Hey Black Child
HEY BLACK CHILD--do you know who you are? Who you really are?
So begins the widely-recited poem by Useni Eugene Perkins, to be illustrated by award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier. An ode to black children, this empowering picture book is a celebration of African-American lives that promotes the self-esteem, making this both a timely and important book, especially in light of recent events across America.
Useni Eugene Perkins's "Hey Black Child" was recently performed on Steve Harvey's show Little Big Shots by four-year-old Pe'Tehn (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOTZWdIyRJE) and, last fall, was recited by Pe'Tehn when she was three (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n_DeHMVAkM), blowing away viewers and raising awareness for the confidence-building text.
Useni Eugene Perkins is a distinguished poet, playwright, and youth worker. He is the author of Harvesting New Generations: The Positive Development of Black Youth; Home is a Dirty Street: The Social Oppression of Black Children; and Black Fairy and Other Plays. He currently lives in Chicago.
Bryan Collier has illustrated more than twenty-five picture books, including the award-winning Trombone Shorty, Dave the Potter, and Knock Knock: My Father's Dream for Me, as well as City Shapes, and Fifty Cents and a Dream, and has received four Caldecott Honors and six Coretta Scott King Awards. He lives with his wife and children in Marlboro, New York.