Raising the Spirit of Justice: A Children’s Book That Speaks to All Ages

This Is How It Opens

You can feel your emotions stirring, even on page 1 of this children’s book, because as an adult, you already know how this story will unfold. It begins:

“I was there
on the shores of West Africa
with a royal and majestic people.”

And so you read on. On page 2, the weight deepens:

“I was there
on the slave ships.
I rose within their minds,
larger than the waves that carried them.
Resisting torment.”

And then, on page 3, there it is, the beautiful declaration:

“I am the Spirit of Justice.”

You breathe a little easier—but only for a moment—because you know the horrors of history.

Jemar Tisby Speaks

I’ve read two of Jemar Tisby’s previous books—The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism and How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice. Both are eye-opening, important, and necessary. (For my review of How to Fight Racism, check out “So, Are We Going to Talk About This?“.)

Tisby, PhD, is a former pastor turned history professor, public historian, national speaker, and bestselling author. I highly recommend following Tisby’s work.

And while I haven’t read it yet, I feel confident recommending Tisby’s newest, well-researched book, The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance.

I Am the Spirit of Justice

But with this children’s book—I Am the Spirit of Justice—I’m discovering another side of Tisby—his poetic bent. And it’s not surprising. Tisby is someone who knows how to use words well, and often wordsmiths can move between prose and poetry easier than you’d think.

I don’t know if the shift was easy for him, but he absolutely turns it on in this brilliant children’s book along with his coauthor and poet Malcolm Newsome.

Is this topic too heavy for children? Many in my region of the country would say yes. They are actively fighting to erase this true but ugly chapter of U.S. history from books and minds.

But maybe those critics need to read Tisby’s books for adults before trying to eliminate books like this one for children.

Because how can we celebrate and nurture the spirit of justice that has risen in this country if we refuse to acknowledge the extreme oppression it rose from?

Let the Spirit Continue to Rise

Tisby describes this Spirit powerfully:

“So I erupted
like a volcano.
Igniting faith in the souls
who risked everything
to deliver freedom to all.”

The Spirit of Justice isn’t a new phenomenon. Justice has been embedded in humans all along. Tisby simply highlights it within our historical context in a way we may not have considered before—and yes, points it out to our children.

Not in an inappropriate way. You won’t find graphic descriptions of the violence and cruelty endured by people of African descent over the past 400 years in the U.S.

But you will read about the hate that “built invisible walls called segregation” and how it tried to silence people.

And how each time, hate was met by this Spirit of Justice:

“Even in the midst
of horrifying brutality.
Reminding the world
that my loved ones still matter.”

May this force continue to “rumble like an earthquake” throughout our world.

And may the Spirit of Justice continue to rise in each of us.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

P.S. If you get the book, don’t skip over the Author’s Note on the last page—it offers brief but important insights about each page. It’s a must-read too.

My thanks to NetGalley and Zonderkidz-Books
for the review copy of this book

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