If you don’t vote, you don’t count.–Fannie Lou Hamer

Now that I’m retired (after 22 years as an English professor), Jeffery and I will be presenting more often. Our programs connect to the ELA, social studies, STEAM and SEL curricula. Themes include biographies, primary sources, social justice, and jazz. We offer writing/poetry workshops inspired by oral traditions and family history, as well as professional development workshops and family literacy programs. A daylong visit includes three assemblies or workshops plus Q&A, an informal small group session and book signings. Jeffery’s popular RAP IT UP! writing workshops and residencies continue to transform young writers. View our Visits Guide.

Save on travel by booking us when we’re touring your area. On November 15, I’ll be in Cleveland, unpacking BOX: HENRY BROWN MAILS HIMSELF TO FREEDOM at Ohio State University’s Newbery Award Symposium. Other stops include: Chicago (October 24), Boston (October 26 and November 21-24) and Cincinnati (November 1). If we’re in your city, drop by to check out these new fall books.

With the election, Family History Month (October) and Hip Hop History Month (November) approaching, we stress the importance of knowing your history (KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE); of using your voice (RAP IT UP!); and of voting (THE FAITH OF ELIJAH CUMMINGS: THE NORTH STAR OF EQUAL JUSTICE; MADAM SPEAKER: NANCY PELOSI CALLS THE HOUSE TO ORDER; and VOICE OF FREEDOM: FANNIE LOU HAMER, SPIRIT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT).

If you’re a Weatherford Report subscriber with a U.S. mailing address. enter to win VOICE OF FREEDOM. In the comments below or via email by September 30, tell us when you first heard of unsung voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer (even if it’s today o’clock!).

In award news, Jeffery and I look forward to accepting the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Poetry for our verse novel/family history, KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE. And, HOW DO YOU SPELL UNFAIR? MACNOLIA COX AND THE NATIONAL SPELLING BEE received Cleveland Public Library’s Norman A. Sugarman Children’s Biography Award Honor. Book love never gets old.

TEACHERS GUIDES FOR BOOKS CITED

• KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE
• HOW DO YOU SPELL UNFAIR? MACNOLIA COX AND THE NATIONAL SPELLING BEE
• BOX: HENRY BROWN MAILS HIMSELF TO FREEDOM
• THE FAITH OF ELIJAH CUMMINGS: THE NORTH STAR OF EQUAL JUSTICE
• VOICE OF FREEDOM: FANNIE LOU HAMER, SPIRIT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT