Taye Diggs says his 12-year-old son with Idina Menzel inspired his new book on racial injustice

Taye Diggs “never had a dream” of writing children’s books. Now, he's written five.

The Broadway, TV and movie actor's latest book, “Why? A Conversation About Race” (Feiwel & Friends, 32 pp., out Tuesday), makes racial injustice, a topic that is often difficult for adults to discuss, palatable for conversation among young readers with "an honest take."

Diggs' “Why?” (illustrated by frequent collaborator Shane W. Evans) follows children's curiosity as they witness unrest similar to scenes from summer 2020, when “Black Lives Matter” protests emerged in response to the inequities of police brutality. Each young character asks the adults around them “why” people are shouting and crying, or "why" buildings are burning.

The adult characters in the book give blunt explanations of the world around them, and the children simply reply: "Oh."

Diggs tells USA TODAY he was "a huge reader growing up," leading him to understand the impact books can have on young minds. He says he often draws his inspiration to write from struggles he's dealing with or has dealt with in the past.

More: George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children?

Diggs, 51, says he wrote 2011's “Chocolate Me” to explore feelings he had about being teased for his “skin being so dark” when he was growing up, and wrote 2015's “Mixed Me” after hearing his now-12-year-old son Walker talk about his difficulties growing up biracial.

Diggs said his son, whom he shares with ex-wife Idina Menzel, was also the muse behind the new release.

“My own kid is getting old enough where no one believes in Santa Claus anymore,” Diggs says. “My kid was (at the point) where he needed to know. We needed to at least have a discussion, and that is what I wanted this book to do.”

More: Kids and parents plead for diversity in children's books. 8 great titles that deliver

The young characters in “Why?” lead the discussion on understanding race-related events around them, instead of adults sitting them down to teach them. Diggs wrote the story this way because “adults feel the need to talk louder and faster and more than kids.” Diggs adds that it's “important” to listen to younger generations.

“I had a father that was very overbearing and very disciplinarian and I’m still dealing with expressing myself, feeling safe and expressing my opinions,” Diggs says. “How a person feels at any given time is very important.”

Social media, namely Twitter and TikTok, are Diggs’ latest vehicles for safe expression. The actor has used his accounts to prank his “All American” cast members; sing operatic renditions of Justin Bieber’s “Yummy” and jazz renditions of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice”; and explore different TikTok personas.

Fans find joy in the actor's creative expression and have described Diggs' social media presence as “chaotic good,” but to Diggs it’s just “a bit of fun.”

“(I do) as much as I possibly can do when it comes to creating and expressing,” he says. “It’s fun seeing what you can create.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Taye Diggs 'Why?': Son inspired his new book on racial injustice