Stimulated by the freedom of conveying culturally-authentic messages, African-American authors and illustrators set out to create an experience for African- American youth. Children readily identified themselves with stories placed in African-American communities, featuring African-American characters with familiar dialects and idioms. There was a sense of liberation from the previous repressive Whitewashing of history. Instead of criticizing the wrongdoings of the past, African-American authors and illustrators work to rectify previous inaccuracies by providing authentic portrayals. This was combined with validating narratives that taught African-American children the importance of retaining their “Blackness.”
By the late 1960s, several African-American children’s book authors and illustrators gained recognition for their work in presenting African-American cultural and historical identity These books centered on biographies, family and home life, community and African heritage. A need arose for children to overcome external prejudices in support of positive personal and collective identities. Many books presented current realities post Civil Rights era, and expressed pride in African-American heritage. Still, the road to wider acceptance in mainstream publishing and readership was a challenging path to traverse. Many publishers ignored this genre, claiming that books about African Americans, by African Americans, would not sell. By 1988, Just Us Books became one of the first major, independent publishing companies to support the growth of African-American children’s books. Today, Lee & Low Books is the largest publisher of books by multicultural authors and illustrators.
