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Common Reading 2020-21: Listen. Learn. Act. The 1619 Project Podcast & This is My America

This year's theme, Listen. Learn. Act., is dedicated to learning about Black peoples and their experiences especially in the US

Winner of the 2021 Pacific Northwest Book Awards!

This is My America is a winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association 2021 Pacific Northwest Book Awards! Congratulations, Kimberly Johnson!

About the Book

Book cover image of This is my America by Kim Johnson

Cover Art copyright 2020 by Chuck Styles, used under Fair Use for Educational Purposes

"Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking them to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time—her dad has 267 days left.​

Then one night changes everything. The police arrive, pounding on the door, and Tracy’s older brother, Jamal, goes from being a bright, promising track star to a 'thug' on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela down at the Pike. And as Tracy discovers the racist history that still haunts her small town’s present, she begins to wonder if she’s lighting the torch that will illuminate her family’s innocence...or lighting the fuse that will cause her world to explode.

Kim Johnson’s gripping debut is a revelation—an incendiary, crucial look at the American justice system delivered as an uplifting read where love conquers hate and justice is delivered in the face of injustice."

-Book synopsis from the author's website


Updated Sections for Winter Term

The 2020-2021 Common Reading theme is Listen. Learn. Act. The Fall Term featured the 1619 Project Podcast. With the announcement of the novel, This is My America by Kim Johnson, for Winter Term, new sections of this guide have been added to explore further themes and topics presented in the novel. Explore the subpages using the side navigation or these links:

If you have comments, suggestions, or questions, please visit the Acknowledging Challenging Content section of this guide. Please also see the Additional Resources & FAQs page for some further information about how this guide was developed.

Get the Book

If you are a First-Year Student at UO, you will receive a copy of Kimberly Johnson's book through the Common Reading Program. 

The UO Libraries also has several print copies and a 1-user licensed eBook available. If these aren't available, you might check out your local public library on the Libby App for an eBook or audio book!

Looking for Further Reading?

Each page of the guide features titles that relate to the page themes. The links below take you to some special sections with recommended works that we have highlighted for you:

"Tracy's Corner"

Logo from the Common Reading Program's 2020 theme that says "Act" Tracy's Corner for Justice

In the novel, Tracy Beaumont's tireless efforts on behalf of her father bring a lawyer from Innocence X to help with their case. She doesn't stop there, Tracy decides to launch a Corner for Justice podcast to highlight issues of injustice. According to the Author's Note, Kimberly Johnson envisions "Tracy's Corner" as a way she would call other students to action.

How can you get involved?

  • Donate to organizations working toward justice
  • Volunteer your time
  • Share what you have learned with others
  • Write to government representatives about issues in your community
  • Support journalism
  • Read books and listen to music from diverse communities
  • Include multicultural perspectives to your news feed
  • Keep learning! Start by borrowing some books from UO Libraries:

Opportunities on Campus

News, Interviews, and Book Reviews

News & Interviews

"Young people are bringing me joy. They are also giving me hope in the future because they are shaping the conversation to explore things we almost thought were unimaginable to resolve." -Kimberly Johnson, in an interview with Edi Campbell

Book Reviews

2020/2021 Common Reading Events

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About the Author

Photograph of author, Kim Johnson

Kimberly Johnson grew up in Eugene. She developed an interest in social justice early on and got involved with the NAACP youth chapter. We are fortunate in the UO community to know Assistant Vice Provost Kimberly Johnson* through her work in Undergraduate Education and Student Success (UESS) overseeing the development of a cohesive and unified advising system campus wide in and as Director for the Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence (DEI). 

According to her author's website, she "held leadership positions in social justice organizations as a teen and in college. She’s now a college administrator who in her personal time continues involvement in service organizations and mentoring Black students. She is also the graduate advisor and member of an historically Black sorority [Alpha Kappa Alpha]. This Is My America is her debut novel and explores racial injustice against innocent Black men who are criminally sentenced and the families left behind to pick up the pieces. She holds degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of Maryland, College Park. 

This is My America has received much praise; NPR’s Book Concierge Best Books of 2020; Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020; Cosmopolitan Best YA Books of 2020; The 2021 Spirit of Texas; 2020 YALSA Nominee; July 2020 Amazon pick, Shortlist for the 2021 Pacific Northwest Book Award, and a Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist."

*As of 6/10/2021, Kimberly Johnson is the UO's Vice Provost for the Division of Undergraduate Education and Student Success 

UO Today interview: Kimberly Johnson, author of "This is My America"

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This guide has a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) License.

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