Black History Month and Breeder

Here in the United States, we take the month of February to celebrate Black History Month. It's a time to reflect on our sins as a nation in our treatment of people of color, a time to celebrate the unique contributions of black people to American culture and society, and I think now more than ever, it's a time to look forward and hope for healing and unity in our country.

I was reflecting on these things today because it's February 1st, but also because I'm in the middle of writing the third and final book in the The Breeder Cycle dystopian trilogy. Last year at this time I was writing book two, CRIMINAL, and the year before that I was writing BREEDER, book one. One of the purposes behind writing dystopian literature is to encourage people to pause and think about where our society is headed based on where we are right now. I don't know about you all, but I see a lot of racial disunity in America - and worldwide - today. It's one of only many problems, and I think it stems from even deeper issues, but the sin of racism runs deep in our society, and like a cancer, it can be a silent killer. I vehemently despise racism in all its forms for how it devalues human life, and from the very beginning, I knew it was going to be one of my focuses in The Breeder Cycle - not because I'm under any delusions that I can fix this problem, but because I know stories are powerful.

Stories grip people and make people see the world through a different lens, forcing them to grapple with issues and questions they've perhaps never grappled with before. One of the core themes, therefore, of The Breeder Cycle is a question: What makes us human? And then I hope that question might make my readers consider other things, such as: What is the value of a human life? What makes humans exceptional? How and why are all humans created equal? 

Because in a society where all humans are created equal, there is no room for racism.  And I believe a story can be powerful enough to remind people of that truth.