Malik James, a quiet sixth grader, is used to keeping his head down. Every year, his history lessons begin the same way—with slavery. To Malik, it feels like his people’s story always starts in chains. When he once asked a teacher what came before, she had no answer. One evening, Malik discovers a worn, untitled book on his family’s shelf. Inside are pictures of pyramids, warriors, and empires. That night, he begins to dream—and each dream takes him to a different African civilization, where he learns the history left out of his classroom. In Kemet (ancient Egypt), he meets a queen who tells him that his dreams are not fantasy but remembering. He touches the throne of Ma’at and sees visions of kings, queens, builders, and healers. In Kush, a warrior and a scarred girl teach him that strength is not just weapons but the unbreakable spirit of survival. In Timbuktu, scholars remind him that knowledge is wealth, and that the greatest battle is against forgetting. In Great Zimbabwe, a builder places a stone in his hand and tells him every truth spoken adds another stone to a wall that cannot be torn down. Malik witnesses the artistry of Benin’s bronzes, where a craftsman warns him that these treasures will one day be stolen, but their legacy cannot be erased. He carries the weight of Mansa Musa’s golden stole, learning that true wealth is knowledge and responsibility. With the warriors’ shields, he feels the power of unity, realizing that one shield can fall, but together, a wall of shields survives. Finally, Malik enters a hall of glowing names. An elder tells him his name carries every ancestor before him. The world may try to make him forget, but his name is his shield, and he is the continuation of their story. When Malik wakes, he is no longer the quiet boy who sits in the back of class. Armed with knowledge and pride, he begins to challenge what he is taught and carry himself differently. He realizes that he does not begin in chains. He begins in kings, builders, and fighters.