PLAYBOOK FOR JUSTICE

A timely road map for nonviolent direct action.

Multigenre writer, poet, and educator Younge focuses on the life and times of Reverend James Lawson (1928-2024), an African American civil rights activist and Christian minister, arguing persuasively that “nonviolence is as American as sweet potato pie.” She recalls key moments in American history where strategic action without the use of physical force catalyzed social and political change, including protests against racial segregation, the Vietnam War, discrimination against people with disabilities, and healthcare inequity during the AIDS epidemic. The book sheds light on global leaders—including Mohandas Gandhi, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Richard Gregg, A.J. Muste, and Bayard Rustin—who shaped Lawson’s thinking. The time he spent learning and serving in India forms a crucial portion of the book, filling a critical gap in accounts of transnational activism as well as discussions of modern U.S.-India relations, subjects rarely taught in schools. Younge challenges the misconception that nonviolent resistance is weak or passive and gives teens tools and ideas for strategizing and strengthening themselves from within. This attention to one’s inner life is valuable: Activists often must work with limited resources and, in prioritizing larger causes, may end up unable to attend to their own well-being. The short chapters, accessible writing, and frequent text boxes, photos, and diagrams add to the work’s usefulness and appeal.

A biography that brings hope in dystopian times.