An Evening with Nic Stone, One Book Baltimore author

Nic Stone will be in conversation with Rashad Staton, Youth Engagement Specialist for Baltimore City Public Schools.

One Book Baltimore is a new initiative that provides opportunities for Baltimore City 7^th and 8^th graders, their families, and community members to connect through literature by reading the same book. This year’s book is New York Times bestseller Dear Martin by Nic Stone.

Nic Stone is a native of Atlanta and a Spelman College graduate. After working extensively in teen mentoring and living in Israel for a few years, she returned to the United States to write full-time. Dear Martin, her first novel, is loosely based on a series of true events involving the shooting deaths of unarmed African American teenagers. Shaken by the various responses to these incidents—and to the pro-justice movement that sprang up as a result—Stone began Dear Martin in an attempt to examine current affairs through the lens of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings.

Rashad Staton is a proud product of Baltimore City Public Schools, graduate of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, and alumn of Morgan State University. Rashad is a passionate leader who prides himself in knowing that he has the ability to spark and mold the minds of students and future young leaders. As a Youth Engagement Specialist for Baltimore City Public Schools, Rashad leads an innovative engagement initiative called YOU(th) UP -NEXT!, that upholds and promotes the importance of Student Wholeness, Literacy, and Leadership for City School's Middle and High School population.