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Paying tribute to tradition during Black History Month
The celebration seems to get bigger every year: Black History Month, held each February, is a time for ceremonies, speeches and other festivities. It's an opportunity to commemorate a rich cultural legacy, as African Americans find new ways to build on the past while moving into the future. BookPage has picked a group of stand-out titles for young people in honor of this special time. The following selections offer a diversity of voices and viewpoints that will inspire, educate and empower readers. Mightier than the sword
By Wade Hudson Scholastic, $19.95 192 pages, ISBN 0439409691, Ages 9-12
A very special scrapbook
By Laban Carrick Hill Little, Brown, $18.95 160 pages, ISBN 0316814113, Ages 12 and up
Equality for all
Edited By Joyce Carol Thomas Jump at the Sun, $15.99 114 pages, ISBN 0786808217, Ages 10 and up
Continental connections
Edited By Jane Kurtz Amistad, $15.99 256 pages, ISBN 0060510501, Ages 9 and up
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Powerful Words: More than 200 Years of Extraordinary Writing by African Americans by author Wade Hudson is an instructive
selection of speeches,
letters and stories from more than 30 notable African Americans. This handsome volume, which features an introduction by Marian
Wright Edelman, draws on a wide variety of works, from Richard Wright's Native Son to Barbara Jordan's 1976 keynote address to
the National Democratic Convention. With chapters like "Antislavery Crusaders" and "The Struggle for Civil Rights," the book
spotlights a wide variety of political leaders, authors and entertainers, including Toni Morrison, Lauryn Hill, Alex Haley and
Rosa Parks. From colonial days to modern times, the volume reflects the remarkable scope of black thought in America.
Sean Qualls' appealing, impressionistic illustrations complement the text.
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Harlem Stomp: The Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance by
Laban Carrick Hill is a rich resource for young readers. Filled with photographs, paintings and eye-catching archival material, this
colorful volume provides an overview of one of the most creatively fertile periods in American history. Tracing the path of
the Great Migration northward that occurred among African Americans in the early 20th century, Hill takes readers from the small
mill towns of the South to the heart of Harlem and offers a vivid account of how the community developed into a cultural capital
for blacks, attracting a host of intellectuals, painters and musicians. Hill, a scholar and author of young adult fiction,
covers all the key events of the period, focusing on famous leaders like W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, as well as artists
such as Duke Ellington, Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. The book's bright, jazzy graphics and brief, fact-filled bios
will appeal to students and teachers alike.
Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone: The Brown v. Board of Education Decision,
edited by award-winning author Joyce Carol Thomas, is a
poignant tribute to one of the seminal events in the history of American civil rights. The 1954 Supreme Court mandate to
desegregate public schools was both controversial and inspiring, and it's celebrated here by a host of noted writers who
share stories, poems and personal musings on the topic. Pieces from Jean Craighead George, Ishmael Reed, Jerry Spinelli,
Katherine Paterson and Lois Lowry make this an extra-special volume for Black History Month. Taken as a whole, their
contributions provide a one-of-a-kind glimpse into a racially torn society, but they also stand as testaments to hope and
progress. Curtis James' wonderfully detailed pastel drawings accompany each selection.
Providing a unique bridge between two cultures,
Memories of Sun: Stories of Africa and America, edited by Jane Kurtz,
is an impressive collection of poetry and short fiction commemorating the ties that link a pair of very different nations. Divided
into three sections—Africa, Americans in Africa and Africans in America—the anthology features the work of noted authors
such as Nikki Grimes and Angela Johnson, as well as contributions from new writers, many of them African. From Liberia to Los
Angeles, the settings and situations in the book are diverse, but all of the stories focus on young people as they come of age,
make tough decisions and take chances. Kurtz, the award-winning author of Jakarta Missing, grew up in Ethiopia and now lives in
Kansas. With this new collection, she offers a sensitive look at two different worlds that aren't so far apart after all.