Jeffery and I are so grateful that our ancestors reclaimed narratives will be amplified through KIN’s selection as the 2025 One Maryland One Book. We can almost feel our ancestors smiling down on us. Stay tuned for details of related activities. Thank you, Maryland Humanities.
When my first children’s book, Juneteenth Jamboree, debuted in 1995, it was the first picture book about Juneteenth. The first African-American holiday, Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date in U.S. history when the last enslaved people were freed. For decades, the observance was regional to Texas and parts of Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas. Eventually, other areas joined the celebration. And, in 2021 Juneteenth became a federal holiday. Since 2020, Jeffery and I have kicked off summer with virtual and in-person Juneteenth celebrations–minus the barbecue.
Feast on these exciting programming options to engage young people all summer long.
I believe that one of the most beautiful passages I have ever written appears in A Crown of Stories: The Life and Language of Beloved Writer Toni Morrison. The passage incorporates her book titles and character names. See and hear the spreads above.
Illustrated by Khalif Tahir Thomspon, A Crown of Stories is a praise song written in second person. I chose that point of view not to put young readers in her shoes but to pen a love letter to Ms. Morrison herself. I completed the manuscript before Ms. Morrison became an ancestor. I had hoped, of course, that she might read the book and be pleased by my exultation.
Besides being a Nobel Laureate, Toni Morrison is the most frequently banned author. Her books have been on the list of the 100 most banned titles in each of the previous three decades, reaching the top 10 between 2010 and 2019.
As one whose work has also been banned or challenged, I agree with Ms. Morrison’s assertion:
The best art is political and you ought to be able to make it unquestionably political and irrevocably beautiful at the same time.
Leading up to the American Library Association Youth Media Awards, I was of course pulling for my books. Perhaps Outspoken: Paul Robeson, Ahead of His Time-A One-Man Show or Whriligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson’s Imagination would get a Sibert nod, or Crown of Stories: The Life and Language of Beloved Writer Toni Morrison would be recognized by the Coretta Scott King Award committee, or Crowning Glory: A Celebration of Black Hair would clinch another Caldecott for illustrator Ekua Holmes. It’s a good thing that I am not a betting woman because I was dead wrong.
I never dreamed that it would be me, not my 2024 books, being honored this year. When I got the call from the award committee of the Association for Library Service to Children, I was in shock. The biggest thrill, though, was hearing the applause when my name was called during the award announcement at ALA Lib/Learn X in Denver.
After streaming the announcements, I looked heavenward and whispered, “Mommy and Daddy, I did it.” Their spirits will be with me when I accept the award this summer in Philadelphia.
Thanks to all who reviewed these titles, served on award committees and shared the books with young people.
Look for a bevy of new releases in 2025, including RAP IT UP!–the first book co-authored with my son, rapper and award-winning illustrator, Jeffery Boston Weatherford. Pre-order here.
School Library Journal featured four award-winning family duos who collaborate on children’s books: the Roccos, the Pinkneys, the Pumphreys and us, the Weatherfords. We talk about the dynamics (and ground rules) of their creative partnerships. We are honored to be in such eloquent and illustrious company. Read the article here.
Jeffery and I not only create books together, but also take our “show” on the road to schools, libraries and cultural institutions. We’d love to visit your campus or community. We have books and programs that connect to the curriculum and commemorate the following observances:
Find out about our school visits here.
Part of my mission as an author is to ask critically relevant and often tough questions to uncover the past and connect it with our present experiences. One of these questions is: What is generational wealth?
When we think of generational wealth, most of us immediately consider financial inheritance—money, property, or businesses passed down through families. If your state is like mine, the comptroller issues an annual listing of unclaimed bank accounts. I check every year, to no avail. One can hope.
When we view wealth solely through a financial lens, though, we unintentionally exclude a significant portion of people, especially Black people, who were historically barred from accumulating wealth in traditional ways. From being exploited as free labor to being denied access to quality education and higher-paying jobs, Black Americans faced immense barriers to financial prosperity. While overcoming these barriers was not impossible, the achievement gap was often substantial.
Limiting wealth to a purely financial definition also blinds us to the wealth we already possess—in our bloodlines, in our stories. Through the journey of writing KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE, Jeffery and I began to broaden our understanding of generational wealth.
Access to the history of our enslaved ancestors is itself a form of generational wealth. Not because they were able to preserve their stories, but because their enslavers, in their cold calculus, kept detailed records of what they considered their “property.” These records allow us to trace the past, reclaim our heritage, and carry the strength of our ancestors with us.
Through poetry and art, in KIN, Jeffery and I explore these ideas of wealth, equity, and access. For us, telling my family’s story is part of a broader mission to expand the narrative of generational wealth beyond just financial capital and into the deeper, richer inheritance of identity, resilience, and hope.
This month, we celebrate the one-year anniversary of KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE. It’s been an incredible journey sharing my family’s story with the world, and I’m thrilled to announce the release of the paperback edition. I hope this new format will continue to bring these important stories to new readers and remind us all of the true wealth we carry in our roots. That wealth is yours to claim!
Download the KIN reading guide and ponder your own family’s wealth.
That’s what one young rhymer said after Jeffery’s HIP HOP TECH workshop at the Portsmouth Public Library in Virginia. Next year, we’re turning it up even more with a new picture book, RAP IT UP! Inspired by his popular workshops, Jeffery conceived this how-to book and co-authors with me. Philly muralist Ernel Martinez illustratres. The rhyming text drops knowledge about writing and public speaking. Peek inside and pre-order here.
Young rhymers can’t get their hand on the book yet, but they can grab a mic at Jeffery’s hip hop workshops this summer. Since 2015, libraries, museums and youth agencies have hosted single sessions and residencies. Empowered by their own words, youth gain greater self-awareness and self-confidence.from writing and performing. Contact Carole for more info: cbwpoet@gmail.com.
With 80 books, there’s a title for (almost) every season and observance, including Photography Month (May), Memorial Day, Black Music Month (June) and Juneteenth. Add to that books, activities and presentations for summer reading programs and Vacation Bible School (VBS!). It’s not too late to book the Weatherfords for late spring and summer.
For Photography Month, Jeffery and I focus on Gordon Parks and Dorothea Lange and how primary source photographs figure into our historical research.
KICK-OFF SUMMER WITH A SALUTE & SONG
For Memorial Day, we honor military heroes with poems from YOU CAN FLY; THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN and from KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE and a rousing rap from Jeffery saluting the pioneering Black WWII pilots.
On May 31 or June 1, I hope you will pause to remember Black Wall Street, the nation’s wealthiest Black business district, once located in Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood community, which, in 1921, was the scene of the nation’s worst incident of racial violence. UNSPEAKABLE: THE TULSA RACE MASSACRE, my 2021 collaboration with the late Floyd Cooper, tells that story.
For the Juneteenth national holiday, Jeffery and I share stories of enslavement and emancipation from KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE, MOSES: WHEN HARRIET TUBMAN LED HER PEOPLE TO FREEDOM and JUNETEENTH JAMBOREE, the first children’s book about the first African-American holiday.
This summer Jeffery will again offer his popular Hip Hop Tech workshop, now known as RAP IT UP!–after our upcoming picture book collaboration. These transformative sessions get tweens and teens hyped about writing and performing original rap lyrics. A Petersburg, Virginia, workshop produced what has got to be thee dopest testimonial: “I can’t believe they let us get lit like that in the library! Believe it. Jeffery is already booked for a residency in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
For Black Music Month, Jeffery and I tune in to African-American musical genres and musicians–from spirituals, blues, and gospel, to jazz, soul and rap. Yes, we got books for all that.
TAKING IT TO CHURCH!
With book bans proliferating and Black history under attack, grassroots reading/study groups are needed more than ever. We encourage churches to host reading programs for all ages, but especially for children. Many of our titles are perfect for Vacation Bible School and for multigenerational audiences and discussions. Reading guides for many of these books are available as free downloads (more on that later). If your church literacy initiative uses our books, let us know. We may be available to join the discussion via Zoom. Here are some spirit-filled books to consider.
Group shots clockwise from top left: Jeffery and Carole greet family and friends after the KIN event in Easton, Maryland; BROS Day, a celebration hosted by the Chicago-based pop-up play space, Brown Books and Paintbrushes; at the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cambridge, Maryland; a student reading How Do You Spell Unfair? as part of the Dublin, California, One City/One Book project. The new picture book bios, Crown of Stories and Outspoken, release in April.
During Black History Month, Jeffery Boston Weatherford–my son and collaborator–and I took KIN: Rooted in Hope home to Talbot County, Maryland, where our newly freed forebears co-founded Reconstruction-era villages. Big hugs to librarian and event organizer Cindy Orban (top center in purple)–the best friend a book ever had. Thanks to the event sponsors, including Talbot County Free Library, The Country School, Avalon Theatre and Dorchester County Tourism Office. By the way, there’s now a KIN reading guide to accompany the Family Tree Activity sheet.
While in Easton, Maryland, we made what I am told was the largest donation statewide to the inaugural Maryland Commission on African American History & Culture Book Drive: board books–My Favorite Toy and Mighty Menfolk–for Talbot County’s toddlers.
Jeffery and I celebrated Women’s History Month at Nashville’s Public Library and KIPP Middle School with presentations spotlighting little-known (s)heroes in collaboration Call Me Miss Hamilton: One Woman’s Fight for Equality and Respect and in How Do You Spell Unfair? Macnolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee, illustrated by Frank Morrison.
Jeffery’s solo exhibition of prints from KIN—April 7 and through June at Baltimore’s Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Museum–will include the above portrait of Francis Scott Key. During the War of 1812, Key penned the Star Spangled Banner as bombs burst over Baltimore’s harbor. That same harbor made headlines recently when a 200-million-ton freighter slammed the Frances Scott Key Bridge, causing its collapse, six deaths and thousands of lost jobs. I pray for the families of the road crew who were killed. I pray that my hometown can bear this blow and that rebuilding will be swift. #MarylandTough #BaltimoreStrong
There’s still time to book us–the Weatherfords–for a school visit this spring. We also offer Juneteenth celebrations and summer programs, such as Jeffery’s popular Rap It Up hip-hop writing workshop for ages 10 to adult. And it’s not too early to book us for next school year.
Finally, National Poetry Month calls for a one-poem project. May we suggest “Daniel Lloyd,” “Chicken Sue” or “Prissy” from KIN; “Head to the Sky” from You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen, “Fifth Grade” from Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library or the opening poem from Outspoken? Pluck a few six-line poems from BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom. Or choose a poetic picture book like Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, Freedom in Congo Square, You are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland, Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream and You or The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip Hop.
The picture book bios Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America and How Do You Spell Unfair? Macnolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee are also good fits for one-poem projects. You could even share those titles in May around the National Spelling Bee or National Photography Month. Can you say C-H-E-E-S-E?
