Shane Clester

Devin C. Hughes

Junot D�az famously once said, "If you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves." "Moon Patrol" promotes the "story of us all," ensuring that children's bookshelves contain diverse, non-majority narratives of kids of all different races. A space exploration adventure and humor picture book series for young and early readers, focusing on themes of inclusion and diversity. Axis travels the galaxy helping the helpless, righting wrongs and solving problems! A race of aliens have altered their DNA to eradicate any diversity or specialty, leaving their world in ruins. With no one too smart or too strong, for example, there is no one to fix the machines, or lift debris out of the road. Axis helps show them the importance of diversity and the value of having different cultures in a society. Using his magical space age guitar, he adds color and variety to the planet and formally Grey Aliens.

Moon Patrol

In 1967, the Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage in America. Devin Hughes was born two years later to a black father and white mother who fled to Washington DC to escape the racism of the Deep South. Bigotry still ran rampant up North, and light-skinned, greeneyed Devin felt its pull from both ends: strangers who didn't know he was half-black and friends who didn't care he was half-white. In racial limbo, Devin found himself more consumed with his dysfunctional family life-a father who offered an alternative "street" education and a mother whose drug use zombified her for most of his childhood. Despite his parents' flaws, they were Devin's greatest believers. From his dad founding a neighborhood baseball team to his mom advocating for him in school, they taught Devin that anything imaginable was within reach, that their mistakes needn't be his choices, and that his destiny was for greatness. Ultimately, Contrast: A Biracial Man's Journey to Desegregate His Past isn't a book about race; it's a book about acceptance, perseverance, and love.

Devin C. Hughes

Books

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