We were honored to celebrate with Useni Eugene Perkins and Laura Freeman as they accepted the 2022 Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA) Best Book for Young Children distinction for their picture book Kwame Nkrumah’s Midnight Speech for Independence this weekend in DC.
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The Children’s Africana Book Awards are presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children’s and adult books on Africa published in the U.S. Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) created CABA in 1991 to encourage the publication of and use of accurate, balanced children’s materials about Africa.
The two-day celebration included an awards presentation on Friday, Nov. 4 and a festival at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art on Saturday, Nov. 5, featuring book signings, drumming, writing workshops and a panel with this year’s CABA winners, who discussed their creative process, research and collaboration in creating their award-winning books.
Thank you to CABA for this honor and to Useni and Laura for collaborating with Just Us Books to create this important title!
CABA Author Illustrator panel (pictured from left) Useni Eugene Perkins, Laura Freeman, Safia Elhilo, Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Elizabeth-Irene Baitie, & Brenda Randolph interviewed by Brenda Randolph, chair of CABA and founder of Africa Access. Not pictured: Vanessa Oyugi.
Bringing a bit of Ghana to the DMV.
Useni Eugene Perkins and Laura Freeman, creators of Kwame Nkrumah’s
Midnight Speech for Independence, visit
Friendship Charter School in DC before the awards event. Special thanks
to Open Book for getting our book into students hands!
