Ghost Boys (2018)
• Awards: NAACP Image Award for Youth/Teens Outstanding Literary Work (2021)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Visibility and Invisibility of Race
• Feeling Confident Both Physically and Mentally Through Sports
• Navigating Intersectional Identities

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the socio-historical context of Black Brother, Black Brother that provides background for Donte’s experience as a Black student.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes—The Visibility and Invisibility of Race, Feeling Confident Both Physically and Mentally Through Sports, and Navigating Intersectional Identities—by discussing terms like intersectionality, passing, and disproportionate punishment.
• Analyze plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses about the intersectional identities of the book’s characters, their identities, and Donte’s development as a result of fencing.