The whaling business and its infrastructure had a profound impact on the economies of the world. The ethical questions posed then about racial inequity are relevant today.

The McKissacks offer many choices of books that encourage young adults to understand the pain of racial inequality. Among the most recent works are Rebels against Slavery: American Slave Revolts, a carefully researched book that praises heroes such as Cinque, an African captive who John Quincy Adams, Nat Turner, and Harriet Tubman defended before the U.S. Supreme Court. It earned a Coretta Scott King Honor Award and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults award.

The authors explore the themes of social class and racial inequity on an individual and institutional level through the journal entries of eleven-year-old Nellie Lee Love, an African-American girl in Color Me Dark: