Resources for Teachers & Readers
Angie Thomas is more than a bestselling author; she’s a voice for change. Explore her journey as a writer, speaker, and activist.
On the Come Up
Concrete Rose
The Book of Anansi
Angie's Statement on Book Banning
There is little that makes me more upset than seeing my books banned. But not because they’re my books; rather, because all I can think about is the message it sends to the Black kids who see themselves in my books.
The kids I write for, these Black kids especially, they’re written off every single day. There are judgements made about them—they’re seen as dangerous, they’re seen as a problem. Writing books for them—and fighting against efforts to ban those books—means I’m standing alongside them in this fight. I’m telling them that the people who are writing you off, they write my words off too. But I’m going to still write for you.
As a young Black woman who grew up poor in Mississippi—somebody from a generation, from a demographic, that was ignored for so long—I’m angry. When people try to ban my books and books like mine, they’re trying to push kids just like me to the side, as though they don’t exist, as though the things they go through aren’t important. As though their lives don’t matter, their dreams, their aspirations, their stories don’t matter.
They deserve to have their stories told whether it makes you comfortable or not.
FAQ about Writing
Book Angie to Speak
Angie Thomas’ keynotes resonate with the same authenticity, insight, and hope that make her writing so powerful, and give context and background to the culture, politics, and movement that inspired it.