I Am Alfonso Jones

Thu, 10/08/2020 - 1:59pm by samanthar

Alfonso is a black teenager living in NYC. He plays the trumpet, rides his bike around the city, and has a crush on a girl from his class. While shopping for his first suit, he is shot and killed by a white police officer, mistaking a coat hanger for a weapon. The rest of the story unfolds with Alfonso (as a ghost), his family, friends, and community trying to make sense of his death. Painful to read, it holds a mirror to current events and the reality some face everyday. Middle school and High school age readers will surely see themselves in Alfonso and his friends, while adult readers will feel pain and sympathy for Alfonso’s parents. Readers of all ages will come away with a greater understanding of what the Black Lives Matter movement is all about.

Find more Black Lives Matter graphic novels here: https://aadl.org/user/lists/94930?page=1