Guest Contributor
Michael A. Lindsey, PhD, MSW, MPH
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League by Jeff Hobbs
This biography describes the life of a talented young Black man who graduated from Yale, only to lose his life to gun violence and the illegal drug trade at age 30. Written by his college roommate, it shows a real appreciation for the struggles of urban youth to overcome the odds while navigating the difficult terrain created by family disruption, poverty, community, violence and unequal education.
Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting by Terrie Williams
Public relations powerhouse Terrie Williams revealed her own experiences with clinical depression in this honest and enlightening portrayal of the struggle to understand and address mental illness in the black community.
Soar: How Boys Learn, Succeed, and Develop Character by David C. Banks
Banks is president and CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation, which runs several public schools for boys age 6-12 in at-risk communities in New York and New Jersey. His book shows how the potential of Black youth can be harnessed when a commitment to them is coupled with service.
The Social Determinants of Mental Health by Michael Compton and Ruth Shin
This influential, scholarly book helps to characterize mental health as more than just an intrapsychic struggle, but one that is contextualized in the experience of community, family and policy.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This cultural critique of what it means to be Black and male in America is spot on! It is relatable to the experiences I had as a disillusioned, young Black male, including its critique of the failing educational system that focuses more on taming young, Black men than educating them.
Guest Contributor
Dr. Michael A. Lindsey is a noted scholar of child and adolescent mental health, and a leader in the search for knowledge and solutions to generational poverty. He is Executive Director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University (NYU), the Martin Silver Professor of Poverty Studies at NYU Silver School of Social Work, and an Aspen Health Innovators Fellow. From McSilver, he leads NYU’s Strategies to Reduce Inequality initiative.
