Take Back the Block

Written by Chrystal D. Giles in 2021, Take Back the Block is a middle grade novel that follows 11-year-old Wes Henderson’s experience of fighting against the gentrification of his neighborhood. Initially, his main priorities are defending his title of “Best Dressed” as he starts middle school and beating his friends at the NBA 2K video game. However, he gains a new perspective when a development company set on gentrifying the city center threatens to purchase and demolish Wes’s beloved neighborhood and turn it into luxury condos. Facing the threat of displacement, Wes channels his problem-solving skills, creativity, and research skills to take a stand, learning the power of teamwork, the importance of preserving community heritage, and the value of standing up for what is right.

This guide refers to the paperback edition published by Yearling in 2022.

Content Warning: This guide describes and analyzes the source text’s treatment of racism.

Plot Summary

Wes Henderson celebrates his 11th birthday, which is in the summer, by attending a protest against gentrification with his mom. Wes does not want to come, but his mom insists. Wes does not yet know what gentrification means and is unconcerned by the fact that his friend Kari’s apartment building has been torn down for the sake of building luxury storefronts, displacing Kari’s family and many others. Wes is excited about the stores because he loves fashion, but he doesn’t admit this to his mom. After the protest, Wes’s friends, Brent, Jas, Alyssa, and Mya come over to eat pizza, watch movies, and play video games. (Wes has a crush on Alyssa.) Wes does not invite Kari to this particular gathering because Mya dislikes him and because it is “easier” to exclude Kari now that nobody knows where he lives. Wes and all his friends live in Kensington Oaks, a predominantly Black neighborhood near the city center. Mya, who has both Black and white heritage, moved to a more affluent neighborhood a few years ago when her dad got a new job, and Wes is envious.

The next morning, Wes runs into Kari, whom he has known since he was a baby. He feels awkward for not inviting Kari to his birthday party, so he invites him over later. Kari arrives wearing worn-out clothes and is covered in sweat, as if he has walked a long way. Kari says that he lost some clothes in his recent move. Wes and Kari play video games and eat, and then Wes goes with his parents to drop Kari off at his new temporary home, which is a hotel. Wes’s mom tells Kari to come to a clothing drive that Wes will be volunteering at soon, so Kari can get new clothes.

School resumes. Wes is starting sixth grade, and all of his friends attend the same school even though Mya and Kari no longer live in Kensington Oaks. Wes struggles with math but likes his social studies teacher, Mr. Baker. At the clothing drive, Kari is too embarrassed to take a box of clothes because Wes’s other friends are there, so Wes secretly stashes some clothes for Kari. After the clothing drive, the friends learn that a development company called Simmons (the same company that bought Kari’s old building) is now offering to buy every house in Kensington Oaks for more than its market value. The company’s goal is to tear the houses down and build fancier condos and stores. Wes’s mom, who is the neighborhood board president, leads a meeting to discuss the offer, but the residents all have different ideas about how to proceed. Some want to sell because it would benefit them financially, whereas others want to stay to maintain their history, community, and heritage. Wes’s family wants to stay because Wes’s grandfather saved for a long time to afford their house, and his mother also grew up there.

At school Mr. Baker gives the students a social studies project, telling them to research and build a presentation on a social justice topic. Wes doesn’t know what to pick, so he procrastinates. At the library, Wes and Alyssa research Simmons Development Group, and Wes comes across an article written by Mr. Baker. Through this article, he learns that “gentrification” occurs when working-class residents and/or people of color are displaced to make room for new, more affluent and/or white residents. Wes speaks to Mr. Baker about the current issue in Kensington Oaks, and Mr. Baker connects Wes and his friends with his fiancée, Ms. Monica, who works for an organization called Save Our City and advocates for communities like Kensington Oaks.

Tired of seeing their neighbors fighting over the Simmons offer and wanting to remind everyone that Kensington Oaks is worth saving, Wes and his friends plan a neighborhood block party with food, music, and a slideshow of photographs. The party is a huge success, and afterward, a neighbor named Mr. Hank asks Wes and Kari to retrieve wheelbarrows from his backyard so they can haul trash to the dumpsters. However, some unfamiliar police officers stop them, accuse them of trespassing, and take Kari to the station because he doesn’t live in the neighborhood. Kari’s mom is at work, so Wes, his parents, and Mr. Hank go get Kari from the station. Wes’s dad says that Kari could file a complaint against the police, but Kari’s mom thinks this would cause further trouble. The police start patrolling outside the hotel where Kari’s family is living, and his mom wants to move them to his aunt’s house, which is two hours away. Meanwhile, Mya’s dad pulls her out of Wes’s school so that she can attend a school closer to her house.

Wes asks his parents if Kari can live with them, but they don’t like this idea. Wes’s grades slip, so his parents forbid him from doing any more work to save Kensington Oaks until his schoolwork is in order. The first Simmons offer expires, but they immediately make a newer, better one, enticing more neighbors to sell their houses. Wes attends the meeting about this issue, unbeknownst to his parents, and he realizes that neighbors are fighting even more than before. Mr. Baker encourages Wes to do his project on the issue of gentrification. Through his research, Wes discovers that communities can limit gentrification by becoming designated as a national historic place. Wes also discovers that Kensington Oaks used to be called Pippin Village, which was named after the first Black lumber mill owner in the state. That owner also built a neighborhood for his workers. Nobody has heard of Mr. Pippin because his history has been intentionally buried. Ms. Monica says that obtaining a historical designation could be a good strategy if Kensington Oaks has any historically significant buildings or objects, but she admits that it is a long process that requires a lot of paperwork. Wes tells his parents about the idea, and they start searching for historically significant buildings or landmarks in the neighborhood.

When perusing an old photo, Wes notices that a fountain in the community park is the same fountain that existed 75 years ago when Pippin’s mill was operational. Ms. Monica submits the historic designation paperwork, and they wait to see if it will be approved. Kari and his mom come over to Wes’s house for Thanksgiving, but Kari is in a bad mood due to recent fighting at school and wants to leave early. Some of Wes’s neighbors accept Simmons’s offer and move out, including Brent’s family. This causes tension in Wes’s friendship with Brent. At Mya’s Christmas party, Wes learns that she is facing her own challenges because she has a diverse cultural background but attends a school in which most students are white.

Kensington Oaks gets approved as a historic place. This will not completely prevent gentrification, but it will prevent some types of buildings from being built in the area, a restriction that will discourage companies like Simmons from purchasing the neighborhood. Ms. Monica states that Wes’s research made this possible, because before he pursued his project, nobody knew about Mr. Pippin or the fountain. Alyssa and Wes hold hands. Kari gets into additional fights at school and comes to live with Wes’s family for a while after all.

On Wes’s 12th birthday, he voluntarily attends a protest against gentrification and invites his friends. Afterward, they unveil the new and improved community park, which is now named after Mr. Pippin again, to honor his legacy. Wes has repaired his friendship with Brent, and Mya has repaired her friendship with Kari, so the whole crew is back in action.