All You Have to Do

Powerful, thought-provoking, and heartfelt, this young adult novel is a gripping look at what it takes (and takes and takes) for two Black students to succeed in prestigious academic institutions in America.

“Beautifully immerses the reader in the stories of two young Black student activists and their shared personal struggles that transcend decades.”—Ibram X. Kendi, author of Stamped from the Beginning, winner of the National Book Award

Being a Black kid in an elite school is not easy, but it’s a privilege. It is a path to “success.” What kind of success, though? And what price do you have to pay for it? You can’t think about that if you want to graduate. And you must graduate. After all, generations of your people fought to get you here.

Just focus on your future. That’s all you have to do. But can you?

All You Have to Do is a page-turning, heartfelt story about two young men attending prestigious schools nearly thirty years apart, and the powerful ways in which their lives connect.

In 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, Kevin joins his fellow students as they stage a sit-in to protest Columbia University’s yearslong expansion into Morningside Heights at the expense of its residents, the majority of whom are African American. And the protesters are up against more than just their school. . . .

In 1995, Gibran’s request to have a group of Black students from his prep school attend the Million Man March is met with criticism, suspicion, and condescension. Gibran writes an open letter about racism at the school, but his protest only leads to more trouble. . . .

To discover who they want to be, these two young men must challenge the ways society and family define them . . . and with each step, they risk losing the opportunities their parents worked hard to provide.