This is a timeline of African American Children's literature milestones in the United States from 1600 – present. The timeline also includes selected events in Black history and children's book publishing broadly.

17th century

The Story of Little Black Sambo 1899 First Edition Cover

African-American children line up outside of Albemarle Region bookmobile

Walter Dean Myers 2001 Bookfest screen grab

1619 *The first record of Africans in English colonial America when men were brought at first to Fort Monroe off the coast of

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

, and then to the

Jamestown colony The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement ''English Settlement'' is the fifth studio album and first double album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 February 1982 on Virgin Reco ...

18th century

1761 *

Jupiter Hammon Jupiter Hammon (October 17, 1711 – ca. 1806) was an American writer who is known as a founder of African-American literature, as his poem published in 1761 in New York was the first by an African American in North America. He published both po ...

is known as a founder of African-American literature. His poem, "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries," was published as a

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

in 1761, establishing Hammon as the first published African American poet. 1773 * Phillis Wheatley, the

first African-American African-Americans are an ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African-Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "bre ...

author of a published book of poetry, publishes ''

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral ''Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley, Negro Servant to Mr. John Wheatley, of Boston, in New England'' (published 1 September 1773) is a collection of 39 poems written by Phillis Wheatley, the first professional Afri ...

''. 1776–1783 The American Revolution

19th century

1847 * Frederick Douglass begins publication of the abolitionist newspaper the '' North Star''. 1852 *

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

publishes the anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, in 1852. Josiah Henson, is the inspiration for one of the book's main characters. 1853 *''

Clotel; or, The President's Daughter ''Clotel; or, The President's Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States'' is an 1853 novel by United States author and playwright William Wells Brown about Clotel and her sister, fictional slave daughters of Thomas Jefferson. Brow ...

'' by William Wells Brown is the first novel published by an African-American. 1859 *

Harriet E. Wilson Harriet E. Wilson (March 15, 1825 – June 28, 1900) was an African-American novelist. She was the first African American to publish a novel on the North American continent. Her novel '' , or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black'' was ...

writes the autobiographical novel '' Our Nig''. 1861 *The American Civil War begins on April 12 and lasts until April 9, 1865. 1865 *The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits slavery except as punishment for crime. 1868 * Elizabeth Keckly publishes ''Behind the Scenes'' (or, ''Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House''). 1884 *

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is published, featuring the enslaved African-American character Jim. 1887 * Amelia E. Johnson publishes Joy, an eight-page, monthly magazine for African American children. 1892 *

Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for ...

publishes her pamphlet ''Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases.'' 1899 '' The Story of Little Black Sambo'', written and illustrated by Scottish author Helen Bannerman, is published. The book, which would become popular around the world, presents a negative and stereotypical image of Black people.

20th century

1900–1949

1901 *

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

's autobiography '' Up from Slavery'' is published. 1903 *

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

's seminal work '' The Souls of Black Folk'' is published. 1909 *The

National Negro Committee The National Negro Committee (formed: New York City, May 31 and June 1, 1909 - ceased: New York City, May 12, 1910) was created in response to the Springfield race riot of 1908 against the black community in Springfield, Illinois, Springfield, Il ...

meets and is formed; it will be the precursor to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

), an interracial group devoted to civil rights. 1913 *

Mary White Ovington Mary White Ovington (April 11, 1865 – July 15, 1951) was an American suffragist, journalist, and co-founder of the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Biography Mary White Ovington was born April 11, 1865, ...

, a white co-founder of the NAACP, publishes ''Hazel'', a novel about a middle-class Black child. 1919 *Children's Book Week is established in the United States. *

Louise Seaman Bechtel Louise Seaman Bechtel (June 29, 1894 – April 12, 1985) was an American editor, critic, author, and teacher of young children. She was the first person to head a juvenile book department established by an American publishing house. Biography ...

is hired by Macmillan as the first children's book editor in the first US department devoted solely to publishing children's books. 1920 *W.E.B. DuBois publishes The Brownies’ Books, a monthly magazine for African American children that includes fiction, poetry, and world events. Author and teacher

Jessie Redmon Fauset Jessie Redmon Fauset (April 27, 1882 – April 30, 1961) was an African-American editor, poet, essayist, novelist, and educator. Her literary work helped sculpt African-American literature in the 1920s as she focused on portraying a true image ...

is the editor. 1926 *Historian Carter G. Woodson proposes

Negro History Week Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

. 1927 *

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 ...

is hired by the Chicago Public Library as a children's librarian. She would later write ''We Build Together: A Reader's Guide to Negro Life and Literature for Elementary and High School Use'', a bibliography of books with positive representations of African Americans. 1928 *

Claude McKay Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay OJ (September 15, 1890See Wayne F. Cooper, ''Claude McKay, Rebel Sojourner In The Harlem Renaissance (New York, Schocken, 1987) p. 377 n. 19. As Cooper's authoritative biography explains, McKay's family predated ...

's ''

Home to Harlem Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay Order of Jamaica, OJ (September 15, 1890See Wayne F. Cooper, ''Claude McKay, Rebel Sojourner In The Harlem Renaissance (New York, Schocken, 1987) p. 377 n. 19. As Cooper's authoritative biography explains, McKay's ...

'' wins the Harmon Gold Award for Literature. 1928 *''Popo and Fifina: Children of Haiti'' is the first children's novel by and about Blacks. The authors are

Arna Bontemps Arna Wendell Bontemps ( ) (October 13, 1902 – June 4, 1973) was an American poet, novelist and librarian, and a noted member of the Harlem Renaissance. Early life Bontemps was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, into a Louisiana Creole family. His a ...

and

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

. Cartoonist

E. Simms Campbell Elmer Simms Campbell (January 2, 1906 – January 27, 1971) was an American commercial artist best known as the cartoonist who signed his work, E. Simms Campbell. The first African-American cartoonist published in nationally distributed, slick ...

is the illustrator. 1936 *The

American Booksellers Association The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and t ...

establishes the

National Book Awards The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

. 1937 *

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...

writes the novel ''

Their Eyes Were Watching God ''Their Eyes Were Watching God'' is a 1937 novel by American writer Zora Neale Hurston. It is considered a classic of the Harlem Renaissance, and Hurston's best known work. The novel explores main character Janie Crawford's "ripening from a vib ...

'' *

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 ...

is hired as the children's librarian for the New York Public Library. Under her direction, the ''James Weldon Johnson Collection'' is established to promote books with positive portrayals of African Americans. 1938 * The Caldecott Medal, named for Randolph Caldecott, a nineteenth-century English illustrator, is established to honor the artists of the most distinguished American picture book for children. 1940 * Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Mammy in '' Gone with the Wind''. 1945 * Jesse C. Jackson's ''Call Me Charley'' is the first contemporary children's novel with a Black protagonist. * ''Two is a Team'', an interracial friendship story, by Lorraine and Jerrold Beim, is illustrated by

Ernest Crichlow Ernest Crichlow (June 19, 1914 – November 10, 2005) was an American social realist artist. Early life and career Crichlow was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1914 to Barbadian immigrants. He studied art at the School of Commercial Illustrating ...

. This is the first picture book illustrated by an African American artist. 1947 * John Hope Franklin authors the non-fiction book ''From Slavery to Freedom.''

1950–1999

1951 *'' Little Brown Koko'', a series of short stories illustrating Black characters in a stereotypical manner are introduced in a book collection by Blanche Seale Hunt. 1952 * Ralph Ellison authors the novel '' Invisible Man'' which wins the National Book Award. 1953 * The

Jane Addams Children's Book Awards The Jane Addams Children's Book Award is given annually to a children's book published the preceding year that advances the causes of peace and social equality. The awards have been presented annually since 1953. They were previously given joint ...

for books that best promote peace, social justice, world community, equality of the sexes and all races is established. 1954 *The U.S. Supreme Court rules against the "separate but equal" doctrine in '' Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.'' 1955 * Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus, starting the Montgomery bus boycott. 1956 * Arna W. Bontemps receives the Jane Addams Children's Book Award for ''Story of the Negro''. He is the first African American to receive the award. 1958 *Publication of '' Here I Stand'', Paul Robeson's manifesto-autobiography. 1959 *

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

is founded by Berry Gordy. *'' A Raisin in the Sun'', a play by Lorraine Hansberry, debuts on Broadway. 1960 * Ruby Bridges becomes the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South (William Frantz Elementary School) following court-ordered integration in New Orleans, Louisiana. This event was portrayed by Norman Rockwell in his 1964 painting ''

The Problem We All Live With ''The Problem We All Live With '' is a painting by Norman Rockwell that is considered an iconic image of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African-American girl, on her way to William Frantz E ...

.'' 1962 *The picture book

The Snowy Day ''The Snowy Day'' is a 1962 children's picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats. It features Peter, an African American boy, who explores his neighborhood after the season’s first snowfall. Keats’ illustrations helped ...

, written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats is published. It is regarded as the first picture book to portray an African American child as a protagonist. 1963 * The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is held. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his ''

I Have a Dream "I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called ...

'' speech. 1964 * Whitney Young, Jr., National Urban League executive director, criticizes American book publishers in an August 22 syndicated article titled “''NYC's ‘Segregated Zoo’''” for omitting African Americans from children's books. * The Council on Interracial Books for Children is founded in response to the lack of ethnically diverse books available to Mississippi's

Freedom Schools Freedom Schools were temporary, alternative, and free schools for African Americans mostly in the South. They were originally part of a nationwide effort during the Civil Rights Movement to organize African Americans to achieve social, political and ...

. 1965 *Nancy Larrick, former president of the International Reading Association, publishes ''“The All-White World of Children's Books”'' in the Saturday Review. Larrick is critical of publishers for their lack of African American characters in children's books. As evidence, Larrick analyzed more than 5,000 children's books published between 1962 and 1964 and identifies only 40 with illustrations or text related to contemporary African Americans. * The Council on Interracial Books for Children is founded to promote nonwhite authors through book reviews, awards, and other tactics. 1966 * Nichelle Nichols is cast as a female black officer on television's ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

''. 1967 *The first Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for excellence in children's and young adult literature is presented. 1969 *The

Coretta Scott King Book Awards 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 r ...

are established to honor outstanding Black authors and illustrators of children and young adult books. 1971 * Ernest J. Gaines's Reconstruction-era novel ''

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman ''The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' is a 1971 novel by Ernest J. Gaines. The story depicts the struggles of African Americans as seen through the eyes of the narrator, a woman named Jane Pittman. She tells of the major events of her life f ...

'' is published. 1972 *

Tom Feelings Tom Feelings (May 19, 1933 – August 25, 2003) was an artist, cartoonist, children's book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist. He focused on the African-American experience in his work. His most famous book is ''The Middle Passage: Whit ...

is the first African American to win a Caldecott Honor Award for illustrating ''Moja Means One: A Swahili Counting Book''. 1973 *Ebony Jr.!, a monthly children's magazine, is launched by the Johnson Publishing Company with John H. Johnson as publisher and Constance Van Brunt Johnson as editor. 1974 *African American illustrator Tom Feelings and author Muriel Feelings win the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for picture books ''Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book''. * The Carter G. Woodson Book Award is established to honor exemplary books written for ethnic minority children and young people in the United States. The award is given by the National Council Social Studies Annual Conference. 1975 * Virginia Hamilton is the first African American to win the Newbery Medal for ''M.C. Higgins, the Great''. 1976 * The novel ''

Roots: The Saga of an American Family ''Roots: The Saga of an American Family'' is a 1976 novel written by Alex Haley. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent, sold into slavery in Africa, and transported to North America; it follows h ...

'' by

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and a ...

is published. * Leo and Diane Dillon are the first illustrators of color to win a Caldecott Medal Award for illustrating ''Why Mosquitoes Bizz in People's Ears''. 1977 *

Mildred D. 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 ...

's ''Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'' wins the Newbery Medal. 1980 * The Council on Interracial Books for Children publishes a checklist of ''Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Sexism and Racism''. 1982 * Michael Jackson releases ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'', which becomes the best-selling album of all time. *

Rudine Sims Bishop Rudine Sims Bishop, professor emerita at Ohio State University, has been referred to as the "mother of" multicultural children's literature for her sociologically groundbreaking American children's literature research. Biography Bishop was born ...

publishes in ''Shadow and Substance: Afro-American Experience in Contemporary Children's Fiction'' the findings from a survey of images and representations in Black children's literature published between 1965 and 1980. 1985 *The Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education at the University of Wisconsin – Madison begins annual documentation of the number of books published in the United States for children which are written and/or illustrated by African Americans. 1986 *Established by legislation in 1983, Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20 is first celebrated as a national holiday in the United States. * Valerie Flournoy, author of ''The Patchwork Quilt'', illustrated by

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 addresse ...

, wins the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. 1988 *Just Us Books, a publishing house focused on African American children and young adult books, is founded by Wade and Cheryl Hudson. 1991 *Tom Low and Philip Lee co-found

Lee & Low Books Lee & Low Books is an independent children's book publisher focusing on diversity. History Lee & Low was founded in 1991 by Chinese Americans Tom Low and Philip Lee as a children's book publisher specializing in books featuring people of color a ...

, a multicultural children's book publisher in the United States. 1992 * The African American Children's Book Fair started in Philadelphia by Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati. 1995 *The Million Man March in Washington, D.C., is co-initiated by Louis Farrakhan and James Bevel. 1996 * The

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Outstanding Literary Work, Children's is established.

21st century

2000–the Present

2006 *The

Cybils Awards The Cybils Awards, or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards, are a set of annual book awards given by people who blog about children's and young-adult books. Co-founded by Kelly Herold and Anne Boles Levy in 2006, the awards were c ...

are founded by children's book and young adult literature bloggers to honor books with literary merit and kid appeal. 2007 *The Brown Bookshelf blog, to promote African American picture books, Middle Grade and Young Adult novels written and illustrated by African Americans. Each year the blog hosts ''28 Days Later'', a daily feature during Black History Month featuring Black authors and illustrators. 2008 * Barack Obama is elected 44th President of the United States of America, the first African-American to become president. 2009 *

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 ...

is the first African American to receive the

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award The Children's Literature Legacy Award (known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal until 2018) is a prize awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to writers or illustrat ...

honoring an author or illustrator, published in the United States 2010 * The Walt Disney Company crowns its first African-American

Disney Princess ''Disney Princess'', also called the ''Princess Line'', is a media franchise and toy line owned by the Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney, the franchise features a lineup of female protagonists who ha ...

, Tiana. *Educators Sandra Hughes-Hassell and Ernie J. Cox publish ''Inside Board Books: Representations of People of Color'' in ''The Library Quarterly''. 2014 *Author Walter Dean Myers writes in a March 16 New York Times an opinion piece titled “''Where are the People of Color in Children's Books''.” His son Christopher Myers writes a companion piece titled “''The Apartheid of Children's Literature''." *A panel titled “''Blockbuster Reads: Meet the Kids Authors That Dazzle''” featuring only white men at the inaugural

BookCon BookCon is an annual fan convention established in 2014 in New York City. Taking the name format from other fan conventions such as Comic-Con, BookCon was established to combine pop culture and the book industry. Many authors, celebrities and pub ...

conference in New York City ignites widespread criticism and outcry for more diversity in children's book publishing. *The social media hashtag # WeNeedDiverseBooks is launched. 2015 *Publisher Lee & Low Books partner with St. Catherine University (St. Paul, MN) to initiate The Diversity Baseline Survey, an industry study to uncover publishing and reviewer employment statistics in the areas of gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability. 2022 * Social Entrepreneur and Children's Book Author Veronica N. Chapman launches Black Children's Book Week, a week dedicated to celebrating Black children and the people who make sure they are represented in children's books.

References

External links

Children's Picture Book Database
at Miami University {{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline for African American Children's Literature African American-related lists African-American children's literature African-American literature