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9781623543822

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A lesson about the pride and perseverance that inform African American identity. An adult invites a group of Black children—diverse in terms of skin tone and hairstyle—to gather around and listen. The story begins with Mother Africa and extends into a rich tapestry of ancestry, adversity, and accomplishments. With vibrant imagery and punchy rhyming verse, the book tells readers of African royalty and warriors, trans-Atlantic enslavement, the bravery of those who worked toward liberation, and community organizing and hard-fought institutional change. Contemporary figures appear: President Barack Obama, voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Avery writes in broad strokes about the “countless demonstrations…displayed throughout the nation” but also gets specific about Civil Rights activism, with references to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Divine Nine consortium of Black fraternities and sororities. The result is an accessible work that offers readers much to reflect upon while presenting aspects of African American history and culture that may be new to young readers—and that may prompt further research. An author’s note and appended information on topics and key terms provide a poignant starting point for that research. Before enslavement and beyond the Civil Rights Movement, African American culture presented in full color and powerful rhyme. —Kirkus Reviews

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Jaha Nailah Avery is an African American woman and proud Southerner. Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, she received her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied constitutional and civil rights law. She spent several years in the startup tech space before embarking on her professional writing career, and her work can be found in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Architectural Digest. Her aim is to always document, celebrate, and preserve the stories of Black people, communities, and history. Steffi Walthall is a VA-based illustrator, a sometimes comic artist and all times storyteller that celebrates diversity in all forms. She loves working on character-centric stories whether they are fictional or historical. www.steffiwalthallart.com

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