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The Talk
Read by the author and a full cast.
🎧Listening Length = 3 hours and 20 minutes
"The audiobook version of The Talk,...isn’t a graphic novel stripped of its pictures; it’s a radio play that delivers its own powerful aural experience. The production employs music, subtle sound effects and a cast that includes Bell and his little boy. The charming humor and incisive wisdom that elevates the print version of “The Talk” are amply conveyed by these narrators in an audiobook that’s clearly been designed from the bottom up to exploit the format’s unique advantages. For some listeners, this will be a deeply personal experience; for others, an illuminating lesson in empathy. But no matter who you are, you’re ready to have “The Talk."—The Washington Post
Darrin Bell was six years old when his mother told him he couldn’t have a realistic water gun. She said she feared for his safety, that police tend to think of little Black boys as older and less innocent than they really are.
In this immersive audiobook adaptation—with wall-to-wall sound design, an expansive music soundtrack, and full-cast narration including the author and his son—Bell uses his sharp humor to examine how The Talk shaped intimate and public moments from childhood to adulthood. While coming of age in Los Angeles—and finding a voice through cartooning—Bell becomes painfully aware of being regarded as dangerous by white teachers, neighbors, and police officers and thus of his mortality. Drawing attention to the brutal murders of African Americans and showcasing revealing insights and cartoons along the way, he brings us up to the moment of reckoning when people took to the streets protesting the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And now Bell must decide whether he and his own six-year-old son are ready to have The Talk.
"In The Talk, Bell combines the overtly personal and the sociopolitical in a textured autobiography that blends raw honestly, moving memories and powerful insights on race and police relations.” —The Washington Post
“In its audio translation, the highlight is Darrin Bell’s storytelling ability, enriched by a soundscape that includes music, sound effects, and archival audio...a powerhouse audio that should be widely recommended.”—Booklist (Starred Review)
This program features multicast narration.
Reading Guide available for download at publisher's website.
🎧Listening Length = 3 hours and 20 minutes
"The audiobook version of The Talk,...isn’t a graphic novel stripped of its pictures; it’s a radio play that delivers its own powerful aural experience. The production employs music, subtle sound effects and a cast that includes Bell and his little boy. The charming humor and incisive wisdom that elevates the print version of “The Talk” are amply conveyed by these narrators in an audiobook that’s clearly been designed from the bottom up to exploit the format’s unique advantages. For some listeners, this will be a deeply personal experience; for others, an illuminating lesson in empathy. But no matter who you are, you’re ready to have “The Talk."—The Washington Post
Darrin Bell was six years old when his mother told him he couldn’t have a realistic water gun. She said she feared for his safety, that police tend to think of little Black boys as older and less innocent than they really are.
In this immersive audiobook adaptation—with wall-to-wall sound design, an expansive music soundtrack, and full-cast narration including the author and his son—Bell uses his sharp humor to examine how The Talk shaped intimate and public moments from childhood to adulthood. While coming of age in Los Angeles—and finding a voice through cartooning—Bell becomes painfully aware of being regarded as dangerous by white teachers, neighbors, and police officers and thus of his mortality. Drawing attention to the brutal murders of African Americans and showcasing revealing insights and cartoons along the way, he brings us up to the moment of reckoning when people took to the streets protesting the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And now Bell must decide whether he and his own six-year-old son are ready to have The Talk.
"In The Talk, Bell combines the overtly personal and the sociopolitical in a textured autobiography that blends raw honestly, moving memories and powerful insights on race and police relations.” —The Washington Post
“In its audio translation, the highlight is Darrin Bell’s storytelling ability, enriched by a soundscape that includes music, sound effects, and archival audio...a powerhouse audio that should be widely recommended.”—Booklist (Starred Review)
This program features multicast narration.
Reading Guide available for download at publisher's website.
Audiobook
First published June 6, 2023
93 people are currently reading
8836 people want to read
About the author
Darrin Bell
19 books75 followersDarrin Bell is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American editorial cartoonist and comic strip creator known for the syndicated comic strips Candorville and Rudy Park. He is a syndicated editorial cartoonist with King Features Syndicate. (His editorial cartoons were formerly syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group.)
Bell is the first African-American to have two comic strips syndicated nationally. He is also a storyboard artist. Bell engages in issues such as civil rights, pop culture, family, science fiction, scriptural wisdom, and nihilist philosophy, while often casting his characters in roles that are traditionally denied them.
Bell is the first African-American to have two comic strips syndicated nationally. He is also a storyboard artist. Bell engages in issues such as civil rights, pop culture, family, science fiction, scriptural wisdom, and nihilist philosophy, while often casting his characters in roles that are traditionally denied them.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 714 reviews
September 3, 2023
Powerful graphic memoir about a Black man recounting his childhood and coming of age as he decides whether to give The Talk to his own son. I liked the honesty in which Darrin Bell portrayed his racialized experiences growing up and the range of emotions they instilled within him. I found certain moments particularly moving, such as when a white female college professor accused him of plagiarism without any evidence solely based on her own anti-Black bias, when he owned up to the Islamophobia he perpetuated after 9/11, and in his struggle to decide how to tell his own son about the realities of racism in the United States.
In the first half of the graphic memoir, I felt that there were moments where plot event after plot event occurred and I wanted a bit more reflection or more information about Bell’s internal reactions to things. Still, though, I found this a candid book that raises important questions pertaining to race, racism, and parenting.
In the first half of the graphic memoir, I felt that there were moments where plot event after plot event occurred and I wanted a bit more reflection or more information about Bell’s internal reactions to things. Still, though, I found this a candid book that raises important questions pertaining to race, racism, and parenting.
October 20, 2023
Several years ago a friend related to me how her then 9-year old son, seeing a police officer on the street, immediately raised his hands in the air as fear etched itself across his face.
She hadn't yet given him "the talk" but he'd already figured out that cops (and most white people) would see him not as the innocent child he was but as a thug and a threat.
My privileged white self was shocked and then I asked what she meant by "the talk". I listened, trying to imagine what it feels like to be the parent of a Black child in the US. I was in turns appalled, angry, and heartbroken for her, needing to tell her child that he is seen as different, as less than, as a danger, as a threat that needs to be taken down, all because of the color of his skin.
All because white people don't want to admit to our racism and our complicity in upholding the institution of white supremacy our country was built upon. Because we don't want to do the work of unlearning our racist beliefs and behaviors.
If you don't know what "the talk" is or if you think we live in a post-racist America simply because we elected a Black president, you should read this book. (BTW, "we" didn't elect a Black president; most white people voted against Barack Obama, just as most white people voted for that racist, lug-nut, criminal, evil, orange-haired monster who took over residence of the White House after the Obamas.)
I loved this graphic novel. The drawings are amazing and I especially love the facial expressions of the characters. It is easy to read but at the same time heartbreaking.
The author, Darrin Bell, is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his editorial cartoons, some of which are included in this book. It is autobiographical, beginning with his child self asking his mother for a toy gun and culminating in giving his own son "the talk" many years later.
It is brilliant and my favorite graphic novel to date.
She hadn't yet given him "the talk" but he'd already figured out that cops (and most white people) would see him not as the innocent child he was but as a thug and a threat.
My privileged white self was shocked and then I asked what she meant by "the talk". I listened, trying to imagine what it feels like to be the parent of a Black child in the US. I was in turns appalled, angry, and heartbroken for her, needing to tell her child that he is seen as different, as less than, as a danger, as a threat that needs to be taken down, all because of the color of his skin.
All because white people don't want to admit to our racism and our complicity in upholding the institution of white supremacy our country was built upon. Because we don't want to do the work of unlearning our racist beliefs and behaviors.
If you don't know what "the talk" is or if you think we live in a post-racist America simply because we elected a Black president, you should read this book. (BTW, "we" didn't elect a Black president; most white people voted against Barack Obama, just as most white people voted for that racist, lug-nut, criminal, evil, orange-haired monster who took over residence of the White House after the Obamas.)
I loved this graphic novel. The drawings are amazing and I especially love the facial expressions of the characters. It is easy to read but at the same time heartbreaking.
The author, Darrin Bell, is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his editorial cartoons, some of which are included in this book. It is autobiographical, beginning with his child self asking his mother for a toy gun and culminating in giving his own son "the talk" many years later.
It is brilliant and my favorite graphic novel to date.
July 30, 2025
Raw
Racism will never make sense. You can't apply logic to something born of arrogance and ignorance.
This was a tense, painful, and deeply moving read — honest in its message and heartbreaking in its truths.
You can feel the constant anxiety of living in a world where something as arbitrary as the color of your skin determines how safe, seen, or respected you are. What struck me most was how every small act — walking down a street, going to school, interacting with police — becomes a minefield when you're navigating a society built on racial bias.
The struggle becomes even more complicated when you're mixed-race — not Black enough, not white enough, trapped between two worlds without a solid identity or place to belong. And instead of unity among marginalized communities, colorism tears people apart from within, perpetuating the same system we should be dismantling together. That part hit hard.
One of the most impactful aspects of the book was the chronological structure, taking us from Darrin’s early childhood to adulthood. With each chapter of his life, we witness the painful accumulation of fear, awareness, and survival tactics. The scene where he stood up for himself in his professor’s office was one of my favorites — a quiet but powerful moment of reclaiming dignity.
Equally powerful was the portrayal of his parents. His mother’s strength and courage were inspiring — she didn’t just raise him with love, she raised him with awareness. And the arc of understanding between Darrin and his father was poignant — once he became a parent himself, he finally grasped the intentions and fears that shaped his father’s actions. That reflection hit deeply.
It’s devastating that Black parents have to teach their children, from a very young age, that the world might treat them cruelly simply for existing. And that heartbreak is captured in one of the book’s most haunting quotes:
"They're treating me as if I'm white. In other words... they're treating me as if I were human."
On a technical note: some parts of the book felt uneven in pacing, and I did catch myself checking how many pages were left. The message was strong, but the storytelling occasionally lost momentum.
Still, this is an essential memoir, one that opens your eyes and forces you to listen — really listen — to what it means to grow up in a world shaped by systemic racism.
"I've collected things to give my son. But he doesn't need things.
He needs a better world, and I don't know how to give him that."
Racism will never make sense. You can't apply logic to something born of arrogance and ignorance.
This was a tense, painful, and deeply moving read — honest in its message and heartbreaking in its truths.
You can feel the constant anxiety of living in a world where something as arbitrary as the color of your skin determines how safe, seen, or respected you are. What struck me most was how every small act — walking down a street, going to school, interacting with police — becomes a minefield when you're navigating a society built on racial bias.
The struggle becomes even more complicated when you're mixed-race — not Black enough, not white enough, trapped between two worlds without a solid identity or place to belong. And instead of unity among marginalized communities, colorism tears people apart from within, perpetuating the same system we should be dismantling together. That part hit hard.
One of the most impactful aspects of the book was the chronological structure, taking us from Darrin’s early childhood to adulthood. With each chapter of his life, we witness the painful accumulation of fear, awareness, and survival tactics. The scene where he stood up for himself in his professor’s office was one of my favorites — a quiet but powerful moment of reclaiming dignity.
Equally powerful was the portrayal of his parents. His mother’s strength and courage were inspiring — she didn’t just raise him with love, she raised him with awareness. And the arc of understanding between Darrin and his father was poignant — once he became a parent himself, he finally grasped the intentions and fears that shaped his father’s actions. That reflection hit deeply.
It’s devastating that Black parents have to teach their children, from a very young age, that the world might treat them cruelly simply for existing. And that heartbreak is captured in one of the book’s most haunting quotes:
"They're treating me as if I'm white. In other words... they're treating me as if I were human."
On a technical note: some parts of the book felt uneven in pacing, and I did catch myself checking how many pages were left. The message was strong, but the storytelling occasionally lost momentum.
Still, this is an essential memoir, one that opens your eyes and forces you to listen — really listen — to what it means to grow up in a world shaped by systemic racism.
"I've collected things to give my son. But he doesn't need things.
He needs a better world, and I don't know how to give him that."
June 23, 2023
Centered around "The Talk" his mother had with him as a child and "The Talk" that looms before him with his own son, cartoonist Darrin Bell reflects on a life buffeted by blatant racism and constant microaggressions even as several white people assure him he is "one of the good ones."
Another sad and enraging reminder of how far we have to go.
The book skips between vignettes from Bell's life, and I was often frustrated by not knowing what happened in the gaps between as we're given tantalizing sketches of other members of his family and his own career that never get the full development they seem to deserve. So I guess I'm complaining that this thick graphic novel isn't twice as long . . .
Another sad and enraging reminder of how far we have to go.
The book skips between vignettes from Bell's life, and I was often frustrated by not knowing what happened in the gaps between as we're given tantalizing sketches of other members of his family and his own career that never get the full development they seem to deserve. So I guess I'm complaining that this thick graphic novel isn't twice as long . . .
October 30, 2023
This: "I see the man my boy will become. I wanted to create a world for him where he'd never have to carry a four-hundred-year-old burden."
We've tried to rationalize slavery by believing the lies that black people deserved it by being inferior. Believing instead, the truth, that we are all of equal value will set us free.
We've tried to rationalize slavery by believing the lies that black people deserved it by being inferior. Believing instead, the truth, that we are all of equal value will set us free.
July 19, 2023
I really liked this book. There is some beautiful and powerful art and language. The drawings are just fantastic, and even the handwriting font is great. There are some factual errors and some continuity issues that took me out of it, but overall I liked it and think it was a really strong graphic memoir.
January 31, 2023
This book. This book. I intended to just download it. I intended to just glance at it. I intended to just read a little, and go back to work. I found I could not stop reading it. I gobbled it up, if not in one sitting, becasue I eventually had to go back to working, at least in one day. Every break, I returned to it, until I had read the entire thing, and wow.
Darrin Bell draws editorial cartoons as well as Candorville. By calling this book “The Talk” he refers to the talk that all Black parents have to give their children about how the world looks at them. How they can’t have realistic toy guns. How they can’t assume police are going to be reasonable. He explains it like meeting a rabid dog. You just have to surrender, and hope for the best.
This memoir goes from the time he is about six, until today, in this world, where Black people are being murdered by police officers. Where he finds that he has to explain why to his own six year old son, hoping that he can explain better than his dad ever did. His dad, who just wanted to ignore the whole thing.
Bell explains that sometimes when he wants to explain something that can’t be explained in an editorial cartoon, he turns to his comic strip.
Very moving. Very raw. Very sad. This covers the Rodney King beating, up to the George Floyd murder. Sad bookends. But bright moments as well.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Darrin Bell draws editorial cartoons as well as Candorville. By calling this book “The Talk” he refers to the talk that all Black parents have to give their children about how the world looks at them. How they can’t have realistic toy guns. How they can’t assume police are going to be reasonable. He explains it like meeting a rabid dog. You just have to surrender, and hope for the best.
This memoir goes from the time he is about six, until today, in this world, where Black people are being murdered by police officers. Where he finds that he has to explain why to his own six year old son, hoping that he can explain better than his dad ever did. His dad, who just wanted to ignore the whole thing.
Bell explains that sometimes when he wants to explain something that can’t be explained in an editorial cartoon, he turns to his comic strip.
Very moving. Very raw. Very sad. This covers the Rodney King beating, up to the George Floyd murder. Sad bookends. But bright moments as well.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
June 6, 2023
I sat down and read this cover to cover. Read it. Share it. Talk about it. Never forget.
March 20, 2024
Wow.
This was much better than I expected. Honestly, I'm not sure what I expected. I'd heard that this was good, but there's good and then there's GOOD if that makes any sense.
The book opens in 1981, with young Darrin asking his mother for a water pistol after seeing some children playing with one. She eventually buys him one, and he asks why it's bright green instead of colored like a real gun. And she gives him the Talk, but of course he's too young for it to really sink in. And young Darrin grows up, and this book is his autobiography taking us through the ups and downs of his life and career as a cartoonist, often a political one. And there's racism, both personally experienced and all the incidents that have received national attention from 1981 through to the present day. And we end with grownup Darrin having the Talk with his son …
That makes it sound like nothing has changed over the last forty or so years, doesn't it? That's certainly not my intent, nor does it seem to be Bell's. He talks about change and reaching critical mass and hope. I certainly would like to see that. In a number of ways the Talk is a metaphor for this book itself.
I mostly know Bell from his comic strip, Candorville, which I used to read with some delight back in the days when I was regularly buying the paper. I grew up an avid fan of newspaper comics, and, honestly, they were a large reason why I even started buying the paper regularly in the first place. But the Talk is a very different animal from a comic strip. Bell pulls out all sorts of drawing chops that I never even knew he had! I don't know if it's anything to do with this being history recent enough that I remember living through the events, or simply Bell's talent, but I was emotionally invested in the reading experience. I laughed, I cried, as the saying goes. Deeply moving.
The Talk is simply one of the best graphic novels I've read in a long time. It deserves to be read. Widely. Highly recommended!
This was much better than I expected. Honestly, I'm not sure what I expected. I'd heard that this was good, but there's good and then there's GOOD if that makes any sense.
The book opens in 1981, with young Darrin asking his mother for a water pistol after seeing some children playing with one. She eventually buys him one, and he asks why it's bright green instead of colored like a real gun. And she gives him the Talk, but of course he's too young for it to really sink in. And young Darrin grows up, and this book is his autobiography taking us through the ups and downs of his life and career as a cartoonist, often a political one. And there's racism, both personally experienced and all the incidents that have received national attention from 1981 through to the present day. And we end with grownup Darrin having the Talk with his son …
That makes it sound like nothing has changed over the last forty or so years, doesn't it? That's certainly not my intent, nor does it seem to be Bell's. He talks about change and reaching critical mass and hope. I certainly would like to see that. In a number of ways the Talk is a metaphor for this book itself.
I mostly know Bell from his comic strip, Candorville, which I used to read with some delight back in the days when I was regularly buying the paper. I grew up an avid fan of newspaper comics, and, honestly, they were a large reason why I even started buying the paper regularly in the first place. But the Talk is a very different animal from a comic strip. Bell pulls out all sorts of drawing chops that I never even knew he had! I don't know if it's anything to do with this being history recent enough that I remember living through the events, or simply Bell's talent, but I was emotionally invested in the reading experience. I laughed, I cried, as the saying goes. Deeply moving.
The Talk is simply one of the best graphic novels I've read in a long time. It deserves to be read. Widely. Highly recommended!
January 30, 2023
The Talk by Darrin Bell is a graphic novel about the conversation every parent of a Black child has to have around how their race impacts how others will treat them. In this narrative, Darrin uses the metaphor of how a person communicates with a dog in order to show they are not a threat. This example is weaved throughout the novel as a way to understand how terrifying it is when, as a person in a Black body, you feel that you are in harm's way and can experience violence at any unpredictable turn.
We read the protagonist's coming of age journey, the way his mother fiercely advocated for him and the way his father failed to teach him certain lessons about being a Black man. At the end of the narrative, the protagonist has his own son and is able to teach him the lessons he had to learn on his own through trial and error.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It condenses hard to process information in relatable terms that young people will understand while also providing intersecting narratives on what it means to grow up, develop friendships, fall in love, cultivate your professional skills and career, and make meaning out of life's experiences - even the most painful ones.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!
We read the protagonist's coming of age journey, the way his mother fiercely advocated for him and the way his father failed to teach him certain lessons about being a Black man. At the end of the narrative, the protagonist has his own son and is able to teach him the lessons he had to learn on his own through trial and error.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It condenses hard to process information in relatable terms that young people will understand while also providing intersecting narratives on what it means to grow up, develop friendships, fall in love, cultivate your professional skills and career, and make meaning out of life's experiences - even the most painful ones.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!
July 2, 2023
Every once in a while I feel like I'm pretty aware, and then a book like this crosses my path and I get the reminder of how privileged I am, and how I will never understand the path others must endure. My heart breaks for bipoc humans suffering under the crushing weight of racism. My heart breaks for the innocence stolen from our youth because of the color of their skin. My heart breaks for parents who have to decide who will be the one to take away their baby's childhood. It's such an important piece of art that should be required reading.
July 14, 2023
I am not fond of graphic memoirs, but…
The Talk is a graphic memoir that I find myself wanting to recommend to everyone. I like its images, its pop culture and political referents, and that Darrin Bell allows himself to admit to mistakes (early denials of racism) and to grow. I like that he connects his past, present, and future:
In the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Commander Benjamin Sisko told the Prophets that human life is linear. There's a past that's long gone, a present, and a future that's yet unwritten. But the Prophets taught him that it isn't that simple. They made him face the truth: he wasn't just existing in the present. (p. 353)
Zuzu's question about George Floyd, Bell's mother's refusal to give him a realistic water gun, daily microaggressions, his decision to become an editorial cartoonist, and his father's avoidance of race discussions were all clearly connected, informing his answer to his son's question. "I see the man my boy will become. I wanted to create a world for him where he'd never have to carry a four-hundred-year-old burden" (p. 339).
Bell's is a story of how you make sense of a world that doesn't make sense: when police don't protect you, when you do good work – and get accused of plagiarism.
Bell could talk truth to his son, as his mother did to him, or walk away and change the subject, as his father had. He chose to follow his mother. He won a Pulitzer, not for saying how to fix our world, but for pointing out what's broken.
We have to start somewhere, do what we can.
Images are from The Talk.
The Talk is a graphic memoir that I find myself wanting to recommend to everyone. I like its images, its pop culture and political referents, and that Darrin Bell allows himself to admit to mistakes (early denials of racism) and to grow. I like that he connects his past, present, and future:
In the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Commander Benjamin Sisko told the Prophets that human life is linear. There's a past that's long gone, a present, and a future that's yet unwritten. But the Prophets taught him that it isn't that simple. They made him face the truth: he wasn't just existing in the present. (p. 353)
Zuzu's question about George Floyd, Bell's mother's refusal to give him a realistic water gun, daily microaggressions, his decision to become an editorial cartoonist, and his father's avoidance of race discussions were all clearly connected, informing his answer to his son's question. "I see the man my boy will become. I wanted to create a world for him where he'd never have to carry a four-hundred-year-old burden" (p. 339).
Bell's is a story of how you make sense of a world that doesn't make sense: when police don't protect you, when you do good work – and get accused of plagiarism.
Bell could talk truth to his son, as his mother did to him, or walk away and change the subject, as his father had. He chose to follow his mother. He won a Pulitzer, not for saying how to fix our world, but for pointing out what's broken.
We have to start somewhere, do what we can.
Images are from The Talk.
January 8, 2024
On the one hand you want to prepare your kid for the realities of life. On the other hand you want to protect their innocence for as long as you can.
This graphic memoir is a powerful exploration of race in America. The author is bi-racial and he explores "the talk" his mother had with him when he was young, and the "the talk" he needs to have with his son. This reads like an editorial rather than a review of his life experiences, and I'll be getting my hands on his Pulitzer Prize winning work.
This graphic memoir is a powerful exploration of race in America. The author is bi-racial and he explores "the talk" his mother had with him when he was young, and the "the talk" he needs to have with his son. This reads like an editorial rather than a review of his life experiences, and I'll be getting my hands on his Pulitzer Prize winning work.
October 16, 2023
Darrin Bell is the first black editorial cartoonist to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartoon. This book takes us through his years of learning all the many talks about being discriminated against for simply being black. These many scenarios are so real. Sadly, they never seem to stop. But maybe if more people read books like this, they would understand that change will and must happen.
https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/darr...
Chapters:
1. The Talk (1981) - fake gun was green, thank goodness
2. Bully (1984) - Chris calling him Big Lips and saying he has fuzzy hair.
3. Scenes (1986) - his white mom makes a 'scene' when she see obvious discrimination
4. All the Way Down - the tier structure at class, the street, home, school-yard. Finds his crowd of museum loving kids.
5. Dare - sleepover at a friend's, who then dares him to help steal action figures at a store. Although he does not participate, the store security grabs HIM instead of the friend based on color.
6. The First Video (1991) - sees video of police beating a suspect. Makes him VERY nervous driving by a police on motorcycle.
7. Knives out (1990) - gang looks, talk. Teacher calls him 'one of the good ones'. Compliment though? Why is it necessary.
8. One of the good ones - the mayor thanks him via phone for an article about metal detectors he wrote.
9. Starlight (1992) - he and fellow hs seniors are having a swearing contest (1992) in quad and vice principal singles him out. Girl at Editor's Board meeting declines him stopping by and almost says 'black', but says 'boys'. The 'Rayleigh' effect filters white sun/starlight so only certain colors are seen.
10. Anything (1993) - Girlfriend asks him 'anything you want to do'? His true answer I won't spoil - good kid.
11. Shadows (1993) - desk job at school for building security.
12. The Fundamental Medium (1996) - he gets the 'Africa' questions from classmates. Medium is relative to the Aether that was believed to be the medium that Electromagnetic waves traveled on. White people think they are the aether, and black people/ideas just travel on them.
13. Florida Florida Florida (2000) - black voters got purged from the voting records. 537 votes was the margin Bush won by.
14. Flying Away (2001) - 9/11. Stops drawing editorial cartoons. Falling people from the World Trade Center towers looked like they were flying.
15. Peripeteia (2004) - same sex marriage approved in San Fran. Peripeteia - invented by Aristotle - that moment in a work of fiction when there's a sudden, tragic, irreversible change of circumstance - a shocking change of fortune that sends the story off in a new direction, straight toward an inescapable ending. Similar reaction to 1960 inter-racial marriage. Reader says gay marriage abomination. He says that's what bigots said about interracial marriage. Darrin says if those bigots had their my parent wouldn't have married and I wouldn't exist. Reader says "You Shouldn't".
16. We Did It (2008) - Obama!
17. If I Had a Son (2012) - Obama said 'If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon'.
18. Open Season (2015) - Its not about race. Its not about race.
19. Something's Broken (2015) - Trump. Darrin becomes the first black editorial cartoonist to win the Pulitzer Prize.
20. Eight Forty-Six (March 11, 2020) - COVID 19 cancels the NBA season. Skies got cleaner. No mass shootings. But no food in stores. George Floyd. Tamir Rice.
21. The Talk (7/22/20) - George Floyd, Breonna Taylor). Confederate statues come down. Protests are targeted. BLM. Now Darrin has to explain to his own son racism. White people told lies to defend their lies about slavery.
From Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrin_...
Darrin Bell (born January 27, 1975) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American editorial cartoonist and comic strip creator known for the syndicated comic strips Candorville and Rudy Park. He is a syndicated editorial cartoonist with King Features. His editorial cartoons were formerly syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group.
Bell is the first African-American to have two comic strips syndicated nationally. He is also a storyboard artist. Bell engages in issues such as civil rights, pop culture, family, science fiction, scriptural wisdom, and nihilist philosophy, while often casting his characters in roles that are traditionally denied them.
Biography
Bell, who is black and Jewish, was born in Los Angeles, California. He started drawing when he was three. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a BA in Political Science in 1999. While at Cal, Bell became the editorial cartoonist for The Daily Californian. Bell's freelance editorial cartooning career began in 1995 at age 20. His first sale was to the Los Angeles Times, which subsequently assigned him a cartoon every other week. Bell also sold his cartoons to the San Francisco Chronicle and the former BANG (Bay Area News Group) papers, which included the Oakland Tribune.
Bell's strip Candorville, launched in September 2003 by The Washington Post Writers Group, features young black and Latino characters living in the inner city. Using the vehicle of humor, Candorville presents social and political commentary as well as the stories of its protagonists. Candorville grew out of a comic strip called Lemont Brown, which appeared in the student newspaper of UC Berkeley, The Daily Californian, from 1993 to 2003. It was that newspaper's longest-running comic strip. Candorville appears in over 100 of America's newspapers.
Bell also drew Rudy Park, a syndicated comic strip created by Theron Heir and Bell that was distributed by United Features Syndicate and then The Washington Post Writers Group. Heir, a.k.a. Matt Richtel, wrote the strip from 2001 to 2012, when he announced he was taking a year-long sabbatical to focus on other projects. Bell at that point took over the writing duties as well as illustrating the strip, which ended print syndication in June 2018, although it continues to appear sporadically (now distributed by Counterpoint Media).
https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/darr...
Chapters:
1. The Talk (1981) - fake gun was green, thank goodness
2. Bully (1984) - Chris calling him Big Lips and saying he has fuzzy hair.
3. Scenes (1986) - his white mom makes a 'scene' when she see obvious discrimination
4. All the Way Down - the tier structure at class, the street, home, school-yard. Finds his crowd of museum loving kids.
5. Dare - sleepover at a friend's, who then dares him to help steal action figures at a store. Although he does not participate, the store security grabs HIM instead of the friend based on color.
6. The First Video (1991) - sees video of police beating a suspect. Makes him VERY nervous driving by a police on motorcycle.
7. Knives out (1990) - gang looks, talk. Teacher calls him 'one of the good ones'. Compliment though? Why is it necessary.
8. One of the good ones - the mayor thanks him via phone for an article about metal detectors he wrote.
9. Starlight (1992) - he and fellow hs seniors are having a swearing contest (1992) in quad and vice principal singles him out. Girl at Editor's Board meeting declines him stopping by and almost says 'black', but says 'boys'. The 'Rayleigh' effect filters white sun/starlight so only certain colors are seen.
10. Anything (1993) - Girlfriend asks him 'anything you want to do'? His true answer I won't spoil - good kid.
11. Shadows (1993) - desk job at school for building security.
12. The Fundamental Medium (1996) - he gets the 'Africa' questions from classmates. Medium is relative to the Aether that was believed to be the medium that Electromagnetic waves traveled on. White people think they are the aether, and black people/ideas just travel on them.
13. Florida Florida Florida (2000) - black voters got purged from the voting records. 537 votes was the margin Bush won by.
14. Flying Away (2001) - 9/11. Stops drawing editorial cartoons. Falling people from the World Trade Center towers looked like they were flying.
15. Peripeteia (2004) - same sex marriage approved in San Fran. Peripeteia - invented by Aristotle - that moment in a work of fiction when there's a sudden, tragic, irreversible change of circumstance - a shocking change of fortune that sends the story off in a new direction, straight toward an inescapable ending. Similar reaction to 1960 inter-racial marriage. Reader says gay marriage abomination. He says that's what bigots said about interracial marriage. Darrin says if those bigots had their my parent wouldn't have married and I wouldn't exist. Reader says "You Shouldn't".
16. We Did It (2008) - Obama!
17. If I Had a Son (2012) - Obama said 'If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon'.
18. Open Season (2015) - Its not about race. Its not about race.
19. Something's Broken (2015) - Trump. Darrin becomes the first black editorial cartoonist to win the Pulitzer Prize.
20. Eight Forty-Six (March 11, 2020) - COVID 19 cancels the NBA season. Skies got cleaner. No mass shootings. But no food in stores. George Floyd. Tamir Rice.
21. The Talk (7/22/20) - George Floyd, Breonna Taylor). Confederate statues come down. Protests are targeted. BLM. Now Darrin has to explain to his own son racism. White people told lies to defend their lies about slavery.
From Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrin_...
Darrin Bell (born January 27, 1975) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American editorial cartoonist and comic strip creator known for the syndicated comic strips Candorville and Rudy Park. He is a syndicated editorial cartoonist with King Features. His editorial cartoons were formerly syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group.
Bell is the first African-American to have two comic strips syndicated nationally. He is also a storyboard artist. Bell engages in issues such as civil rights, pop culture, family, science fiction, scriptural wisdom, and nihilist philosophy, while often casting his characters in roles that are traditionally denied them.
Biography
Bell, who is black and Jewish, was born in Los Angeles, California. He started drawing when he was three. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a BA in Political Science in 1999. While at Cal, Bell became the editorial cartoonist for The Daily Californian. Bell's freelance editorial cartooning career began in 1995 at age 20. His first sale was to the Los Angeles Times, which subsequently assigned him a cartoon every other week. Bell also sold his cartoons to the San Francisco Chronicle and the former BANG (Bay Area News Group) papers, which included the Oakland Tribune.
Bell's strip Candorville, launched in September 2003 by The Washington Post Writers Group, features young black and Latino characters living in the inner city. Using the vehicle of humor, Candorville presents social and political commentary as well as the stories of its protagonists. Candorville grew out of a comic strip called Lemont Brown, which appeared in the student newspaper of UC Berkeley, The Daily Californian, from 1993 to 2003. It was that newspaper's longest-running comic strip. Candorville appears in over 100 of America's newspapers.
Bell also drew Rudy Park, a syndicated comic strip created by Theron Heir and Bell that was distributed by United Features Syndicate and then The Washington Post Writers Group. Heir, a.k.a. Matt Richtel, wrote the strip from 2001 to 2012, when he announced he was taking a year-long sabbatical to focus on other projects. Bell at that point took over the writing duties as well as illustrating the strip, which ended print syndication in June 2018, although it continues to appear sporadically (now distributed by Counterpoint Media).
June 18, 2024
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Darrin Bell, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley.
The narrators of this audiobook are Brittany Bradford, Darrin Bell, Emyree Zazu Bell, and William DeMerrit. This is an extremely high quality audio production of this graphic novel. With multiple narrators this felt really respectful of the subject matter. This could appeal to older grade school aged children.
The beginning of this audiobook is haunting, "For Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray, Trayvon Martin,...." each name read by a separate narrator or in a different voice. What a beautiful homage to those we've lost to police and other white supremacist violence.
This is an example of how Black parents and guardians in the US speak to their children about race. I'm sure this is replicated by other cultures but I myself received this talk from my Black father. I had this talk with my own Black daughter. I've had versions of this talk with my 2 oldest grandkids, aged 8 & 7. This must be discussed early and often especially if you live in primarily white areas.
The author remembers when his mother had the talk with him around a water gun she purchased him. He's now an adult and a father himself trying to decide if his son is old enough for the talk. This is heavy, important but weighty.
Sometimes it feels like books like this aren't for Black folks. These books feel like they're written for white folks so they can understand the stress of living under racism on Black folks. I don't think this type of narrative fights racism. This puts me in mind of Stokely Carmichael's quote, "Dr. King's policy was that nonviolence would achieve the gains for Black people in the United States. His major assumption was that if you are nonviolent, if you suffer, your opponent will see your suffering and will be moved to change his heart. That's very good. He only made one fallacious assumption: In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience. The United States has none."
This type of narrative requires the reader to care about Black children. We already know that not even liberals really care about our kids. We have open policies in states to protect the feelings of white children. These folks are not going to care about this book beyond it being banned from their children's access. So I feel like this almost falls under Black violence porn. It doesn't move the mark on the fight against racism for the same reason systemic racism exists, white folks aren't going to be guilted out of harming us.
So we're just gonna have to force change. After which white folks will pat themselves on the backs congratulating themselves on solving the problem they caused in the first place. Totally ignoring that we forced the issue at great cost to ourselves and our communities. These are the same folks who want police at Pride because they don't know the original Pride was a fight against police. History just has to march right over these folks without bothering to appeal to their nonexistent conscience.
The use of the term 'folks' in this review refers to US folks.
Thank you to Darrin Bell, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
The narrators of this audiobook are Brittany Bradford, Darrin Bell, Emyree Zazu Bell, and William DeMerrit. This is an extremely high quality audio production of this graphic novel. With multiple narrators this felt really respectful of the subject matter. This could appeal to older grade school aged children.
The beginning of this audiobook is haunting, "For Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray, Trayvon Martin,...." each name read by a separate narrator or in a different voice. What a beautiful homage to those we've lost to police and other white supremacist violence.
This is an example of how Black parents and guardians in the US speak to their children about race. I'm sure this is replicated by other cultures but I myself received this talk from my Black father. I had this talk with my own Black daughter. I've had versions of this talk with my 2 oldest grandkids, aged 8 & 7. This must be discussed early and often especially if you live in primarily white areas.
The author remembers when his mother had the talk with him around a water gun she purchased him. He's now an adult and a father himself trying to decide if his son is old enough for the talk. This is heavy, important but weighty.
Sometimes it feels like books like this aren't for Black folks. These books feel like they're written for white folks so they can understand the stress of living under racism on Black folks. I don't think this type of narrative fights racism. This puts me in mind of Stokely Carmichael's quote, "Dr. King's policy was that nonviolence would achieve the gains for Black people in the United States. His major assumption was that if you are nonviolent, if you suffer, your opponent will see your suffering and will be moved to change his heart. That's very good. He only made one fallacious assumption: In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience. The United States has none."
This type of narrative requires the reader to care about Black children. We already know that not even liberals really care about our kids. We have open policies in states to protect the feelings of white children. These folks are not going to care about this book beyond it being banned from their children's access. So I feel like this almost falls under Black violence porn. It doesn't move the mark on the fight against racism for the same reason systemic racism exists, white folks aren't going to be guilted out of harming us.
So we're just gonna have to force change. After which white folks will pat themselves on the backs congratulating themselves on solving the problem they caused in the first place. Totally ignoring that we forced the issue at great cost to ourselves and our communities. These are the same folks who want police at Pride because they don't know the original Pride was a fight against police. History just has to march right over these folks without bothering to appeal to their nonexistent conscience.
The use of the term 'folks' in this review refers to US folks.
Thank you to Darrin Bell, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
February 2, 2023
When I first started reading this graphic memoir, I swiped to the dedication page and I knew that Darrin Bell's story will devastate me. The page is a never-ending list of black people that were murdered by police and (to a larger extent) white supremacy. The words "For my sons and daughters" are highlighted in the middle of that list, making the page into a powerful statement in itself.
I loved how vulnerable the author is with his fears during childhood and the years after. I can relate to the parts where his views on racism changes as he grows up. When he's a child, he thinks that his white mother is being paranoid whenever she brings up the fact that he's (half) black and that white society will always see him as a threat, no matter his age.
During a group discussion with his white classmates in his undergrad years, there's a really sad and sobering moment where he slowly realizes that his mother was right. No matter how "good" of a person he is, America will always see him as a black man. There's no way to escape white supremacy since it's so embedded in American society. It's so powerful that I had to screenshot it. As a WOC, it rings true for me.
There's a chapter titled "The Talk" where the author has "the talk" with his black son about the realities of being black in America. It was really powerful to see it all laid out and ngl, it made me cry. Maybe (hopefully?) his son will grow up to live in a better world. If White America gets its act together.
Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for this arc.
I loved how vulnerable the author is with his fears during childhood and the years after. I can relate to the parts where his views on racism changes as he grows up. When he's a child, he thinks that his white mother is being paranoid whenever she brings up the fact that he's (half) black and that white society will always see him as a threat, no matter his age.
During a group discussion with his white classmates in his undergrad years, there's a really sad and sobering moment where he slowly realizes that his mother was right. No matter how "good" of a person he is, America will always see him as a black man. There's no way to escape white supremacy since it's so embedded in American society. It's so powerful that I had to screenshot it. As a WOC, it rings true for me.
"I think I was taken off guard by their asking me questions. Usually these guys reflexively tell me I'm wrong. Or they outright ignore my points (until one of them repeats what I said, as if THEY thought of it.) My hypothesis is that wittingly or not, they see minorities as electromagnetic waves. And they see themselves as the medium through which our experiences, our perspectives, our opinions - and even our PRESENCE - propagate. Everything about us is valid only to the extent that THEY are willing to entertain it.
They seem to feel that they're as foundational and as supreme as the Aether."
There's a chapter titled "The Talk" where the author has "the talk" with his black son about the realities of being black in America. It was really powerful to see it all laid out and ngl, it made me cry. Maybe (hopefully?) his son will grow up to live in a better world. If White America gets its act together.
Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for this arc.
July 1, 2025
Truth can be found in many guises. “The Talk” by Darrin Bell shows what the truth looks like for young African Americans today, who are living in a society that exists in a constant state of cognitive bias about the state of racism in modern America. The book is a graphic novel that shows the journey of a young, biracial boy who has to navigate in a world where having a black father means that the boy needs a heightened awareness of how he is perceived by the society in which he lives.
The title of the book is deliberately ambiguous, because it is multi-layered. It can, of course, merely refer to people talking to each other, but it is deeper than that. For most people “the talk” refers to the conversation that parents need to have with their children about the birds and the bees. Talking about sex with your parents is embarrassing for both parties so it is often shrouded in many euphemistic metaphors. However, the talk in question in this graphic novel is entirely different. It refers to the talk that African American parents need to have with their children and it is especially important for the young men. In order to keep their children safe, parents need to teach their children how to behave when they meet open racism, implicit discrimination and profiling. Failure to behave with deference and the acceptable level of humility often results in physical violence and death: George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and many others whose names did not make it into the media.
This reads like a work of fiction, but it is an autobiographical re-working of issues that face non-white people in a society whose default setting is white and male. As a graphic novel it shows the situations and uses words to tell what the experience is like. It does not preach but allows the reader to feel the fear of parents who try to keep their children alive by talking about issues that are existentially unjust. It also shows the development of a talented, young man who is praised for his intellectual prowess and artistic skills while also being treated as a thug and potential threat by the police for merely driving a car that seems more luxurious than a young man of African American descent is expected to drive.
Police brutality is shown in several episodes throughout Darrin´s life, beginning with an incident with a plastic, green toy gun in his childhood and very tense instances as a young man, where his conditioning to behave passively and in a deliberately unthreatening manner help him escape unscathed. The point here is that everyone should be able to turn to the police for protection and not have an entire choreography in their head about how to behave if they are pulled over. These incidents in Darrin´s life are juxtaposed with references to famous cases where innocent African Americans ended up dead.
The story is compelling in his childhood, because this treatment seems blatantly unfair. However, the theme becomes even more poignant as he grows up, attends college and has a family of his own. Darrin becomes an acclaimed political cartoonist who can sell his artwork to large newspapers. Even so, he is accused of plagiarism by his “liberal”-minded college professor who refuses to believe that he has written his own paper, because it is too good. The situation is dripping with irony. She gets her comeuppance, though. Darrin puts his fame to good use and threatens to out her by publishing a political cartoon in the paper.
The whole book is peppered with pop culture references that put such situations into a relatable context. Star Trek´s creator, Gene Roddenberry, is quoted as saying that “we´re all aliens to each other” (chapter 12). The utopian, future society of Star Trek is used to show that even college campuses have their share of implicit refusal to see the injustice of systematic slavery and racism. Even in elite intellectual environments white and rich is still the default, making everything else “the other”. However, instead of a bitter rebuke, Darrin Bell describes the situation with a metaphor, where “minorities” are seen as “electromagnetic waves”. This both clever and touching, which refutes the myth that African American men are uneducated.
At the end there is even a suggestion of how to move forward. Darrin explains the situation to his young son when he reminds him how he behaved when he broke a watch and then lied about it. His son had lied about him not breaking the watch for so long that at some point he even believed it himself. However, the only way to move forward was to admit his guilt and then allow his father to forgive him and give him a hug. The first step was to stop lying; this is told as a parable of how white people feel about slavery and racism. His son understands the point of the parable. The question is whether others do as well?
The title of the book is deliberately ambiguous, because it is multi-layered. It can, of course, merely refer to people talking to each other, but it is deeper than that. For most people “the talk” refers to the conversation that parents need to have with their children about the birds and the bees. Talking about sex with your parents is embarrassing for both parties so it is often shrouded in many euphemistic metaphors. However, the talk in question in this graphic novel is entirely different. It refers to the talk that African American parents need to have with their children and it is especially important for the young men. In order to keep their children safe, parents need to teach their children how to behave when they meet open racism, implicit discrimination and profiling. Failure to behave with deference and the acceptable level of humility often results in physical violence and death: George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and many others whose names did not make it into the media.
This reads like a work of fiction, but it is an autobiographical re-working of issues that face non-white people in a society whose default setting is white and male. As a graphic novel it shows the situations and uses words to tell what the experience is like. It does not preach but allows the reader to feel the fear of parents who try to keep their children alive by talking about issues that are existentially unjust. It also shows the development of a talented, young man who is praised for his intellectual prowess and artistic skills while also being treated as a thug and potential threat by the police for merely driving a car that seems more luxurious than a young man of African American descent is expected to drive.
Police brutality is shown in several episodes throughout Darrin´s life, beginning with an incident with a plastic, green toy gun in his childhood and very tense instances as a young man, where his conditioning to behave passively and in a deliberately unthreatening manner help him escape unscathed. The point here is that everyone should be able to turn to the police for protection and not have an entire choreography in their head about how to behave if they are pulled over. These incidents in Darrin´s life are juxtaposed with references to famous cases where innocent African Americans ended up dead.
The story is compelling in his childhood, because this treatment seems blatantly unfair. However, the theme becomes even more poignant as he grows up, attends college and has a family of his own. Darrin becomes an acclaimed political cartoonist who can sell his artwork to large newspapers. Even so, he is accused of plagiarism by his “liberal”-minded college professor who refuses to believe that he has written his own paper, because it is too good. The situation is dripping with irony. She gets her comeuppance, though. Darrin puts his fame to good use and threatens to out her by publishing a political cartoon in the paper.
The whole book is peppered with pop culture references that put such situations into a relatable context. Star Trek´s creator, Gene Roddenberry, is quoted as saying that “we´re all aliens to each other” (chapter 12). The utopian, future society of Star Trek is used to show that even college campuses have their share of implicit refusal to see the injustice of systematic slavery and racism. Even in elite intellectual environments white and rich is still the default, making everything else “the other”. However, instead of a bitter rebuke, Darrin Bell describes the situation with a metaphor, where “minorities” are seen as “electromagnetic waves”. This both clever and touching, which refutes the myth that African American men are uneducated.
At the end there is even a suggestion of how to move forward. Darrin explains the situation to his young son when he reminds him how he behaved when he broke a watch and then lied about it. His son had lied about him not breaking the watch for so long that at some point he even believed it himself. However, the only way to move forward was to admit his guilt and then allow his father to forgive him and give him a hug. The first step was to stop lying; this is told as a parable of how white people feel about slavery and racism. His son understands the point of the parable. The question is whether others do as well?
January 20, 2025
The topics discussed in this book were so powerful, and important, especially for boys of color. I listened to the audiobook (gifted from Macmillan Audio Publishing) and I loved the full cast and sound effects, it made the story memorable but also vivid to the ears. I would recommend for young adults.
January 19, 2024
wow wow wow. Really hard-hitting but also funny. Such a journey through his life as an artist but also a capsule of American history.
My only complaint is that the font (handwriting?) is hard to read.
My only complaint is that the font (handwriting?) is hard to read.
July 24, 2024
CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT
Huge thanks to #partner @macmillan.audio for my #gifted audiobook #macaudio2024
The Talk
By Darrin Bell
Narrated by Darrin Bell, Brittany Bradford, Emyree Zazu Bell, William DeMerrit
Available 8/27
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A coming-of-age memoir in the form of a multi-cast graphic audiobook about the author's life following "The Talk" (about why he couldn't use a realistic-looking water gun) and how it shaped his experiences from childhood to adulthood. This heartfelt memoir is a timely, important exploration of police brutality and anti-Blackness through the lens of a Black boy/teen/man. The narration is outstanding, and the sound effects and music further adds to the experience.
Huge thanks to #partner @macmillan.audio for my #gifted audiobook #macaudio2024
The Talk
By Darrin Bell
Narrated by Darrin Bell, Brittany Bradford, Emyree Zazu Bell, William DeMerrit
Available 8/27
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A coming-of-age memoir in the form of a multi-cast graphic audiobook about the author's life following "The Talk" (about why he couldn't use a realistic-looking water gun) and how it shaped his experiences from childhood to adulthood. This heartfelt memoir is a timely, important exploration of police brutality and anti-Blackness through the lens of a Black boy/teen/man. The narration is outstanding, and the sound effects and music further adds to the experience.
July 28, 2024
Wow. This book. This book! As soon as I finish this review, I will be writing a grant to get funds in order to purchase multiple copies of The Talk for my classroom.
Mr Bell writes his memoir with wit, wisdom, honesty, and conviction. Conviction in the innate worth of all human beings. Conviction that our society is strong enough to face the systemic lies and prejudices baked into our history AND change that trajectory. Conviction in the witness of our forebears and the power and strength we learn from them.
I will be thinking about this book for a long time, not only as a teacher but as a person living in 2024, navigating life with my Jewish and Palestinian friends, my Muslim and trans and Asian and black and white students, my conservative and progressive colleagues… Confronting (with grace and truth) my own bias and working to create a world where “The Talk” becomes a relic of a past historical time. Thank you, Darrin Bell, for digging deep and putting your life & thoughts & experiences on the page in a way to make all of stop, reflect, reevaluate, and see the world with more honesty.
Mr Bell writes his memoir with wit, wisdom, honesty, and conviction. Conviction in the innate worth of all human beings. Conviction that our society is strong enough to face the systemic lies and prejudices baked into our history AND change that trajectory. Conviction in the witness of our forebears and the power and strength we learn from them.
I will be thinking about this book for a long time, not only as a teacher but as a person living in 2024, navigating life with my Jewish and Palestinian friends, my Muslim and trans and Asian and black and white students, my conservative and progressive colleagues… Confronting (with grace and truth) my own bias and working to create a world where “The Talk” becomes a relic of a past historical time. Thank you, Darrin Bell, for digging deep and putting your life & thoughts & experiences on the page in a way to make all of stop, reflect, reevaluate, and see the world with more honesty.
January 4, 2024
Wow, wow, wow.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2023
Darrin Bell, a Pulitzer Prize winner known for his astute editorial cartoons and his two comic strips Candorville and Rudy Park, has created a memoir of his life growing up and learning the harsh realities of race. Born to a white mother and a Black father, it is actually his mother who gives him the talk about how he needs to be careful because of how he will be perceived because of his race. Despite his father being an effective teacher in the classroom, he remains surprisingly silent about racism even when asked directly by his son.
Bell shares his memories of microaggressions and outright prejudice and racism he endures growing up in the LA area. As a child, he wanted a play gun, as so many children do, but his mother would only buy him a green one as she knew a more realistic-looking one could prove fatal for him if misinterpreted. And indeed a police officer does stop him when he’s outside playing with it and traumatizes him, and this bitter memory stays with him forever. Bell also shares how despite him being an AP student, his teachers belittle and condescend to him. Twice he is called “one of the good ones”, a cruel dig that implies that Blacks are inferior and that he is unusual in his excellence.
In high school and college, he hones his cartooning and editorial skills at his school newspapers and begins to gain deserved recognition. We are given looks into his personal life and career growth, and eventual marriage and fatherhood. The book concludes with Bell and his wife both talking to their young son about racism and the realities that he will face growing up Black in America.
This is an excellent memoir that hopefully opens some readers’ eyes to the fact that racism still very much exists. While I have seen some editorial cartoons of Bell’s and recognize his two cartoon strips, I now have two complied books of Candorville on reserve at my library. Bell has an insightful voice, and this graphic novel is a highly recommended must-read!
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2023/08/0...
Bell shares his memories of microaggressions and outright prejudice and racism he endures growing up in the LA area. As a child, he wanted a play gun, as so many children do, but his mother would only buy him a green one as she knew a more realistic-looking one could prove fatal for him if misinterpreted. And indeed a police officer does stop him when he’s outside playing with it and traumatizes him, and this bitter memory stays with him forever. Bell also shares how despite him being an AP student, his teachers belittle and condescend to him. Twice he is called “one of the good ones”, a cruel dig that implies that Blacks are inferior and that he is unusual in his excellence.
In high school and college, he hones his cartooning and editorial skills at his school newspapers and begins to gain deserved recognition. We are given looks into his personal life and career growth, and eventual marriage and fatherhood. The book concludes with Bell and his wife both talking to their young son about racism and the realities that he will face growing up Black in America.
This is an excellent memoir that hopefully opens some readers’ eyes to the fact that racism still very much exists. While I have seen some editorial cartoons of Bell’s and recognize his two cartoon strips, I now have two complied books of Candorville on reserve at my library. Bell has an insightful voice, and this graphic novel is a highly recommended must-read!
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2023/08/0...
November 9, 2023
Best and most important book I have read all year.
October 18, 2024
Compelling memoir of comic strip author and editorial cartoonist Darrin Bell. Key events:
--Asking his mom why his squirt gun is green instead of black and learning that the world works differently for black children. Tamir Rice.
--Being tracked by security guards. Having a store employee try to protect his own (white) mother from him.
--His friends' inability to understand his experiences, their doubts that racism exists anymore. 'Didn't they fix that in the Sixties?'
--Discovering that there are people who contend that slavery was actually good for black people, because Africa is poor.
--Getting periodic DWB's.
--Rodney King.
--9/11, and the unfortunate editorial cartoon that put that aspect of his career on hiatus.
--Struggling with his own tendency to accommodate and excuse racist people and systems for safety's sake.
--SCOTUS declaring FL for Bush by 537 votes...after Bush's campaign chair had purged 20,000 black voters from Florida's voter roles illegally.
--The first black president, and the typhoon of racial abuse he experienced. The Tea Party backlash.
--Trayvon Martin and George Floyd.
--COVID.
--The eventual social consensus behind gay marriage, and his hopes for the eventual same on black humanity.
--The rise of Trumpism and its implications for an eventual consensus on black humanity.
Finally, the book's thesis:
'...But Papa, WHY do white people lack empathy for black people?'
'Do you remember when you broke my watch and hid it? You lied when I first asked you about it. Then you lied to protect yourself. Then you had to tell more lies to protect your lies. Before long you'd actually come to BELIEVE that you hadn't broken the watch. That's what happened to white people. They told a lie a long time ago to rationalize slavery. Then they told lie after lie about how black people were dumb, dangerous, inferior savages, and that it was their duty to control us, and our duty to submit. They told these lies to us and themselves for hundreds of years.
Do you remember how awful it felt when I found the watch and all of those lies you'd been telling came crumbling down? And do you remember how Papa yelled at you for a little while, and told you how much your lies had hurt? And do you remember how you felt when Papa picked you up and held you, and gave you a kiss, and said he loves you anyway?'
'Surprised.'
'And how did you feel when we came up with a plan for fixing the watch together?'
'Happy.'
'Well son...white people could have that feeling too. How could they have that feeling?'
'By not lying anymore.'
--Asking his mom why his squirt gun is green instead of black and learning that the world works differently for black children. Tamir Rice.
--Being tracked by security guards. Having a store employee try to protect his own (white) mother from him.
--His friends' inability to understand his experiences, their doubts that racism exists anymore. 'Didn't they fix that in the Sixties?'
--Discovering that there are people who contend that slavery was actually good for black people, because Africa is poor.
--Getting periodic DWB's.
--Rodney King.
--9/11, and the unfortunate editorial cartoon that put that aspect of his career on hiatus.
--Struggling with his own tendency to accommodate and excuse racist people and systems for safety's sake.
--SCOTUS declaring FL for Bush by 537 votes...after Bush's campaign chair had purged 20,000 black voters from Florida's voter roles illegally.
--The first black president, and the typhoon of racial abuse he experienced. The Tea Party backlash.
--Trayvon Martin and George Floyd.
--COVID.
--The eventual social consensus behind gay marriage, and his hopes for the eventual same on black humanity.
--The rise of Trumpism and its implications for an eventual consensus on black humanity.
Finally, the book's thesis:
'...But Papa, WHY do white people lack empathy for black people?'
'Do you remember when you broke my watch and hid it? You lied when I first asked you about it. Then you lied to protect yourself. Then you had to tell more lies to protect your lies. Before long you'd actually come to BELIEVE that you hadn't broken the watch. That's what happened to white people. They told a lie a long time ago to rationalize slavery. Then they told lie after lie about how black people were dumb, dangerous, inferior savages, and that it was their duty to control us, and our duty to submit. They told these lies to us and themselves for hundreds of years.
Do you remember how awful it felt when I found the watch and all of those lies you'd been telling came crumbling down? And do you remember how Papa yelled at you for a little while, and told you how much your lies had hurt? And do you remember how you felt when Papa picked you up and held you, and gave you a kiss, and said he loves you anyway?'
'Surprised.'
'And how did you feel when we came up with a plan for fixing the watch together?'
'Happy.'
'Well son...white people could have that feeling too. How could they have that feeling?'
'By not lying anymore.'
January 13, 2024
this book is especially special to me because I worked on it many moons ago during my holt internship. (this is not really impressive, I honestly could not tell you what my work contributed)
BUT it was so much more fun to read this book in its physical form, outside of a dropbox, and I think the finished product is amazing.
the art is stunning and the story is so compelling and meaningful, from the very first chapter. I don't always love graphic novels, but Darrin Bell is so gifted and this is the perfect format for this story.
BUT it was so much more fun to read this book in its physical form, outside of a dropbox, and I think the finished product is amazing.
the art is stunning and the story is so compelling and meaningful, from the very first chapter. I don't always love graphic novels, but Darrin Bell is so gifted and this is the perfect format for this story.
January 6, 2024
Excellent comics memoir about the writer's experience of being Black in America from the 1980s to today.
I like the way he draws bodies, cute, endearing, full of warmth. The timing of the story telling is great.
I hope to read more by this thoughtful creator.
I like the way he draws bodies, cute, endearing, full of warmth. The timing of the story telling is great.
I hope to read more by this thoughtful creator.
January 2, 2024
The autobiography, in graphic novel form of a biracial, shy, intelligent boy who channels his anxiety and experienced life long racism into his drawings. Always feeling as an “other” or “NHI” no human involved (a code used by the police) he becomes the first African American to win the Pulitzer prize for his editorial cartoons. However, or in addition, in my opinion he should have won it for this book.
January 4, 2024
A powerful memoir, related with complexity and trust and a bit of hope. Highly recommend.
July 2, 2024
Going to buy this one. A must read. ❤️
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