Black History Month - ROD Children's

After letting his band down by missing rehearsal, Shorty has some serious questions about what it means to be a leader so he hits the New Orleans streets to find some answers.

Tells the story of painter and teacher Alma Thomas, discussing her childhood, teaching career and activism.

Althea Gibson was the quickest, tallest, most fearless athlete in 1940s Harlem. She couldn't sit still! When she put her mind to it, the fleet-of-foot girl reigned supreme at every sport--stickball with the boys, basketball with the girls, paddle tennis with anyone who would hit with her. But being the quickest, tallest, most fearless player in Harlem wasn't enough for Althea. She knew she could be a tennis champion. Because of segregation, black...

In this book from the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul. The fourth of five children, Aretha was born in Tennessee and took the stage at an early age in her fathers church choir. She went on to become the bestselling rhythm and blues singer of all time, and the first woman to be installed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations...

Presents the life of Barack Obama, including his childhood in the United States and abroad, careers as a community organizer and lawyer, and his election as the forty-four president in 2009.

Bayard learned from an early how important equal rights were. He knew how to help people work together for equality without violence. He even played an important role in one of the most important civil rights events in American history.

"Growing up in the late 19th century, Laura Wheeler Waring didn't see any artists who looked like her. She didn't see any paintings of people who looked like her, either. So when she was offered a commission to paint portraits of accomplished African Americans, she jumped at the chance. Writers, singers, political activists, and thinkers all posed for her. Now her portraits hang in Washington, D.C.'s National Portrait Gallery, where children of all...

"Hop on the bike with Bessie Stringfield, the motorcycle queen of Miami, in this powerful picture book from Coretta Scott King medalist Charles R. Smith, Jr. and debut picture book illustrator Charlot Kristensen. In 1929, 18-year-old Bessie Stringfield hopped on her motorcycle and headed out on an adventure, an unusual choice for a young Black woman at the time. Paying her way by winning motorcycle races, she criss-crossed the country through small...

Discover the true story of NFL star Ernie Barnes a boy who followed his dreams and became one of the most influential artists of his generation with this beautifully illustrated nonfiction picture book.

Explores the childhood and early career of the noted jazz trumpeter who gained fame performing at the first Newport Jazz Festival in 1955.