cover image Face Forward: Young African American Men in a Critical Age

Face Forward: Young African American Men in a Critical Age

Julian C. R. Okwu. Chronicle Books, $35 (160pp) ISBN 978-0-8118-1631-1

A British-born black man of Nigerian heritage who moved to the U.S. in 1970, the 30-year-old Okwu finds media images of young black men irredeemably tilted toward sports, rap and crime. In this gallery of photos and mini-profiles, Okwu gives voice to 40 young African Americans from around the country whose lives refute stereotypes. His inspiration was Brian Lanker's I Dream a World (1989), about African American women, and if this book understandably lacks its precursor's historical resonance, it has a collective heft. Presbyterian minister Bruce Grady testifies about how the church can help redeem. Screenwriter Devon Shepard talks about racism in Hollywood and how ""[o]ur attitude is our strength."" Police officer Dexter Yarbrough finds that his family counterbalances the negativity he sees on the streets. Okwu has also found rarer types, for example, Ikolo Griffin, a ballet dancer of multiracial heritage who cherishes the story of his African great-great-grandfather yet sees dance as transcending the merely national, and clothes designer Anthony Mark Hankins, who steers between current white prejudice and memories of teenage rejection by black classmates to succeed in the fashion world, in part by creating a line of clothes for women with olive and brown complexions. (May)