Boston Book Festival 2018

In the wake of February’s tragic mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, student Emma Gonzalez “called BS” on the notion that “us kids don't know what we're talking about.” And certainly young people have increasingly taken up her call, assuming leadership roles and speaking out about issues affecting their lives. In this session, we’ll hear from Parkland journalism teacher Melissa Falkowski, whose student journalists’ passionate and inspiring reporting has been collected in We Say #NeverAgain. Boston Globe journalist Jenn Abelson will speak about I Have the Right To, the book she co-wrote with Chessy Prout, whose story of seeking justice in the wake of high school sexual assault has helped many fellow survivors find courage to speak out. For young people looking for a road map on how to get involved in their own communities, Eric David Dawson of the organization Peace First--along with young Peace First activist Amanda Matos--will talk about how to transform communities one step at a time. Finally, Alexandra Styron will use examples from her new book Steal This Country to talk about how young people can transform anger into action. Guiding their conversation is DiDi Delgado, an organizer of Cambridge Black Lives Matter and head of operations for the Society of Urban Poetry. You’ll walk out of this session fired up and ready to change the world.