The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association (ALA). Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., this award recognizes outstanding books for young adults and children by

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

that reflect the African-American experience. Awards are given both to authors and to illustrators. The first author award was given in 1970. In 1974, the award was expanded to honor illustrators as well as authors. Starting in 1978, runner-up Author Honor Books have been recognized. Recognition of runner-up Illustrator Honor Books began in 1981. In addition, the Coretta Scott King Awards committee has given the Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, starting in 2010, and beginning in 1996 an occasional John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Like the Newbery Medal and Caldecott Medal, the Coretta Scott King Awards have the potential to be used in classroom teaching and projects.

History

The idea for the Coretta Scott King Award came from Glyndon Flynt Greer, a school librarian in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

. At a meeting of the American Library Association in Atlantic City in 1969, Greer, librarian Mabel McKissick, and publisher John M. Carroll, lamented the lack of recognition for minority writers. No person of color had won either the Newbery or Caldecott Medals at that time. Before the conference ended, a group of African American librarians had formed to promote the creation of a new award. Among them were

Augusta Braxton Baker Augusta Braxton Baker (April 1, 1911 – February 23, 1998) was an American librarian and storyteller. She was known for her contributions to children's literature, especially regarding the portrayal of Black Americans in works for children. E ...

Charlemae Hill Rollins Charlemae Hill Rollins (June 20, 1897 – February 3, 1979) was a pioneering librarian, writer and storyteller in the area of African-American literature. During her thirty-one years as head librarian of the children's department at the Chicago ...

, and Virginia Lacy Jones. The award's name was intentionally chosen to honor recently assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. The name also commemorates the life of Dr. King and honors the dedication Coretta Scott King had to making the world a place that welcomes all people. It was particularly fitting that the first Coretta Scott King Award was presented to

Lillie Patterson Lillie Patterson (May 3, 1917 – March 11, 1999) was an American writer who worked as a school and college librarian in Baltimore, Maryland. She wrote 17 books for children and young adults including ''Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace'' about ...

, a librarian in Baltimore, for her elementary level biography ''Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace''. The award's first presentation was held during the 1970 New Jersey Library Association conference in Atlantic City, and its second at the corresponding conference in 1971. Early sponsors of the award included the

New Jersey Library Association The New Jersey Library Association (NJLA) is a library organization located in Trenton, New Jersey. It was established in 1890, and is the oldest library organization in the State of New Jersey. The NJLA began in 1890 with 39 members, and currentl ...

, and the library councils of the Englewood Middle School and Dwight Morrow High School. With support from

Roger McDonough Roger H. McDonough (February 24, 1909 – December 2, 2001) was an American librarian and president of the American Library Association from 1968 to 1969. He worked at the Rutgers University Libraries as an undergraduate and continued working ...

, the third annual Coretta Scott King Award was presented during the American Library Association's 1972 Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois. However, the award was not yet officially recognized by the ALA. As of 1972, Greer moved to Atlanta, Georgia. The award was briefly sponsored by the School of Library and Information Studies at Atlanta University. An awards committee and an advisory board of mostly local librarians were formed, co-chaired by

Ella Gaines Yates Ella Gaines Yates (June 14, 1927 – June 27, 2006) is recognized in the library world as being the first African-American director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System in Georgia. Yates was born into a well known and wealthy family in A ...

. In 1974, the award was expanded to honor illustrators as well as authors. The first illustrator to receive the award was George Ford, for his work in illustrating ''Ray Charles'' by

Sharon Bell Mathis Sharon Bell Mathis (born 1937) is an American librarian and author who has written books mainly for children and young adults. Early life Mathis was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She started writing at an early age, and her love of reading w ...

. Mathis won the author award for 1974. Starting in 1978, runner-ups to the Author award have been recognized as Honor Books. As of 1981, runner-ups to the Illustrator award have been recognized as Honor Books. In 1979, the awards committee and the advisory board merged, forming the Coretta Scott King Award Task Force. With support from

E. J. Josey Elonnie J. Josey (January 20, 1924 – July 3, 2009) was an African-Americans, American activist and librarian. Josey was the first chair of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, having been instrumental in its formation in 1970; s ...

, the new committee became part of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) of the American Library Association. Greer served as its first chair until her death on August 24, 1980. Harriet Brown then became acting chair. Brown was succeeded by Effie Lee Morris in 1981. Under Morris' leadership, the Coretta Scott King Awards were officially recognized by the executive board of the ALA. Morris wrote formal selection criteria for the awards to meet ALA's standards, and the Coretta Scott King Awards were accepted as an ALA unit award in 1982, the twelfth year that they had been given. Winning books receive a medal; honor books receive a certificate. Winning and honor books are identified by the presence on their covers of the Coretta Scott King Award Seal. The original seal was designed by artist

Lev Mills Lev may refer to: Common uses *Bulgarian lev, the currency of Bulgaria *an abbreviation for Leviticus, the third book of the Hebrew Bible and the Torah People and fictional characters *Lev (given name) * Lev (surname) Places * Lev, Azerbaijan, ...

in 1974, with a bronze seal on winning books and a pewter seal on honor books. In a later revision of the seal, the colors changed to bronze and black for winners, and pewter and black for honors. The award eventually changed its ALA affiliation from the SRRT to the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT), which had become a closer match for its activities. Dr.

Henrietta M. Smith Henrietta M. Smith (May 2, 1922 – April 21, 2021) was an American academic, librarian, and storyteller, who edited four editions of the Coretta Scott King Award collection published by the American Library Association. In 2008, she was honore ...

has edited four volumes, published by the American Library Association, that provide a history of the award. From 1996 on, the Coretta Scott King Awards program includes the John Steptoe Award for New Talent, optionally awarded to an author, an illustrator, or both.

Recipients

Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

From 2010 the Coretta Scott King Awards include the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, or Virginia Hamilton Award. It is presented to creators and practitioners alternately: in even years, to an African American writer or illustrator of books for children or young adults; in odd years, to a practitioner for "active engagement with youth using award-winning African American literature for children and/or young adults, via implementation of reading and reading related activities/programs." * 2010: Walter Dean Myers, author * 2011: Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith, professor emerita at the University of South Florida, Tampa, School of Library and Information Science * 2012: Ashley Bryan, storyteller, artist, author, poet, and musician * 2013:

Demetria Tucker Demetria Renee Tucker is Senior Family and Youth Librarian at Newport News Public Library, known for her youth programming work. In 2013, she was honored at the White House with the 2013 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for her wor ...

, family and youth services librarian for the Pearl Bailey Library, a branch of the Newport News (Va.) Public Library System * 2014: Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, children's authors * 2015:

Deborah D. Taylor Deborah D. Taylor is a librarian and coordinator of school and student services at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2015, she received the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. Taylor received he ...

, young adult librarian * 2016: Jerry Pinkney, illustrator * 2017: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, Professor Emerita of Education at Ohio State University * 2018: Eloise Greenfield, author * 2019: Dr. Pauletta Brown Bracy, Professor of Library Science and Director of the Office of University Accreditation at North Carolina Central University * 2020:

Mildred Taylor Mildred DeLois Taylor (born September 13, 1943) is a Newbery Award-winning American young adult novelist. She is best known for her novel ''Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'', part of her Logan family series. Taylor is known for exploring powerful ...

, author * 2021: Dorothy L. Guthrie, retired librarian, district administrator, author and school board member * 2022: Nikki Grimes, author

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:King Award, Coretta Scott American children's literary awards American librarianship and human rights American Library Association awards Awards established in 1970 Awards honoring African Americans Coretta Scott King Illustrated book awards Literary awards honoring minority groups English-language literary awards

History

Recipients

Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

See also

References

External links