Meet the Characters of the TaQuan Series

Taquan “Tae” Tatum, 10, wants to be cool amongst his peers in his underserved community. Admired by his best friends and others, he doesn’t realize how cool he already is; consequently, in some of Taquan’s needless efforts to be cool, he is faced with many dangerous challenges.

Tiffani Bates, 10, is a loving Caucasion/African-American girl with a chip on her shoulder. She is always helping her best friend/secret crush, TaQuan, make his decisions. But Tiffani struggles to solve her own domestic problems.

Mario Gonzalez, is the son of Mexican immigrants, He is a total goof troop. Even though his more popular friends are by his side, Mario lacks confidence which makes him a target to a local bully.

Stacey Tatum, age 26, wants what’s best for her only child, TaQuan. With the help of a stable boyfriend, Stacey still finds it hard at times. However, her son’s ultimate decisions keeps a smile on her face.

Leon Tomson, 15, is a troubled teen. Abandoned by his parents at age 5, the bi-racial teen doesn’t have a stable home and feels the world is against him. As a result, Leon funnels his anger through illegal activity.

Trey Maclin, 27 is serving 10 years for involuntary manslaughter after distributing a bad-batch of drugs that claimed a life, Despite his incarceration, Trey still tries to be a father to his beloved son, TaQuan.

Rayshawn “Lil Ray” Hines, 13, is a before-his-time street gang member. He lives the ruthless, gangbanging lifestyle. In his efforts to be a high-ranking member, Rayshawn facilitates crimes and recruits prospects.

Latif’s First Book

Latif shares the pain and grief of all mothers who lost their child due to random acts of gun violence. So he plans to kick off his series with his gun prevention story.

In 2013, Latif’s childhood friend, Adam Jamal El, was fatally shot in front of his home. “When I saw Adam’s face appear on my TV screen, I cried. Every time I hear of a child getting shot, my heart crumbles,” Latif said, wiping his tears. As of date, over 17,598 kids in the United States were victims of gun violence since 2015—and 3,301 of those victims were under the age of 11. “Not to compare the coronavirus, but child violence is a pandemic. I have to put an end to this!” Latif stated with conviction in his voice.