Wade Hudson

Cheryl Willis Hudson

Fifty of the foremost diverse children's authors and illustrators--including Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Kwame Alexander--share answers to the question, "In this divisive world, what shall we tell our children?" in this beautiful, full-color keepsake collection, published in partnership with Just Us Books. What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant? With 96 lavishly designed pages of original art and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice to young activists. Featuring poems, letters, personal essays, art, and other works from such industry leaders as Jacqueline Woodson (Brown Girl Dreaming), Jason Reynolds (All American Boys), Kwame Alexander (The Crossover), Andrea Pippins (I Love My Hair), Sharon Draper (Out of My Mind), Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer), Ellen Oh (cofounder of We Need Diverse Books), and artists Ekua Holmes, Rafael Lopez, James Ransome, Javaka Steptoe, and more, this anthology empowers the nation's youth to listen, learn, and build a better tomorrow. A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018! A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018!

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices

"Thirty diverse and award-winning authors and illustrators capture frank discussions about racism, identity, and self-esteem"--

Conversations about Race, Love & Truth

The Talk

African American Poetry

Pass It On

In the stunning follow-up to The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth, award-winning Black authors and artists come together to create a moving anthology collection celebrating Black love, Black creativity, Black resistance, and Black life. "A multifaceted, sometimes disheartening, yet consistently enriching primer on the unyielding necessity of those three words: Black Lives Matter." -Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS MATTERED. Prominent Black creators lend their voice, their insight, and their talent to an inspiring anthology that celebrates Black culture and Black life. Essays, poems, short stories, and historical excerpts blend with a full-color eight-page insert of spellbinding art to capture the pride, prestige, and jubilation that is being Black in America. In these pages, find the stories of the past, the journeys of the present, and the light guiding the future. BLACK LIVES WILL ALWAYS MATTER.

An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life

Recognize!

In Defiant, Wade Hudson, award-winning coeditor of The Talk and Recognize!, takes a critical look at the strides and struggles of the past in this revelatory and moving memoir about a young Black man growing up in the South during the heart of the civil rights movement. “With his compelling memoir, Hudson will inspire young readers to emulate his ideals and accomplishments.” —Booklist, starred review Born in 1946 in Mansfield, Louisiana, Wade Hudson came of age against the backdrop of the civil rights movement. From their home on Mary Street, his close-knit family watched as the country grappled with desegregation; as the Klan targeted the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama; and as systemic racism struck across the nation and in their hometown. Amidst it all, Wade was growing up—getting into scuffles, playing baseball, immersing himself in his church community, and starting to write. Most important, Wade learned how to find his voice and use it. From his family, his community, and his college classmates, Wade learned the importance of fighting for change by confronting the laws and customs that marginalized and demeaned people. This powerful memoir reveals the struggles, joys, love, and ongoing resilience that it took to grow up Black in segregated America, and the lessons that carry over to our fight for a better future.

Growing Up in the Jim Crow South

Defiant

Thirty diverse, award-winning authors and illustrators invite you into their homes to witness the conversations they have with their children about race in America today in this powerful call-to-action that invites all families to be anti-racists and advocates for change. "Project[s] love and support." --The New York Times As long as racist ideas persist, families will continue to have the difficult and necessary conversations with their young ones on the subject. In this inspiring collection, literary all-stars such as Renée Watson (Piecing Me Together), Grace Lin (Where the Mountain Meets the Moon), Meg Medina (Merci Suárez Changes Gears), Adam Gidwitz (The Inquisitor's Tale), and many more engage young people in frank conversations about race, identity, and self-esteem. Featuring text and images filled with love, acceptance, truth, peace, and an assurance that there can be hope for a better tomorrow, The Talk is a stirring anthology and must-have resource published in partnership with Just Us Books, a Black-owned children's publishing company that's been in operation for over thirty years. Just Us Books continues its mission grounded in the same belief that helped launch the company: Good books make a difference. So, let's talk. Featured contributors: Selina Alko, Tracey Baptiste, Derrick Barnes, Natacha Bustos, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Raul Colón, Adam Gidwitz, Nikki Grimes, Rudy Gutierrez, April Harrison, Wade Hudson, Gordon C. James, Minh Lê, E. B. Lewis, Grace Lin, Torrey Maldonado, Meg Medina, Christopher Myers, Daniel Nayeri, Zeke Peña, Peter H. Reynolds, Erin K. Robinson, Traci Sorell, Shadra Strickland, Don Tate, MaryBeth Timothy, Duncan Tonatiuh, Renée Watson, Valerie Wilson Wesley, Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Since my incarceration began, I hadn't seen anyone except police officers and several detectives who came to stare at me through a small window in the door of my cell. I knew nothing about the charges I was being held on. I was completely in the dark. It had been little more than five years since I'd left my home in Mansfield, Louisiana, to attend Southern University. It seemed so much longer. A lot had happened during those years. I wanted to be involved. I wanted to make my own contribution, take my stand for freedom, just as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Daisy Bates, Stokely Carmichael, and Rosa Parks were doing. I wanted to fight back; I burned to do something about the evil that haunted my people. So, you might say that my experiences in Mansfield led me to this place. How I grew up there, how those impactful years shaped me, pointed me toward a future I had to embrace. Even it led me to jail. An unrelenting, honest, and inspirational memoir of a young man in the segregated South who became a championing voice in the ongoing fight for civil rights. Book jacket.

"An anthology featuring over thirty Black authors and illustrators to honor Black life past, present, and future"--

Describes how a network of people, organizations, and places helped slaves escape, and includes stories of people who used the Underground Railroad to escape.

The Underground Railroad

Featuring essays, interviews, poetry, anecdotes, and illustrations from from 40 prize-winning authors and artists, this collection spans the recollections of several generations of outstanding African Americans. 80 illustrations, 40 in color.

A Black Family Treasury by Outstanding Authors and Artists

In Praise of Our Fathers and Our Mothers

As the fight for equal rights continues, Defiant takes a critical look at the strides and struggles of the past in this revelatory and moving memoir about a young Black man growing up in the South during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. For fans of It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime, Stamped, and Brown Girl Dreaming. Born in 1946 in Mansfield, Louisiana, Wade Hudson came of age against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. From their home on Mary Street, his close-knit family watched as the country grappled with desegregation, as the Klan targeted the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and as systemic racism struck across the nation and in their hometown. Amidst it all, Wade was growing up. Getting into scuffles in the schoolyard, playing baseball on a team he put together, immersing himself in his church community, and starting to write. Most important, Wade learned how to find his voice and use it. From his family, his community, and his college classmates, Wade learned the importance of fighting for change by confronting the laws and customs that marginalized and demeaned people. This powerful memoir reveals the struggles, joys, love, and ongoing resilience that it took to grow up Black in segregated America, and the lessons that carry over to our fight for a better future.

Valerie Wilson Wesley

The Afro-bets kids introduce forty-nine black men and women who are heroes of their time.

Wade Hudson

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