The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

(ALA). Named for

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

, wife of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, 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 The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

and

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Servic ...

, 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, Charlemae Hill Rollins, and

Virginia Lacy Jones Virginia Lacy Jones (June 25, 1912 – December 3, 1984) was an American librarian who throughout her 50-year career in the field pushed for the integration of public and academic libraries. She was one of the first African Americans to earn a ...

. The award's name was intentionally chosen to honor recently assassinated

and his wife,

. 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, 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, and the library councils of the Englewood Middle School and

Dwight Morrow High School Dwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from Engle ...

. With support from Roger McDonough, 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 Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. The award was briefly sponsored by the School of Library and Information Studies at

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Fou ...

. An awards committee and an advisory board of mostly local librarians were formed, co-chaired by Ella Gaines Yates. 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. 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 Effie Lee Morris (April 20, 1921 – November 9, 2009) was an African American children’s librarian, educator, and activist, best known for her pioneering public library services for minorities and the visually-impaired. Morris developed Cleve ...

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 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 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 Walter Dean Myers (born Walter Milton Myers; August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was an American writer of children's books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem. A tough childho ...

, author * 2011: Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith, professor emerita at the University of South Florida, Tampa, School of Library and Information Science * 2012:

Ashley Bryan Ashley Frederick Bryan (July 13, 1923February 4, 2022) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Most of his subjects are from the African-American experience. He was U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006 ...

, storyteller, artist, author, poet, and musician * 2013: Demetria Tucker, family and youth services librarian for the Pearl Bailey Library, a branch of the Newport News (Va.) Public Library System * 2014:

Patricia Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United State ...

and

Fredrick McKissack Fredrick Lemuel "Fred" McKissack, Sr. (August 12, 1939 – April 28, 2013) was an African-American writer, best known for collaboration with his wife, Patricia C. McKissack on more than 100 children's books about the history of African Americans. ...

, children's authors * 2015: Deborah D. Taylor, young adult librarian * 2016:

Jerry Pinkney Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addres ...

, illustrator * 2017: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, Professor Emerita of Education at Ohio State University * 2018:

Eloise Greenfield Eloise Greenfield (May 17, 1929 – August 5, 2021) was an American children's book and biography author and poet famous for her descriptive, rhythmic style and positive portrayal of the African-American experience. After college, Greenfield bega ...

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

Nikki Grimes Nikki Grimes (born October 20, 1950) is an American author of books written for children and young adults, as well as a poet and journalist. Background and career Grimes was born in Harlem, New York. In a conversation with a Reading Is Fundament ...

, 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