This Is My America

This Is My America, published by Random House, is a 2020 debut by author Kim Johnson. Written for young adults, This Is My America explores how American culture and society continue to be shaped by historically racist belief systems and explores the generational cycles of racism. Taking inspiration from real-world instances of police brutality and the unjust treatment of Black people within the criminal justice system, Johnson’s protagonist Tracy Beaumont pursues justice for her wrongly incarcerated father on death row while uncovering the roots of white nationalism in her community which has made her brother, Jamal, its latest target.

Plot Summary

At the center of This Is My America is the Beaumont family, who were forever changed seven years prior when patriarch James Beaumont was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death for a double homicide he did not commit. Since then, protagonist Tracy Beaumont’s life has revolved around trying to secure justice for her father by writing countless letters to criminal justice organization Innocence X.

The novel opens on the set of The Susan Touric Show on which Tracy’s brother, Jamal, discusses his track and field successes. Despite protestations from her mother and Jamal, who want to keep the day focused on Jamal’s achievements, Tracy addresses her father’s case to grab the attention of Innocence X. Tracy’s actions upset her family, as well as Angela Herron, a production assistant on the show, friend of Jamal’s, and Tracy’s peer on the school newspaper. After the interview, Tracy goes to see her father in prison to try to explain her actions. Her father is proud of her advocacy skills but tells her that she needs to make amends with Jamal and that the family needs to stick together.

The next day at school, Tracy speaks with Angela about her interest in becoming the editor of the school paper next year. Angela states that if Tracy wants to prove herself then Angela has a lead for an exposé that she’s pursuing. They agree to meet the next morning before school, but Tracy runs into Angela again later that afternoon at Jamal’s job at Herron Media (owned by Angela’s father). Tracy discovers that Angela and Jamal are romantically involved, even though Angela is dating the sheriff’s son, Chris Brighton. Tracy warns Jamal to be careful, but he dismisses her warning and asks her to cover for him because he is going to be home late that night.

True to his word, Jamal is home later than expected. When Tracy goes to talk to him, she finds him in the bathroom, visibly shaken and cleaning blood off his hands. He tells her to go to bed, but almost immediately after this, the police arrive at the Beaumont home. Jamal flees, and the police inform Tracy and Mama that they are looking for Jamal as he is a suspect in the murder of Angela Herron. Among the police officers is Beverly Ridges, the daughter of Jackson Ridges, who was Daddy’s business partner and accused of murdering Mark and Cathy Davidson. Like Daddy, Jackson Ridges also did not commit the crime, but died by police shooting during his attempted arrest.

Tracy refuses to believe her brother could be involved in Angela’s murder and begins a relentless pursuit of the truth. Tracy seeks out the help of her old friend, Quincy Ridges, who sustained an injury during his father’s attempted arrest. In the aftermath of the trauma they experienced, Tracy and Quincy grew apart. As Tracy and Quincy’s friendship cooled, Tracy became close with Dean Evans. Tracy has complicated feelings for Dean because of their differing races and the way Dean’s mother treats Tracy.

Tracy decides to conduct her own investigation into Angela Herron’s murder, and goes to the Pike, an abandoned location on the outskirts of town where Angela died. There, she finds Angela’s phone and decides to keep it rather than give it to the police. On the phone, she finds clues that suggest something has been going on at the Pike, and that Jamal and Angela were working together to uncover the truth, which led to Angela’s murder. Tracy and Quincy team up to help Jamal and investigate the camera card Angela used to take photos of events going on at the Pike. On the camera card, Tracy finds photos of a group of white men she knows from school around a fire, including Chris Brighton.

After a Know Your Rights training session run by Tracy, an employee from Innocence X, Steve Jones, informs her that he will be taking on Daddy’s case. Steve sets up an office in the loft of the Evans’s antique shop, but a conservative group called Liberty Heritage for a New America with ties to white nationalism targets the office. The man targeting Innocence X turns out to be Richard Brighton, the brother of Sheriff Brighton and a known racist.

The extent of their community’s deep-seated racism comes to a climax when during a dinner at the Beaumont family’s house with Steve and the Evans family. A group called The Brotherhood erect a burning cross on the front lawn along with a note bearing a racist threat. Surveying the scene, Mr. Evans states that this is evidence the Ku Klux Klan are present within the community. Alerted to the events at the Beaumont home, Jamal briefly comes out of hiding and he and Tracy are reunited. He explains again that he cannot turn himself in to the police because of what happened to their father and because of the treatment of Black men in America within the criminal justice system.

The Black community decides to hold a community meeting in the aftermath of the racist attack against the Beaumont family. At the meeting held at the Beaumont family’s former church, Tracy asks for anyone who has information relating to her father’s case to come forward because of Innocence X’s ongoing investigation and encourages their community not to be fearful in the face of this racist attack.

After the community meeting, Tracy and Dean attempt to define their relationship after having shared a kiss. Dean reveals that he has deep-seated racist beliefs that he feels he inherited from his mother. This prevents Tracy from wanting to be with him romantically, because she feels he cannot understand the depths of their differences. The two agree to remain friends in lieu of pursuing a romantic relationship. Inside the Evans’s home office, Tracy finds boxes of KKK memorabilia, including a photo that features Dean’s mother as a child present at a lynching. It turns out that Dean’s grandfather was a Grand Wizard of the Galveston County chapter of the KKK. Disgusted and horrified by this revelation of Dean’s ancestry, Tracy leaves Dean’s house and goes straight to Quincy’s house.

Tracy learns from Angela’s best friend, Mandy, that Angela discovered that Chris was a part of a hate group meeting at the Pike on Tuesday evenings. Angela, wanting to uncover the truth about the group, stole a gun from Chris, which he took from his Uncle Richard’s storage. Mandy explains that she believed Angela was killed over the gun, and that Mandy was unable to find the gun to bring it to the police as evidence. Tracy convinces Quincy to go to the Pike with her and there they find the gun.

Tracy decides that it is better to leave the gun behind and Quincy texts Beverly to let her know they found the gun. Quincy and Tracy escape the warehouse and speed out of the Pike as a fleet of police cars speed towards the Pike. Tracy texts Jamal to let him know that it is now safe to come home. Jamal arrives soon thereafter, and Tracy introduces him to Steve, whom she has also called to the house. Steve tells Jamal that his father and founder of Innocence X, Stephen Jones, Esq., is going to arrive soon to take on Jamal’s case. Steve asks Jamal to tell him the story of what happened at the Pike, which he does, and Jamal reiterates that he will not be going public with his story until he can definitively prove his innocence. Mama and Beverly arrive at the Beaumont home with groceries and Beverly realizes that legally she will have to take Jamal to the police station. Jamal protests and says that the police will have to shoot him before he goes willingly.

As the police try to convince Jamal to come with them, a white SUV arrives at the house and Richard Brighton gets out of the car. An argument ensues, and Tracy hears a gunshot and sees Beverly and Jamal fall to the ground. Jamal is uninjured, but Beverly has been shot. At the police station, Jamal sits in an interview room. Tracy sees Dean and his parents arrive at the station, and Officer Clyde informs the Beaumont family that Mrs. Evans has arrived to make a statement wants them to be present. Mrs. Evans confesses that she was present at the lynching of Minh Nguyen, and that while she tried to inform the police, no one ever investigated further. She also reveals that she suspected Richard Brighton of murdering Mark and Cathy Davidson, and even went as far as to place him at the scene of the crime and voice her concerns to police. She explains that she never pursued her suspicions further when the police did not investigate, and the jury found James Beaumont and Jackson Ridges guilty.

With this new information illuminated, Innocence X successfully secures an appeal hearing for Daddy’s case. The judge reviews the new testimony, revealing the extent of police misconduct and corruption that contributed to Daddy’s conviction, and exonerates Daddy, thus ending the seven-years-long battle for his freedom, and saving him from death row. At a press conference after the hearing, Daddy credits Tracy for her role in securing his freedom. The Beaumonts drive off together, feeling at last that with Daddy free, they are all free for the first time in seven years. Tracy writes a final letter to Steve at Innocence X in which she explains that she has started a new podcast, Corner for Justice, in which she explores injustices within the criminal justice systems and calls attention to wrongfully convicted individuals.