African-American books were slow to gain attention within mainstream readership, publishers, and organizations that recognized and awarded creativity. In 1922, the John Newbery Medal was first presented to an author of children’s books. In 1938, illustrators garnered recognition with the Randolph Caldecott Medal. A disparity in diversity is evident as it was not until 1949 that Arna Bontemps became the first African American to receive a Newbery honor for his book, Story of the Negro. As a result of little recognition, the Coretta Scott King Award was founded in 1969 to recognize books by African Americans about the African-American experience. In 1975, Virginia Hamilton, a native of Yellow Springs, OH, became the first African-American author to win the Newbery Medal for her book, M. C. Higgins, the Great.
The first African-American illustrator to receive national attention was author and illustrator, John Steptoe. His first picture book, Stevie, was featured in a 1969 issue of Life magazine. It was hailed for its fresh perspective in representing African-American children. However, it wasn’t until 1976 that Leo Dillon became the first African-American illustrator to receive the Caldecott Medal for his work with wife Diane Dillon on the book Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears. These authors and illustrators paved the way for the many books presented in this exhibition, the hundreds of other books published over the past decades, and the many more to come…
