Black Boys Like Me by Matthew R. Morris

Whatdoes it mean to be a young Black man with an immigrant father and a white mother, teaching in a school system that historically has held an exclusionary definition of success?

In eight illuminating essays, Matthew R. Morris grapples with this question, and others related to identity and perception. After graduating high school in Scarborough, Morris spent four years in the U.S. on multiple football scholarships and, having spent that time in the States experiencing "the Mecca of hip hop and Black culture," returned home with a newfound perspective.

Now an elementary school teacher himself in Toronto, Morris explores the tension between his consumption of Black culture as a child, his teenage performances of the ideas and values of the culture that oftenbetrayedhis identity, and the ways society and the people guiding him his parents, coaches, and teachers received those performances. What emerges is a painful journey toward transcending performance altogether, toward true knowledge of the self.

With the wide-reaching scope of Desmond Cole'sThe Skin We're Inand the introspective snapshot of life inBetween the World and Meby Ta-Nehisi Coates,Black Boys Like Meis an unflinching debut that invites readers to create braver spaces and engage in crucial conversations around race and belonging.(From Viking)

• 26 works of Canadian nonfiction coming out in spring 2024

• Matthew R. Morris writes about growing up Black and navigating race and identity in bookBlack Boys Like Me

Matthew R.Morris is a writer, advocate and educator based in Toronto. As a public speaker, he has travelled across North America to educate on anti-racism in the education system. Morris was recently announced as one ofthe readers for the 2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize.

Interviews with Matthew R. Morris

Here and Now Toronto9:16Tuesday Afternoon Book Club with Toronto author Matthew R. Morris

Matthew R. Morris is the author of "Black Boys Like Me-Confrontations with Race, Identity, and Belonging."He stopped by our studio for our Tuesday Afternoon Book Club.

The Next Chapter14:30Matthew R. Morris reflects on growing up in Scarborough in the 90s, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and exploring Black identity

The writer and educator discusses his new nonfiction book, Black Boy Like Me, which explores public education, pop culture and his identity as a young Black man with an immigrant father and a white mother.

Teacher pens bestseller on how schools treat Black boys like him

8 months ago

Duration 5:10

Matthew R. Morris turned his experiences as a Black student and a teacher into a bestselling memoir called Black Boys Like Me. He talks to CBCs Deana Sumanac-Johnson about navigating the education system from both sides of the classroom.