Coretta Scott King Awards 2024

Warrior Princess. That's what Nigeria's father calls her. He's raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals that connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother--the perfect matriarch to their Movement--disappears, Nigeria's world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn't want. Nigeria's mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father's disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. There, she slowly begins to blossom and expand her universe. As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.

Praised for acting like a big girl when she is small, as a young girl grows, "big" becomes a word of criticism, until the girl realizes that she is fine just the way she is.

A true story of determination and groundbreaking achievement follows eighth grade African American spelling champion MacNolia Cox, who left Akron, Ohio, in 1936 to compete in the prestigious National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., only to be met with prejudice and discrimination.

A multi-generational family history told in the voices of the author's ancestors, spanning enslavement alongside Frederick Douglass at Maryland's Wye House plantation, service in the U.S. Colored Troops, and the founding of all-Black Reconstruction-era communities.

"A picture book in verse that threads together past and present to explore the legacy of slavery during a classroom lesson"--

"When Jackie Ormes sees an opportunity, she takes it. She's a journalist, cartoonist, fashionista, philanthropist, and activist -- and she wants to use her artistry to bring joy and hope to Black people everywhere. But in post-World War II America, Black people are still being denied their civil rights, and Jackie has a dilemma: How can her art remain true to her signature Jackie joy, while also staying honest about the inequalities Black people have been fighting against? Traci N. Todd and Shannon Wright have crafted a gorgeous and moving tribute to the indelible legacy of America's first Black woman cartoonist"--

A celebration of Langston Hughes and African American authors he inspired, told through the lens of the party held at the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 1991.

Rhea and her friends Zeke and Malachi are South L.A. born and raised. The old neighborhood is fading away, and more white people are flocking to this little urban paradise for its cheap rent, transforming the place they call home. When an eviction notice from a greedy landlord threatens to split up the crew, Rhea and her friends use social media to form a fake gang in hopes of scaring off developers. They even use firecrackers to create the illusion of gang violence. Their scheme appears to work-- until a murder is pegged on the nonexistent gang. -- adapted from jacket

"At a sparrow's urging, a young girl feels a mysterious trembling in her arms, a lightness in her feet, a longing to be free. Her mother tells her that her Granny Liza experienced the same, as did many of their people before her. Perhaps it's time, Mama says, to slip the bonds of earth and join the journey started long ago. To hold each other tight and rise. Drawing on lyrics from the song "We Could Fly" by Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell, which in turn draw on a heritage of African folklore, this incantatory dialogue between a mother and daughter paired with startlingly beautiful illustrations celebrates love, resilience, and the spiritual power of the"old-time ways"--tradition and shared cultural memory--to sustain and uplift."--