In honor of Black History Month, we spoke with the authors of six picture books that celebrate the contributions of Black activists and creators.
Anita Crawford Clark
There are so many influential and inspirational Black figures from history. What drew you to Sojourner Truth and what made you want to share her life story with young readers?
Since I read Sojourner Truth’s America, which was written by my aunt, Dr. Margaret Washington, I knew Sojourner’s story needed to be told, heard, and appreciated. The research and the distinguished way Dr. Washington approached the lived experiences of Sojourner Truth was nothing short of masterful—an incredible testament to her life. The Story of Sojourner Truth was my opportunity to write this story for children, which I had longed to write since 2012.
What was something new that you learned in your research for the book?
One of the most incredible things I learned was how spiritual and spiritually led Sojourner Truth was throughout her life. Even as a child, her mother taught her to look to God when things were tough or when she was mistreated.
How did you approach writing about her accomplishments while accurately reflecting the tribulations she faced due to her race?
My approach was to share as many of her accomplishments as possible. And believe me, I left out more than I could include in the space of a children’s book. It was immensely challenging to decide what to leave in and leave out. Sojourner Truth’s tribulations were incredibly difficult to read, think, and write about. The unimaginable atrocities inflicted on her and other enslaved people were heartbreaking. So, it was important to reconcile these two aspects in a way that did not diminish either.
What different perspective or insight did you want to share about Sojourner Truth and her life?
She did not just overcome being enslaved; she overcame learning English as a second language—Dutch being her first language. She overcame not being allowed to learn to read or write in either language. She overcame the worst of humanity while working to lift all of humanity. My motto is that our journeys do not always take the path we imagine, but if we allow the path to unfold and trust our inner guidance, we might just be surprised by where our journey leads us. That was true then, and that is true today. And that is the insight I tried to share in this book.
The Story of Sojourner Truth: A Biography Book for New Readers by Anita Crawford Clark (Sourcebooks/Callisto, Jan., $7.99; ISBN 979-8-886-50939-7)
Nina Crews
What drew you to Virginia Hamilton and what made you want to share her life story with young readers?
I was interested in creating a biography of a Black woman creator whose work would be of interest and accessible to young readers. I’d read and loved Virginia Hamilton’s books as a child, [such as] Zeely and M.C. Higgins, the Great. She was one of the most celebrated children’s authors of her time, and the first Black woman to win many major awards. I felt her story needed to be told. Hamilton often spoke in depth and detail about her childhood and her family and how they connected to her writing. After reading some of her speeches and essays, I felt convinced that her story might resonate with children.
What was something new that you learned in your research for the book?
There were so many things that I learned. Honestly, I think that’s one of the pleasures of writing nonfiction. I was interested to learn a bit of Ohio’s history as a free state with a strong abolitionist community. Hamilton was raised in a small progressive village in southwestern Ohio. The Ohio River, about an hour’s drive away, was a dividing line between slave and free states. Many formerly enslaved people moved into the area near her hometown, including Hamilton’s grandfather who was just two years old when he was brought there from a Virginia plantation by his mother. Hamilton included some local abolitionist history in her novel The House of Dies Drear. In it, a contemporary family moves into an old house that had been a way station on the Underground Railroad.
How did you approach writing about Hamilton’s accomplishments while accurately reflecting the tribulations she faced due to her race?
Hamilton, her siblings, and cousins were raised by storytellers who taught them about the struggles and triumphs of their family and other Black Americans. In Extraordinary Magic, I focused on how this grounding in story and history provided her with the tools to write books that centered Black experiences. Hamilton often called her books “liberation literature,” based on her belief that stories of overcoming difficulties would give readers tools to do the same in their lives. In the poem “Parallel,” I show how she used similar tools when confronted with a school system that assumed white superiority. A middle schooler at the time, she took her education out of the classroom and read Shirley Graham’s biography of Frederick Douglass, There Once Was a Slave. This book allowed her to see herself as a member of a proud people with important, necessary history. This knowledge enabled her to refuse the terms majority and minority, and see herself as equal.
What different perspective or insight did you want to share about Hamilton and her life?
It is through story that we understand our place in the world. Virginia Hamilton’s career began at a time when there were few books about Black Americans, and they were rarely written by Black people. She created stories for children who did not see themselves in books, creating spaces that Black readers might call home. Her books expanded the landscape of children’s literature, making it more inclusive and diverse. To do this, she drew on rich experiences from her own childhood, generational knowledge, history, and folktales. I hope that readers come away from this book with a sense of the possibilities for story within themselves.
Extraordinary Magic: The Storytelling Life of Virginia Hamilton by Nina Crews (Little, Brown/Ottaviano, Jan., $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316- 38359-2)
Gary Golio
What drew you to Roy DeCarava and what made you want to share his life story with young readers?
What stood out for me—the very first time I saw Roy DeCarava’s work—was the depth of soul in his photographs. Sometimes it was there in the eyes of a human being, but often it was found in the subtle or dramatic changes of light and darkness—like those of a Rembrandt painting—that Roy captured using only natural light. He takes the viewer on a journey through humanity, in all its beauty, seen in the most ordinary of places—everywhere around him, and particularly in Harlem, on its streets and in its late-night jazz clubs. A quiet stillness belies the power of those images. In a world where, more than ever, everyone and everything seems to be loudly clamoring for attention, that kind of power is a rare example for children. So my hope is that young people reading the book spend some time being still, and look for the everywhere beauty in their own lives.
What was something new that you learned in your research for the book?
I was a clinical therapist for many years, working with teens and adults who’d had serious trauma in their lives. I read Roy’s description of his World War II military service: drafted in 1942, he was sent to train down South, where the racism he saw and felt landed him in the psychiatric ward. But what’s important is that this isn’t a singular phenomenon. The great Black artist Romare Bearden and several Black jazz musicians also had emotional breakdowns during their Army service, for the same reasons. It speaks to the shared conflict of men who were expected to fight for a beacon of democracy while suffering racial discrimination right here at home. As Roy himself noted, “I was in the army for about six or seven months altogether, but I had nightmares about it for 20 years.”
How did you approach writing about his accomplishments while accurately reflecting the tribulations he faced due to his race?
Roy was one of many artists who protested in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1969, demanding greater exposure for Black and Harlem creators. He also photographed civil rights marchers and allowed the poverty of daily Harlem life to have its place in his images. These aspects of his life and work are included in the back matter of Everywhere Beauty, but they don’t enter the story I tell, which is about him walking through Harlem on a hot summer day in the late 1940s. As Roy often said, he was not a documentarian, so the focus of his work (in his own words) is “to show the strength, the wisdom, the dignity of the Negro [Black] people,” which is an artistic pursuit above all. He’s not interested in speaking overtly about racism because he doesn’t have to—his photos do that work on their own, but always in a poetic context.
What different perspective or insight did you want to share about this person and their life?
Roy exemplifies the belief that we needn’t be loud or brash in our work, or in our lives, to convey the basic experience of being alive. He’s asking us to stop for a moment, to look at the world around us, and to find the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary. What he’s saying in those remarkable images, in effect, is that there you will find the “roots from which spring the greatness of all human beings” (again, Roy’s words).
Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava by Gary Golio, illus. by E.B. Lewis (Astra/Calkins Creek, Jan., $18.99 ISBN 978-1-66268-055-7)
Dinah Johnson
What drew you to Ida B. Wells and what made you want to share her life story with young readers?
Creating this book was a new experience for me—writing a book after being given a prompt. My editor, Christy Ottaviano, asked me to write a book about Black women and suffrage. Deciding how to accomplish that was up to me. I considered several women. But I settled on Ida B. Wells because, though there are numerous books about her, they focus mostly on her anti-lynching activism and her career as a journalist. None of them focus on her powerful work as a voting rights activist. This was a perfect opportunity to linger on her role in the Women’s March of 1913 in Washington, D.C., when American women from all over the country marched to demand the right to vote.
What was something new that you learned in your research for the book?
Though I knew a little about Ida B. Wells, I am not a historian. I knew only general biographical information about her. I had no idea that she had to grow up very quickly after both of her parents and a brother died when Ida, the oldest child in the family, was still a teenager. She not only took care of her siblings but became a teacher for the entire community in order to have income. Her life is a testament to the power of literacy, something I care about immensely in my own role as a professor of English.
How did you approach writing about her accomplishments while accurately reflecting the tribulations she faced due to her race?
There’s no way—and it’s not desirable—to tell Ida B. Wells’s story without dealing with the tribulations that come with being of African descent. Her accomplishments are part and parcel of the struggle for Black Americans to enjoy full citizenship in this country. So, in addition to the fight for suffrage, Ida B. Wells Marches for the Vote also touches upon the kinds of everyday indignities that people had to endure, such as segregated seating in public transportation and working for bosses who did not respect them. My approach was to follow Ida B. Wells’s example as a journalist, telling the story through examining the facts and context that, together, paint a truthful picture.
What different perspective or insight did you want to share about Ida B. Wells and her life?
Ida B. Wells’s actions are an indication that she lived her life always doing the thing that was brave, right, and even bold. I hope that my telling of her story, and Jerry Jordan’s beautiful illustrations, inspire readers to follow her example. And at this moment in American history, over a hundred years after the Women’s March of 1913, I hope that readers young and old will think about the people who fought to make sure that all Americans would have the right to vote and the opportunity to vote—rights and opportunities that are once again in jeopardy.
Ida B. Wells Marches for the Vote by Dinah Johnson, illus. by Jerry Jordan (Little, Brown/Ottaviano, Jan., $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-32247-8)
Breanna J. McDaniel
What drew you to Augusta Baker and what made you want to share her life story with young readers?
My interest in Ms. Baker’s life was first piqued when my mentor became the inaugural chair for the endowed professorship named in Augusta Baker’s honor, at the University of South Carolina. I didn’t know much about her life before then, but I was able to actually see the impact of her work decades after she started as a librarian because of the work being done at USC in her name to support young readers. Seeing that impact made me want to learn more about her and her journey from the South and back again, so when the opportunity to write this book came along it felt like fate was working for me.
What was something new that you learned in your research for the book?
I didn’t know about all of the work that Ms. Baker completed that was adjacent to her work as a librarian, [such as] her consulting work and her work on the radio. So much of her life was about advocating for readers from all different types of communities, and even though we highlight her push for genuine and appropriate depictions of Black people in Go Forth and Tell, her movement for loving representations for Black children was a [stand and movement]? for all children. I appreciated learning about the many ways she took that stand.
How did you approach writing about her accomplishments while accurately reflecting the tribulations she faced due to her race?
This was my first time writing a biographical account of anyone’s life and I think my first draft of the book was very comprehensive and pointed about the obstacles she faced because she was Black and a woman. Once I started writing about the obstacles, however, I also had to search for and write about the resolutions she found to those obstacles—and those were incredible. We ended up putting some of those details in the timeline at the back of the book. Ms. Baker embodied the idea of “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” and it was most interesting to see the legacy of her finding different paths to her goals in the ways I’ve heard and seen many Black librarians become pathmakers in their own right.
What different perspective or insight did you want to share about Augusta Baker and her life?
I really appreciated all of the information that was available to me via archives to learn more about Ms. Baker. So, this maybe isn’t directly about her, but I would just like to shout out all the stories and experiences of Black folks across the Diaspora who are sitting in archives waiting to be explored. And peace and gratefulness to the archivist and librarians who shepherd us through those spaces. You’re a part of the legacy Ms. Baker left, too.
Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller by Breanna J. McDaniel, illus. by April Harrison (Dial, Feb. 6, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-32420-2)
Michelle Meadows
What drew you to the subject of James Baldwin and what made you want to share his life story with young readers?
My editor at HarperCollins [Luana Kay Horry] approached me about writing a picture book about James Baldwin. She was familiar with my other picture book biographies—Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins and Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles—and thought a biography about James Baldwin would be a great fit for me.
I immediately got excited about the opportunity to learn more about one of America’s greatest writers and intellectuals. Through research, I discovered that James Baldwin’s love of reading and writing began when he was a little boy growing up in Harlem. The library was a refuge for him; books helped him survive. He found comfort in words early on, and I wanted to show young readers how writing gave him a voice and empowered him. I hope Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues will inspire children to find joy and power through written expression.
What was something new that you learned in your research for the book?
I was especially drawn to James Baldwin’s close, lifelong friendship with Beauford Delaney, a painter he met in 1940 in Greenwich Village. I enjoyed learning how much they supported and inspired each other. Beauford taught James about color and music, such as jazz and the blues. These new experiences changed him. Their relationship transformed not only how James viewed the world but also how he viewed himself. Because of Beauford’s positive influence, James could envision himself as an artist too.
What’s interesting about this project is that the research hasn’t stopped for me. I find James Baldwin’s life so fascinating that I continue to read his work and learn about his life—long after I finished writing this book.
How did you approach writing about his accomplishments while accurately reflecting the tribulations he faced due to his race?
I think in James Baldwin’s case, his accomplishments and tribulations are linked. He faced hardships in one way or another throughout his life, and these challenges fueled his writing. From the poverty he experienced in childhood to the discrimination he faced and witnessed his whole life, he expressed his experiences and views through essays, novels, short stories, plays, and poems. And despite the tribulations, James still had a sense of optimism and hope.
What different perspective or insight did you want to share about this person and their life?
Identity is an interesting theme in James Baldwin’s work—exploring and discovering who you are and refusing to let the world tell you who you are. It’s something I have been thinking about more because of working on this project. He often discussed the psychological effects of discrimination, exclusion, and oppression—being told and shown over and over that you are inferior when it isn’t true. He called this a distortion of reality that can destroy a person’s sense of self. And he emphasized the importance of resisting such lies. He thought it was much better to stand firm in your identity, know your worth, and love yourself—uplifting messages for children and people of all ages.
Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin by Michelle Meadows, illus. by Jamiel Law (HarperCollins, Jan., $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-327347-4)
