I Am Alfonso Jones

"Slavery didn't end in 1865; it evolved."

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review through Library Thing's Early Reviewers program. Trigger warning for racist violence.)

At just fifteen years young, Alfonso Jones has already endured more than any human - child or adult - should have to. Before he was even born, Alfonso's father was wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of a taxi fare, a white woman. Alfonso's mother went into premature labor when the officers investigating the case executed a search warrant on the couple's apartment, knocking over an altar of candles and starting a fire in the process.

Many people would break under far less, but Alfonso's family persevered. Though he mostly only knows his father show more through letters, Ishmael has worked hard to stay a constant in his son's life. His mother Cynthia is Alfonso's champion; through sheer force of will - and Alfonso's stellar test scores - she was able to gain him admittance to the prestigious Henry Dumas School of the Arts. She and Alfonso moved in with his paternal grandfather, the reverend Velasco Jones, to be closer to his school, and so Alfonso could have a strong male role model in his life.

Alfonso loves playing the trumpet, dreams of portraying Hamlet in his school's hip-hop production of the play, and works part-time as a bike messenger to save some money to visit his father in Attica. Or so he thinks: just as he's nearing his goal, Ishmael's conviction is overturned on DNA evidence. Instead of a ticket, Alfonso goes shopping for a suit for Ishmael's welcome home party. There, off-duty police officer and Markman's security guard Pete Whitson mistakes the hanger in Alfonso's hand for a gun, and shoots him multiple times. Alfonso dies on the scene, as his crush Danetta screams in shock and horror.

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When he awakens, Afonso finds himself riding a ghost train, filled with his ancestors and compatriots: other Black Americans who were murdered by police officers. Eleanor Bumpurs. Michael Stewart. Anthony Baez. Amadou Diallo. And, of course, Henry Dumas, for whom Alfonso's high school is named. Alfonso's elders guide him through the afterlife, as he checks in on the people who had such a profound impact on his life: his classmates and teachers; his parents and extended family; and, of course, the officer who killed him - and the communities that both defend and condemn Whitson's actions.

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Alfonso and his fellow spirits are destined to ride the ghost train until they find justice, making this a journey without end for so many of them - and giving a new meaning to the chant "No justice, no peace."

I Am Alfonso Jones is not an easy read, but it's a necessary one. It touches upon so many of the issues surrounding the Movement for Black Lives: not only excessive force, police brutality, and the shooting of unarmed POC, but also mass incarceration; victim blaming; #NotAllCops; racist media coverage; unequal access to education; the impact of technology on organizing and protest; the generational divide between activists; intersectionality; accountability; the blue wall of silence; the tension between professional nonprofits (read: showboating by outsiders) and local grassroots organizers; and the effects of trauma on survivors, to name a few.

By telling the story through Alfonso's eyes, Medina provides a unique perspective: we get to put ourselves in the victim's shoes, as Alfonso bears witness to the myriad ways his friends, family, and society as a whole cope with his murder. Framing this against the backdrop of a hip-hop Hamlet adds another layer of depth and originality.

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I Am Alfonso Jones is both a heartbreaking and impassioned call to arms - and an eloquent introduction to the #BlackLivesMatter movement for younger readers. The ending, while especially merciless and unsatisfying, is all too believable and true to life. Medina doesn't pull any punches or try to sugarcoat things with a shiny, happy resolution.

That said, the story is not entirely without hope: Alfonso lived to see the first Black woman president. We should be so blessed.

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Told in graphic novel format, Alfonso Jones, a young African American boy with heartbreaking promise, observes with despair and frustration the traumatic effects his wrongful murder has on his friends, family and community. As I read this book while simultaneously reading The Civitas Anthology of African American Slave Narratives, I can't help but wonder -- à la the ancient Greeks -- what is justice? And is justice to be found in the 21st century, or is it only theoretical?

I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

Tony Medina wrote this graphic novel as part of the Black Lives Matter movement. He based the fictional Alfonso Jones on several of the young men shot by law officers in the last few years.

I specifically asked for this book to review because I’m white and I’m a racist. As the Black Lives Matter grew to prominence, I reacted with contempt and scorn, pushing aside the movement as the petulant rantings of a self-victimizing people.

It was through speaking with a friend several years ago, that I began to question this attitude. Maybe…I was wrong.

I decide to explore the racism in my heart, a journey which has lead me to get involved in my community, listen to voices I previously ignored, contemplate thoughts I previously considered show more stupid, and – to read books that challenge my own experience and education.

Medina’s book is just such a book. With thick bold lines and dynamic art, Medina weaves the tale of the fictional Alfonso Jones into a narrative of black lives taken through police action. I did not agree with everything Medina said – but I can’t tell if that is because he was actually wrong or because of my own racist perceptions. It seemed as if he was saying that everyone killed by police was innocent of any crime. That isn’t true. But perhaps, that isn’t the point? Guilty or not, every American is entitled to a fair trial and the expectation of safety while under police management. As a white American, I take that expectation as fact. I am learning that for black Americans, it is a lie.

This book did not magically change my thinking. Instead, it is another valuable step in my own journey to understand the struggle of Blacks in America, and my own contribution to that injustice.

I would recommend it as part of any library dedicated to understanding the condition of black Americans and particularly, I recommend this work to anyone looking to understand a perspective outside their own.

Note: I received this free from LibaryThing’s Early Review Program, in exchange for my fair and honest opinion show less

“I Am Alfonso Jones,” written by Tony Medina and illustrated by Stacey Robinson and John Jennings, is a compelling and ambitious graphic novel on addressing race and society. The story follows Alfonso Jones, an African-American teenager who is shot by an off-duty police officer while purchasing a suit. Alfonso sees the aftershocks his family, friends, and others experience after his murder. He also meets real-life victims of police brutality: Eleanor Bumpers, Michael Stewart, Amadou Diallo, Anthony Baez, and Henry Dumas. This blend of fiction and reality proves compelling. Besides providing context for the book, portraying real victims reminds the reader that, while Alfonso is a fictional character, his story is all-too-real and has show more happened to far too many people (at the end of the book, an “Ancestors Wall” commemorates 68 black victims of police violence).

Rather than being told in chronological order, the story weaves together threads from different times. Besides depicting the events surrounding the deaths of Bumpers, Stewart, Diallo, Baez, and Dumas (who are dubbed “The Ancestors”), the events of Alfonso’s life and afterlife are shown through flashbacks and memories. Adding in the narrative of Alfonso’s family, friends, and acquaintances as they grapple with the aftermath makes for a complex plot under the best of circumstances. Fortunately, the author and illustrator make it, for the most part, easy to follow. The artwork adds to the story’s energy, and its occasional rough and unpolished nature helps convey both Alfonso’s unfinished life and the urgency of the events and the topic.

As mentioned earlier, “I Am Alfonso Jones” is ambitious in its storytelling and scope. Medina, Robinson, and Jennings juxtapose Alfonso’s story with Hamlet, which Alfonso’s school is adapting to use rap instead of Shakespearean language. While the story focuses on the Black Lives Matter movement, it also addresses related issues such as problems with the criminal justice system and the role that the media plays in reporting stories of police violence against minorities. The book does an admirable job of treating these topics with dignity and hinting at their complexity and depth while staying within the confines of 167 pages. show less

It seems only the most powerful books are banned. This book is banned for showing police in the wrong light and for being about by POC particularly black issues. In this book Alfonso Jones is shot while shopping for a suit because a security guard with a gun mistakes a hanger for another type of gun. This story looks both at the aftermath of what happens in society after the senseless killing, as well as following Alfonso Jones ‘s ghost as he views the history of other victims of senseless racial violence. This book is hard-hitting and brings forth all the emotions. It is so very real that even though it was written years ago it’s still not only relevant to today but will remain relevant for years to come. This book shouldn’t be show more banned, it should be studied. It should be used as a reference for what can and does happen in our modern society. It points out atrocities such as a 15-year-old black boy being shot for having a hanger, while a teenage school shooter gets taken alive with an arsenal of weapons. It gets into the thoughts and prayers offered by politicians with little to no action. And it gets into the pain of a community that can be felt by any community when one of their members is senselessly killed. This book should be read and should be in many libraries permanent collection as we hope and work towards a better future where books like this are no longer needed. show less

Between the story, the artwork, the writing, this was as close to perfection as I could imagine. The story of a slain black boy, with references to historical and modern day US issues, could have been maudlin. It could have been pure anger or pure sadness and pity for what the black community has to deal with.

Instead, this was a fantastic exploration of what a lack of social justice looks like. It was touching, inspiring, but gave no false impression that it will be an easy road to travel.

This graphic novel takes the reader on a journey with Alfonso Jones--a young black teenager fatally shot by a police officer. Where other books I've read recently tackle the repercussions of police brutality by focusing on the living (All-American Boys, The Hate U Give), Tony Medina constructs a world where we follow Alfonso into the afterlife and see his struggle to reconcile the injustice of his death.

English teachers will love the Hamlet thread that runs through this book. I've placed it on my own list of books I recommend to others seeking to understand racism in America. And I'm not sure if this was a conscious choice by the author and illustrator, but the entire novel is inked only in black and white. I know I'm placing my own show more interpretation here, but I couldn't shake the thought that the lack of color was intentional. Made me think of what happens to our world when we don't champion the rights of people of color--we lose beauty and dimension in our own humanity. A heartbreaking and necessary read. And don't skip the foreword or the author's note--essential to truly grasp the importance of this novel. show less