Cranford Teen Unveils Children's Book on Racial Injustice

Cranford High School Senior and CGAS appointee to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Savannah Riera, punctuated her 12-week residency as a Research Associate with the Teen Think Tank Project by unveiling a future children’s book that teaches social justice to the younger generation.

Riera, along with eight other exceptional and socially conscious teenagers, enrolled in the Teen Think Tank Project’s Winter Research Cohort which commenced in January and focused on social protest and sports. Last Tuesday evening, the students’ virtually unveiled their plan to mend societal divisions and create sustainable change. The research findings and subsequent policy recommendations presented at the Social Protest & Sports Policy Framework Launch Party were the culmination of the students’ work to absorb, analyze and synthesize the impediments to social protest in sports. As Research Associates, students dug deep into the topics of sports, protest and social justice to gain a factual and diverse understanding of the complex social, political and business issues that have thus far stymied sustainable change.

The students were initially tasked with creating a policy paper, however, the ambitious students decided to convey their research through additional mediums. In addition to a policy paper outlining the recommendation for a Sports League Coalition to create sustainable solutions for social injustice in sports and society, the students created a documentary following their experience, as well as a children’s book entitled, Tony & Tonya, which Riera presented. “After beginning our research for the policy paper, we stopped to ask ourselves, what else can we do to really make a difference to have an impact on social change within our society and world?” noted Riera. “That’s how we came to the idea of educating the youth and reaching out and speaking to them about social change through writing and publishing a children’s book.”

The book tells the story of a Latino boy and Black girl who are both 8th grade basketball players and explores social inequalities to create age appropriate dialogue about inclusivity. Riera has been an integral part of the collaborative effort to conceptualize and create the book. The book is anticipated for publication in the fall. Although Riera will be fulfilling her commitments with the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at the time of publication, she is excited to see her and her colleague’s hard work and passion for creating social change come to life. “The more we thought about the book, the more ambition we felt to pursue the idea,” said Riera. “We realized we joined this Think Tank to really make a change and a difference. A children's book will hopefully help to start those important conversations about change.”

Riera was also the recipient of the Teen Think Tank Project’s first college scholarship. The scholarship winner was announced at the Launch Party. Riera was one of three finalists eligible for the $650 college scholarship.

Teen Think Tank Project is a student-run policy institute that fosters critical thinking, research techniques, and problem-solving skills to develop policy frameworks for real-life issues and empowers students to become future change makers for social justice. Teens find their voice and create change at www.teenthinktankproject.com or @teen_thinktank. You can support the work of the Teen Think Tank Project at https://teenthinktankproject.com/support/#.

Contact Information:
Kelly Nagle, Co-founder | Vice Chair
knagle@teenthinktankproject.com