Many of the stories collected in Friday Black highlight the ways contemporary society has normalized aggression, distrust, and cruelty. They stress the need to recognize the world’s continued desensitization to brutality and violence and address it through rehabilitation, social support, empathy, and justice.

The first story in Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s collection, “The Finkelstein 5,” alternates between two narratives, one of which recounts the trial of George Wilson Dunn. Although Dunn is a clear aggressor, having murdered five Black children with a chainsaw, his defense attorney twists the narrative of his experience to make it seem like Dunn was asserting his right to defend his family. This argument becomes an emotional anchor for the judge and jury to take his side, even as the prosecutor notes the inconsistencies in Dunn’s story. In their eyes, Dunn’s liberty is more important than justice for the brutal murder of five Black children. A similar twist in perspective is utilized in “Zimmer Land” when Isaiah’s concern about “equating killing and justice for [their] patrons” is dismissed by the park’s operators (98). The events in “Zimmer Land” hinge on a shift in park policy that enables children to participate in its interactive justice modules.