‘TELL THE TRUTH AND SHAME THE DEVIL’ Tour featuring Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, coming to Houston

HOUSTON–Heartbreaking, powerful, and ultimately hopeful, TELL THE TRUTH AND SHAME THE DEVILis the memoir of Lezley McSpadden—the mother of Michael Brown, the African American teenager killed by a police officer in Ferguson, MO in 2014. Brown’s death profoundly shaped the contemporary conversation about race and justice in America today, and helped propel the Black Lives Matter movement. But no one has heard Michael’s and Lezley’s whole story until now. The book was released on May 10, 2016.

ADMISSION is FREE for both! Limited vending spots are available for the evening event @ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lezley-mcspadden-coming-to-houston-conversation-booksigning-vending-tickets-27078617875

TELL THE TRUTH AND SHAME THE DEVIL is both a riveting family story and a cultural portrait in the vein of Manchild in the Promised Land or Makes Me Wanna Holler. In it, we follow Lezley’s life in St. Louis as a girl raised by a single mother, pining for her father’s attention, and moving from one rough neighborhood to another. She is bused to a white school in the suburbs, and becomes a naïve teenager who gets pregnant the first time she has sex. Lezley drops out of school, jumps from job to job trying to string together childcare and a living while still growing up herself. She endures two abusive relationships, raises four children as a single mom (with a lot of help from her family), and finally finds her way. Through her stories of her life and her experiences mothering Michael Brown, who the family called Mike Mike, we come to understand something about the reality and vulnerability of life.

Lezley also writes passionately about the hours, days, and months after Mike Mike’s death—being on the ground with the protestors, how she was treated by the police and city officials, how she felt the moment she heard that the Grand Jury would not indict Darren Wilson. She writes about pinning all her hopes on the Department of Justice investigation. And when, finally, she realizes the system will not deliver justice to her son, she realizes she must become an agent for change. She is the only one who can ensure that his life has meaning and his death helps bring justice and change to the way our government polices our citizens. This is an unforgettable memoir, a portrait of our time, and essential reading for anyone interested in racial politics in America today.