Every once in a while, a great idea comes along that can inspire children of color to believe in themselves and to dream. Former NFL players, Tavon Mason of the New York Jets and Joel Gamble of the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans, collaborated to create a comic book black children can identify with.
So often, they are not represented in these types of books and rarely do they see themselves portrayed in a positive light. For that reason, Mason and Gamble were intentional about creating a book that would make an impact. They made sure to include subjects about real-life issues with positive messages that could help black kids see past their circumstances and negative experiences. The book is called, ‘The Justice Duo’, and kids love it.
Meet Tavon Mason, as he shares how the idea for their comic book came about, how it’s impacting children everywhere, and how he is helping kids and the community with his nonprofit organization.
Tavon, tell us about your road to the NFL.
My road to the NFL was a learning experience. I decided not to return to the University of Virginia for the 5th year and decided to enter the draft. I didn’t receive much advice from my agent and I didn’t know to make sure to answer the phone after the draft. I received a call from an unavailable number and I didn’t answer because I figured it was family and friends calling, and I didn’t want to hear the “it’s ok.” I checked my voicemail and it was the Philadelphia Eagles. I called the number back and left a voicemail but I missed that chance. After that, I received a call from the New York Jets, and I became a Jet.
You and Joel Gamble, another NFL player from the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans, collaborated to create a children’s superhero comic book. What’s the name of it and how did the idea come about?
Yes!! We collaborated to write a black superhero comic book titled, The Justice Duo. We decided to write it because we noticed that there was little to no black representation in comic books. We recently got The Black Panther, even though it’s been out as a comic for years by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, but it was never pushed like the popular comics. We wanted to showcase black superheroes to our black and brown kids so that they could see characters that look like them. Also, we wanted this book to reach the underserved areas that couldn’t get books like our graphic novel. We also wanted to add real-life situations that our kids encounter on a daily basis.
Give us a summary of the book and tell us what made you decide to let yourselves be the characters?
The Justice Duo is about two friends, Tavon and Joel, who are in elementary school. They have a unique meet-up spot in the sandbox where they sit and think about everything. In the book, we found two jerseys glowing in the sand, took them home, and ironically it was our jersey numbers. We tried them on, and BOOM, we morphed into superheroes… The Justice Duo. The issues we face in the story are bullying, gentrification, and food deserts. We wanted the kids to not only enjoy reading but to read about what’s going on in our world.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced creating and self-publishing it?
This is my third self-published book, and the biggest challenge to me through the process was that everything is on me to get the book out to the audience. As a self-publisher, you are marketing directors, social media directors, authors, and bookkeepers. Since there are tons of books out, trying to get it to mainstream is hard, even with being a former NFL player.
What have been some of the children’s reactions after reading your book?
The children’s reactions have been amazing. They love the switch from being children to superheroes, noticing that the characters look similar to them and how the bully looks. We received major love from parents and the schools about our book and its message.
What real-life issues do you discuss and what messages do you hope children will learn?
We decided to touch on issues that plague our cities, especially in the urban areas including bullying, gentrification, and food deserts. We want children to learn what’s going on in the world if they have not experienced it, and for those who do witness it, let them know we are pushing these messages out to the world.
Other than writing this book, and since leaving the NFL, what have you been up to?
After leaving the NFL, I jumped into the work world and coaching world. I started my Tavon Mason Loves the Kids Organization in 2011 to provide help in the community. I started visiting children’s hospitals and spending the day with kids. Next, I expanded in 2012 by hosting sports fit days in Baltimore City and County. Then, I pushed my 60-a-Day Promise wanting kids and families to be active for 1 hour a day. But something was missing in my efforts, so I added my Annual Character Slipper Drive where I collected slippers and delivered them to various children’s hospitals in and outside of Baltimore. I also began hosting my healthy snack drive for Camp St. Vincent’s De Paul.
Camp St. Vincent’s De Paul caters to children who live in shelters and transitional homes by allowing them to attend camp for free. We wanted to give them healthy snacks they could have for the summer. We also helped adults and their families.
Starting in 2014 and until 2017, we would do a collection and visit the Eastern Women and Children’s Shelter; and after that up until 2019, we did our Annual Winter Coat & Toiletries Drive for the west men’s shelter in Catonsville, Maryland. We would host it like a tailgate and watch football and give out coats and toiletry kits, food, and free haircuts.
The Covid in 2020 put a damper on our efforts because we couldn’t do all of our visits to the children’s hospitals, but we did host a sock and washcloth drive for the Franciscan Center, a place that provides emergency assistance and support to economically disadvantaged people.
What upcoming projects do you have?
Right now, I’m on my down period. I did recently visit two boys’ and girls’ clubs in Macon and Warner Robins, Georgia to give away copies of our book, The Justice Duo, and my personal children’s book, Tavon Does It All.
You can follow Tavon Mason on:
Instagram: tavonmasonlovesthekids and the_justice_duo,
Facebook: @Tavon Mason Loves the Kids Foundation and @TM18NFLAlum
YouTube: Tavon Mason
To purchase their book, click the link Justice Duo Book.
Photo credits: Latisha Chambers
Writer, Debbie Stokes is a contributing writer. Follow her on Instagram @iamdebbiestokes
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