In the summer of 2020, the national conversation about police brutality shifted from talk of reform to talk of dismantling an inherently unjust and racist system. In this panel, we turn our attention to the way this system has impacted generations of incarcerated youth and their families and to investigate paths to real justice. Joining the conversation are investigative journalist Nell Bernstein, author of Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison, celebrated young adult author Ibi Zoboi, who collaborated with Dr. Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five on Punching the Air, a stirring novel-in-verse about finding hope when wrongfully incarcerated, and Nic Stone, whose latest book, Dear Justyce, gives voice to an imprisoned black teenager through his letters to Justyce.

In a conversation moderated by Miwa Messer, guests will discuss what it means to write about these issues for young readers in a year that has many parents looking to literature to help their children understand the world we live in now.