Kevin P. Hempstead grew up on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio, in a large family of eleven children. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force before moving to the Denver, Colorado area, where he currently resides. As a young man, Kevin experienced what too many Black men have experienced—a nervous police officer’s gun pointed directly at him. What started as a routine traffic stop quickly escalated into an experience that Kevin never forgot. That personal traumatic experience, along with numerous police shootings of unarmed Black men in recent years, as well as Kevin’s own unarmed nephew being shot by a cop, inspired him to write this book. Kevin hopes Black and Blue will help save the lives of young Black men—including his own son.