It's A Book Thing Presents: An Interview with Desmond Williams, author of The Burning House: Educating Black Boys in Modern America

Author’s Bio: Desmond Williams is an educator, former principal, and author. He has spent his entire professional career working with youth serving as a teacher and principal. 

He received his bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Howard University and his master’s degree from George Washington University. He started his career as a special educator. His expertise includes, support for Black males, restorative justice, relationship building, and family engagement. 

Desmond served six years at an all-boys school in Washington DC, teaching for four years and serving as an administrator and principal for two more years.  Afterwards, Desmond launched Nylinka School Solutions which helps educators increase their level of engagement and investment in boys of color.  Desmond released his first book, The Burning House: Educating Black Boys in Modern America, in February of 2020.

Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write your book?

Desmond Williams:  I am a former teacher and principal and I was looking to write the book that I needed as an educator. 

DL: How do you handle writer’s block?

DW: There is no such thing. You have to write every day. If you are unable to write, proofread or edit or outline. As a writer, you must write/produce every day. 

DL: Describe your writing process?  

DW: It depends, but I write every day. Some writers are very deliberate and have well planned ideas before they work. I tend to have a general concept and let the book’s ideas and a general sense guide the discussion. I then prune and edit as I go until I feel comfortable giving it to an editor. 

DL: What were some of the challenges when writing this book?

DW: One of the most difficult challenges was carving out the time. The other big issue was finding an editor that I trusted. Also, I had to learn to take criticism and feedback and use it to the advantage of the work. 

DL: Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

DW: Because this book is about educating Black boys, I was influenced by many prominent African American scholars like Amos Wilson and Na’im Akbar. 

DL: If you were hosting a dinner party which three authors would be your dream guests and why?

DW: I would invite George Orwell, Toni Morrison and James Baldwin. They inspire me because I think they speak to race, the human condition in ways that are not easily accessible, but in a way that forced society to confront our history. 

DL: What are three things you can’t live without?

DW: Books, my wife and my children. 

DL: Would you like to share an excerpt from The Burning House: Educating Black Boys in Modern America?

DW: Sure, here you go: 

But the propagandizing could not be done in the case of James Blake. In the midst of these killings, shootings, and chokeholds, millions saw surveillance footage of professional tennis star James Blake being sacked and body slammed as he stood idly outside his New York City hotel. A plainclothes policeman mistook Blake for a suspect involved in a credit card fraud scam. This was only a year after Eric Garner and Michael Brown made national headlines. It was impossible to re-narrate Blake’s life. He had been a public figure for many years. At one point, he was the top-ranked American tennis player, and was ranked as high as the number four tennis player in the world. Blake had represented the United States in international competitions and was an Olympian. The wheels of the propaganda machine came to a screeching halt. The arresting officer, James Frascatore had four previous complaints filed against him. As a nation, we were forced to admit that race played a major part in these incidents, no matter how insidious. The irony is that these incidents happened under the first African American president. During his eight years in office, Obama had two African American Attorney Generals, who were responsible for executing the law of the land. 

These incidents were chilling reminders that America was not a post-racial society. They were reflected in some of the more popular young adult literature of the last several years, specifically Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, Nic Stone’s Dear Martin, and Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. All three books confront patterns of police brutality and racism in their own unique way. I had the pleasure of using these texts as starting points to discuss current race relations with groups of Black male middle schoolers. Stone’s Dear Martin is a punchy, fast-paced story. The main character, Justyce, is confronted with the trauma of police brutality in the opening pages after he is racially profiled and physically assaulted by a police officer. Justyce spends the rest of the book coping with the trauma of that exchange. I read the opening pages of the text to sell the power of it. Students were very engaged, and they openly discussed their hopes, fears, and opinions about the reality of the world they were growing up in. Over the course of reading this text, students were constantly challenging their beliefs about racism and stereotypes. The reoccurring question that students were left with was the question of race. One student asked me in a frustration tinged with indignation, “Will people ever see people as people?” 

DL: What new projects are you currently working on?

DW: I am working on a second book on trauma and healing. It is tentatively called Black Band Aids. 

DL: Where can readers learn more about you and purchase your book(s)?

DW: They can get more information here:

• Website: www.nylinka.org
• Amazon Author Page:  The Burning House: Educating Black Boys in Modern America - https://amzn.to/3dHzfxE
• Facebook: @Nylinka
• Instagram: @Nylinka 

DL: Thanks so much for being here with us today. I know my readers will enjoy getting to know you and your work.

DW: My pleasure. Thank you.