Parent Resources:

Momma, Did You Hear the News? by Sanya Whittaker Gragg. After a police shooting of an unarmed black man, parents speak with their children. The text is aimed at teaching black children how to interact with the police, but is a useful starting point for all families to understand relationships and tensions between people of color and law enforcement.

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Black All Around! by Patricia Hubbell. Implicit biases with race can start early and are rooted in language, with seemingly innocuous connections between blackness (or darkness) and negativity, while praising things that are white ("light" or "fair"). This book celebrates the color black, pointing out that it is found in items all around us. [ages 4-8]

 

Slavery and 19th century

Brick by Brick by Charles R. Smith, Jr. This book describes the building of the White House and how it took many hands, several of them slaves', who will be remembered throughout history for their extraordinary feat. [PreK+]

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Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate "...George Moses Horton...taught himself to read and compose poetry, and...lived as a slave in North Carolina until he was sixty-six years old. Tate tells Horton's story, omitting none of the sadness (he is sent away from his family at the age of seventeen to serve his master's son) but still making the story accessible to the young reader and listener." -Horn Book Magazine Review. [K-3]

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I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl by Joyce Hansen "Set in the days following the Civil War, this novel, written in diary format, traces the thoughts, feeling, and events in the life of 12-year-old Patsy. Like many of the other freed slaves, Patsy remains at Davis Hall plantation to work for her former master for wages. As a joke, she had been given a blank book by Mrs. Davis's niece. Patsy, however, has secretly learned to read and write and now this diary serves as companion as she questions what freedom means". -SLJ Review. [grades 4-8]

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In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, Five Black Lives by Kenneth Davis. This well-researched book offers a chronological history of slavery in America and features five enslaved people and the four U.S. presidents who owned them. ... A valuable, broad perspective on slavery, paired with close-up views of individuals who benefited from it and those who endured it." -Booklist Starred Review. [grades 6+]

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Mid-20th century Civil Rights Era

Sit-in: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Written in free verse, this book details how four college students desegregated a lunch counter at Woolworths, using the peaceful protest method of a "sit-in." [K-3]

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The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles. Depicting the story of the six-year-old who braved angry white mobs to attend an elementary school in New Orleans, this book is a moving tribute to Ruby's dedication and faith. [K-3] For an older child, consider Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges, which is her moving autobiography. Note--it contains offensive language. [grades 4-8]

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One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp. [grades 3-6]

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The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinken. This title presents an account of the 1944 civil rights protest involving hundreds of African-American Navy servicemen who were unjustly charged with mutiny for refusing to work in unsafe conditions after the deadly Port Chicago explosion. [grades 4+]

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Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, giving a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson's poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. [grades 5-8/YA]

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Social Activism Today

A is for Activist by Innosanta Nagara. "The bestselling ABC book for families who want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and everything else that we believe in and fight for." -Page [4] of cover. [PK-2]

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Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne, ed. "What does it mean to be woke? Simply put, "to be WOKE is to understand that equality and justice for some is not equality and justice at all." In this poetry collection, [the authors unpack] the weight of social inequities in 23 standalone poems in a variety of forms...blending the hard lines of fighting and resisting injustice with sweet moments of peace in our shared humanity. ...Each poem offers lyrical strength and resolve that will encourage budding activists to develop an ever-important ethical and justice-oriented muscle." -Booklist Reviews [grades 3-6]

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We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Wade Hudston and Cheryl Willis Hudson, eds. What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant? With 96 lavishly designed pages of original art, poetry, and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice and comfort to young activists. [grades 3-7]

 

The Kid’s Guide to Social Action by Barbara Wise. "Students often feel the need to better their world, but may be overwhelmed when they begin their campaigns. With this simple-to-follow guide, young people, teachers, and parents can plan their course of social action and expect to see results." -SJL Reviews [grades 4-8]

 

Black Lives Matter by Sue Bradford. Though this title is from 2016, it is a strong entry for its ability to introduce the Black Lives Matter movement to readers with clarity, depth, nuance, and balance. [Grades 6+]