Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America
Ibi Zoboi

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and black in America.Black is maleBlack is femaleBlack is straightBlack is gayBlack is urbanBlack is ruralBlack is rich. And poorBlack is mixed-raceBlack is immigrantsBlack is moreThere are countless ways to be BLACK ENOUGH.Featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling American black authors writing for teens today, Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and black in America.Stories from: Renee Watson, Varian Johnson, Leah Henderson, Lamar Giles, Kekla Magoon, Jason Reynolds, Brandy Colbert, Tochi Onyebuchi, Liara Tamani, Jay Coles, Rita Williams-Garcia, Tracey Baptiste, Dhonielle Clayton, Justina Ireland, Coe Booth, Nic Stone and Ibi Zoboi

First published in the United States of America by Balzer + Bray in 2019

Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Published simultaneously in the UK by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2019

HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,

HarperCollins Publishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America

Copyright © 2019 by Ibi Zoboi

“Half a Moon” copyright © 2019 by Renée Watson

“Black Enough” copyright © 2019 by Varian Johnson

“Warning: Color May Fade” copyright © 2019 by Leah Henderson

“Black. Nerd. Problems.” copyright © 2019 by Lamar Giles

“Out of the Silence” copyright © 2019 by Kekla Magoon

“The Ingredients” copyright © 2019 by Jason Reynolds

“Oreo” copyright © 2019 by Brandy Colbert

“Samson and the Delilahs” copyright © 2019 by Tochi Onyebuchi

“Stop Playing” copyright © 2019 by Liara Tamani

“Wild Horses, Wild Hearts” copyright © 2019 by Jay Coles

“Whoa!” copyright © 2019 by Rita Williams-Garcia

“Gravity” copyright © 2019 by Tracey Baptiste

“The Trouble with Drowning” copyright © 2019 by Dhonielle Clayton

“Kissing Sarah Smart” copyright © 2019 by Justina Ireland

“Hackathon Summers” copyright © 2019 by Coe Booth

“Into the Starlight” copyright © 2019 by Nic Stone

“The (R)Evolution of Nigeria Jones” copyright © 2019 by Ibi Zoboi

Cover image of girl copyright © Masterfile; cover image of boy copyright © Shutterstock

Cover design copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019

The authors assert their moral right to be identified as the authors of their work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008326555

Ebook Edition © 2019 ISBN: 9780008326548

Version: 2018-12-18

TO VIRGINIA HAMILTON AND WALTER DEAN MYERS.

WE STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS.

Contents

COVER (#u6a827857-81a2-5393-af16-7c106bfc3cd6)

TITLE PAGE (#ua51486b8-e78c-5224-9942-a1a161957dcc)

COPYRIGHT (#u92ce8afa-2b3d-5035-9c5f-3f2b4a81694a)

DEDICATION (#u4e002561-bc59-5a44-9059-551fcc90f085)

INTRODUCTION (#ue07e499b-54cc-5c62-b04d-3cbb71cf7bcf)

JUNE SARPONG (#ue07e499b-54cc-5c62-b04d-3cbb71cf7bcf)

INTRODUCTION (#uc7e12f72-2e80-5571-b1ef-70b494b0e91a)

IBI ZOBOI (#uc7e12f72-2e80-5571-b1ef-70b494b0e91a)

HALF A MOON (#u3a6c0363-fafe-5245-b0db-bae6701e5be1)