SEVEN MILLION STEPS

In 1976, comedian and activist Dick Gregory ran from coast to coast to advocate for those without enough food to eat.

“What would you do if you knew someone who goes to bed every night without having supper?” The authors pose that question before explaining Gregory’s “wild idea” of running from the City of Angels to the Big Apple—seven million steps total. By consuming nothing but “fruit juices, vitamins, water, and maybe sunflower seeds,” he plans to raise awareness about food insecurity. Written in second person from the perspective of an elder addressing a child, the text places readers in Gregory’s sneakers as he runs 50 miles a day seeing “America from different angles.” People diverse in age and skin tone start to run alongside Gregory—“a cavalcade of support” that includes Indigenous “brothers and sisters” and boxer Muhammad Ali. When the run gets tough, hazy images of faces appear in the clouds as if to cheer Gregory on, “step by grueling, glorious step.” This collaborative picture book—cowritten with Gregory’s son—joyfully brings its subject’s voice to the mic and tracks the stops along the run where Gregory would address onlookers. The work’s final question becomes a moving call to action—both to the Black child seen next to Gregory and to readers themselves. Morrison’s dynamic artwork is a feast for the eyes, with detailed brush strokes rendering bodies in motion, gorgeous scenery, and expressive faces.

An inspiring, kinetic look at an unconventional act of activism.