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Celebrate Black History Month

2022

Celebrate BlackHistory Month2022

Curriculum Materials Center

Cheng Library

William Paterson University

In 1926 Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans chose the month of February to celebrate “Negro History Week”. In the late 1960s, the week evolved into a monthly celebration due in part to the civil rights movement. Black History Month or “African American History Month” has been officially designated since 1976 by every US President in the Month of February.

The ASALH (Association for the Study of African American Life and History) Theme for this year is Black Health and Wellness. The theme acknowledges Black scholars, medical practitioners, birthworkers, doulas, midwives, naturalists, herbalists, and all others that focuses on the importance of health and wellness in the black community. You can find out more about the history of this theme and others at https://asalh.org/black-history-themes/.

Black American Illustrators

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Kadir Nelson

Kadir Nelson has won he Caldecott Medal, Siebert medal, and Coretta Scott King award for his figurative paintings and sculptures in children's books. Many of Kadir's illustration focus on historic narratives and heroic Americans.


Click on image for Kadir's website

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Ellington is not a Street by Ntozake Shange

A tribute to African America men including Paul Robeson, W. E. B DuBois, Dizzy Gillespie and many more.



Click on image for catalog entry.

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The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

Highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes.


Click on image for catalog entry

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Nina Crews

The daughter of Donald Crews and Ann Jonas author and illustrators began her career in commercial animation and free-lance photo and collage illustration.


Click on phot for link to Nina's website

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The Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews

Jazzy style illustrations of a collection of favorite Mother Goose Rhymes drawn from the authors own neighborhood give a new perspective on rhymes that are celebrated by children around the world.


Click on image for catalog entry.

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Pass it Down: Five Picture Book Families Make Their Mark by Leonard Marcus

Introduces five award-winning families with talent that spans generations. How they were nurtured and grown and who influenced them to become artists.


Click on image for catalog entry.

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Shane Evans

Shane Evan's style ranges from traditional oil paintings to computer generated imagery. He is a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe award winning illustrator who has exhibited his work in West Africa, Paris, and Chicago.


Click on image for Shane's website.

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Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel

A young girl lifts her hands up to greet the sun, for a book on a high shelf, and in praise at a church service. As she grows up and gets a little older she lifts her hands in a protest march.


Click on image for catalog entry.

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Mixed Me by Taye Diggs

Mike has awesome hair and lots of energy and his parents love him. Mike still has to answer lots of questions about being mixed and he does it by telling a story about a day in the life of a mixed-race child.


Click on image for catalog entry.

CMC, Cheng Library Juvenile Book Resource Guides

American Civil Rights Movement https://guides.wpunj.edu/ld.php?content_id=56509736

Celebrating Black Pride https://guides.wpunj.edu/ld.php?content_id=47523952

Citizenship Resources https://guides.wpunj.edu/ld.php?content_id=47523978


Celebrating Black History Month | Proud To Be Ourselves | Waitrose