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Monday, July 28, 2025
Black Business Month - A Time for Action
Monday, February 10, 2025
Doing the Work
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| Founders Wade Hudson, Cheryl Willis Hudson, Paul Coates, Haki Madhubuti and Kassahoun Checole speak at IBPA's Legends of Black Independent Publishing panel |
Let’s pour into these institutions! Read their books. Buy directly from their websites if you can. (Many carry titles that are difficult to get elsewhere.) Recommend their books. Check them out at your local library, and if they’re not on the shelves — request them. Share and comment on their social media posts. Sign up for their mailing lists. Spread the word about the work they’re doing.
Third World Press - the oldest Black publishing company in the world. Founded in 1967, it’s one of the last-remaining Black Arts Movement institutions. https://thirdworldpressfoundation.org
Black Classic Press - founded in 1978 and devoted to publishing obscure and significant works by and about people of African descent. https://www.blackclassicbooks.com
Africa World Press - in business since 1983, its mission is to provide high quality literature on the history, culture, politics of Africa and the African Diaspora. https://africaworldpressbooks.com
Just Us Books - founded in 1988, we publish children’s books that center and celebrate Black people, history and culture. https://justusbooks.com
Amber Communications - the largest African American publisher of self-help books and music biographies. http://amberbookspublishing.com
Dare to Be King - provides services and products, including books and workshops, to help inspire and support boys of color. https://daretobeking.net
And this is just a start. Comment below to shout out other Black-owned book publishers that are doing this important work!
Monday, August 5, 2024
Black Business Month
August is Black Business Month, founded in 2004 by Frederick E. Jordan and John William Templeton to acknowledge Black-owned businesses and their contributions to our economy. Black-owned businesses are a vital component of society — driving innovation, creating jobs, contributing to the community, and in the case of publishing — sharing and preserving important stories, history, and culture.
Just Us Books exists today because of the trail our ancestor entrepreneurs blazed before us, pioneers like John Brown Russwurm and Samuel Cornish, editors of Freedom’s Journal, the first Black-owned and operated newspaper in the U.S.; abolitionist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, who published a volume of poetry (Forest Leaves) in 1845 at the age of 20; and WEB DuBois, who launched The Brownies Book, the first magazine created especially for Black children. And we remain in business today with YOUR support and that of many children, parents, educators, librarians, and readers of all ages who buy, read, and recommend our books — and have done so for 35 years.
It’s fitting that Black Business Month takes place in August. This month is historically a slower time for book sales for many of us in publishing. That makes any purchases made during this period particularly impactful.
We’ve provided lists of Black publishing entrepreneurs for you to consider below. And of course Just Us Books would love to have your support as well. You can buy books or merch, like the shirts our founders are wearing in the photo below.
However you choose to celebrate Black businesses, this month or any month, know that your support will make a big impact! And we appreciate it!
Pictured: Paul Coates (Black Classic Press), Cheryl Willis Hudson (Just Us Books), Ramunda and Derrick Young (Mahogany Books) at the 2019 Black Pack party, hosted by AALBC.com, Linda Duggins, One Book One Bronx, and Kwame Alexander.
Did you know there are (at least):
📖 195 Black-owned publishers, self-publishers and imprints
✍🏾 Over 10,727 Black authors and writers
📝 22 Black literary agents
These are just some of the many creators and companies that make the world of Black book publishing so dynamic, valuable and inspiring. We encourage you to explore the lists linked above to learn more about these Black entrepreneurs. And if you’re looking for new ways to support, check out these tips: 5 Ways to Support Black-Owned Businesses
Friday, September 22, 2023
Just Us Books, Nation’s Leading Black Owned Children’s Book Publisher, Celebrates 35th Anniversary
(West Orange, NJ) September 22, 2023 ─ The average life span of a small business is eight and a half years according to The New York Times. As Just Us Books prepares to celebrate 35 years in business, it’s not only beating the odds, it’s also continuing to blaze a trail, publishing children’s books that center and celebrate Black stories, history and culture.
“Just Us Books’ 35th anniversary is not just a celebration of our company,” says Wade Hudson, CEO and co-founder. “It’s a recognition of 35 years of children reading, learning, growing, and being affirmed through stories that reflect the richness of Black culture and history, which is especially important in today’s climate of banned and challenged books.”
The company plans to celebrate the milestone throughout its 35th year, which begins October 1, 2023, with special content and events, including a bookfair being planned for spring.
The Just Us Books journey began in the early 1980s. Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson, who live in East Orange, NJ, were parents in search of children's books that reflected the diversity of Black history, heritage and experiences. Disappointed by the number they found and their limited availability, the couple embarked upon a mission: to create the kind of positive, Black-interest books that they wanted for their own two children.
Combining their experience, Wade’s in writing and marketing, Cheryl’s in art and publishing, they developed ideas for books that shared universal children’s themes from an Afrocentric perspective. The couple presented manuscripts to publishing houses but they were repeatedly turned down ― several publishing professionals even doubting the viability of a market for children’s books featuring Black characters. So the Hudsons decided to publish the books themselves. The AFRO-BETS A B C Book was released in 1987 and Just Us Books was incorporated a year later.
The success of the small press soon proved doubters wrong. Titles including Bookof Black Heroes From A to Z and Bright Eyes, Brown Skin became classroom and library staples. And larger publishing companies followed Just Us Books’ lead, publishing and widely distributing more children’s books featuring diverse stories and characters.
The company’s 35-year history has been marked by numerous accomplishments including a production partnership with Crown, an imprint of Random House, which produced the three anthologies including the award-winning We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices; a 1999 marketing partnership with General Mills and the UniverSoul Circus; and the publication of In Praise of Our Fathers and Our Mothers, a book about the Black family that brought together celebrated authors and artists, including Gwendolyn Brooks, Virginia Hamilton, Walter Dean Myers, Jeanne Moutousammy-Ashe, Leo and Diane Dillon, Fred and Patricia McKissack. Its books, including From A Child’s Heart; The Secret Olivia Told Me, I’m A Big Sister Now and Kwame Nkrumah’s Midnight Speech for Independence, have earned numerous awards. Just Us Books has won multiple honors, including Small Business Pioneer of the Year, the Children’s Book Council Diversity Award, and its founders have become recognized leaders in publishing and the push for diversity in children’s literature, with the couple being awarded the prestigious Carle Honor for Mentorship in 2022.
In 35 years of operation, Just Us Books has become more than a children's book publishing company; it's become an institution. It also remains one of the nation's few Black-owned publishers. And the company continues its mission grounded in the same belief that helped launch the company three and a half decades ago: Good books make a difference.
Just Us Books’ titles can be purchased wherever books are sold and via its website: justusbooks.com. Connect with the company on social at @JustUsBooks across all platforms.
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
We Remember Useni Eugene Perkins
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“We have known Useni for many years and marveled at his dedication and contributions to the Black community and to Black arts,” said Wade Hudson, president and CEO of Just Us Books. “He was a good brother!”
Just Us Books published two of Useni's works, Poetry From The Masters: The Black Arts Movement in 2009, and Kwame Nkrumah's Midnight Speech for Independence, illustrated by Laura Freeman. His most recent published children’s book, it won the 2022 Children’s Africana Book Awards Best Book for Young Children and was called "Essential reading for any and all future (and current) freedom fighters” in a Kirkus starred review.
A celebrated member of the Black Arts Movement, Useni Eugene Perkins was born in Chicago on September 13, 1932. Following military service, he earned bachelors and masters degrees from George Williams College. He went on to leverage his studies in social work in a career focused on the social development of urban youth, serving as Executive Director of the Better Boys Foundation Family Center in Chicago and in leadership roles with the Urban League of Portland, the DuSable Museum, and Chicago State University Family Life Center.
“I’m honored that my poem has been associated with these two gifted writers, but I’m glad the world can now learn about the poem’s true roots,” Useni said.
Useni penned many other books including An Apology to My African Brother; Silhouette; Home Is a Dirty Street: The Social Oppression of Black Children; Pride of Race; and Midnight Blues in the Afternoon and Other Poems.
His contributions to literature and the Black community have been recognized with numerous awards, notably induction into the Gwendolyn Brooks Literary Hall of Fame and inclusion in HistoryMakers.com, a digital archive dedicated to preserving histories of African Americans. Useni’s play “If We Must Die,” about the 1921 Tulsa massacre, earned him an award from The Black Network for Excellence in Playwriting in 2002.
Useni travelled to Ghana extensively, experiences that inspired his picture book on Ghana’s President Kwame Nkrumah years later. In 2007 he was inducted into the Gefia Society in Akatsi, Volta Region, Ghana and installed as their Academic Development Chief under the stool name of Torgbui Perkins Agbale I.
We lift up the memory of Brother Useni, his important work and his commitment to our people, especially our youth. May it continue to inspire us all.
Friday, September 30, 2022
Just Us Books Founders Wade and Cheryl Hudson Receive 2022 Carle Honors Award for Mentorship
Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson, founders of leading independent children's publisher Just Us Books, were recognized for their many contributions to children's literature with a 2022 Carle Honors award from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The award was presented at the Carle Honors Benefit Gala and Art Auction on Thursday, September 29, 2022.at Guastavino’s in New York City.
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| 2022 Carle Honors mentor awardees Wade and Cheryl Hudson photo: Stephan Hudson |
Now in its 16th year, the annual gala and fundraiser celebrates individuals and organizations whose creative vision and long-term dedication have had a profound effect on picture books and the vital role they play in arts appreciation and early literacy.
Wade and Cheryl were honored for their contributions as mentors -- reflected in their more than three decades of work as authors, publishers, and leading advocates for equity, diversity, and inclusion in the children’s book industry.
Fellow honorees were Faith Ringgold (artist award); Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (angel award); and Ajia (bridge award).
A replay of the event is available here.
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| Wade and Cheryl Hudson are interviewed about their award |
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| 2022 Carle Honors awardees photo: Stephan Hudson |
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| Artist and the Hudsons' longtime friend George Ford stands with the print he donated for the auction photo: Stephan Hudson |
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Celebrating the Culture Carriers
There are many ways to share Black history: through books and film, fine and performing arts, for-profit and non-profit work, at home, at school, by teaching, researching, mentoring, storytelling and much more. At Just Us Books our work is centered on sharing our history and stories. This Black History Month we wanted to do a little more.
Every
weekday in February, we spotlighted a Black-owned business, Black-led and
centered organization, or Black creator. This was (and still is) a celebration
of the people and institutions that dig deep to research and share the many
contributions Black people have made to our world. A celebration of those who
provide programs that enrich our minds and our communities. A celebration of
those who create art that helps us learn more about ourselves, and those who
create opportunities for artists to share their work with the world.
These are our culture carriers. Please join us in saluting them.
Ethnicitees LLC Cultural Marketplace
Sean Romon Montague founded Ethnicitees in 1994 with the mission of “raising educational awareness of the historical, global accomplishments of African American/ Black people.” While working as an Art Instructor for Baltimore City Public Schools, he saw a need for an educational product that would teach Black history in a unique way. So he introduced the concept of “Cultural Wearables” – apparel with portraits of Black historical figures. He started with four designs featuring Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Marcus Garvey, and Frederick Douglass, and quickly expanded to include many others – carving their images out of relief print linoleum blocks then screen printing them on shirts. Ethnicitees recently expanded further, opening a retail store at The Bowie Town Center in Bowie, Maryland.
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://www.ethniciteesllc.org/home
If you’ve read the books Crown: Ode to a Fresh Cut; A Wreath for Emmett Till; Defining Moments in Black History and Who’s Gonna Take the Weight, then you know the names Derrick Barnes, Gordon James, Marilyn Nelson, Dick Gregory and Kevin Powell. And that means you also know the great work of Serendipity Literacy Agency and its founder Regina Brooks. Founded in 2000, Serendipity is the largest African-American owned agency in the country. The company represents a diverse base of clients in adult and young adult fiction, non-fiction, and children’s literature – managing business representation, supporting editorial development, and even marketing. And their success shows. Serendipity’s clients have won some of the industry’s top honors including The Coretta Scott King Award, Newbery Honor, Ezra Jack Keats Award, and Glaad Media Award; and have appeared in USA Today, The New York Times, Washington Post, Oprah, BET, TV One and more.
Learn more, support
and spread the word: https://www.serendipitylit.com/
BCP Digital Printing is a short run digital print and document processing company based in Baltimore, Maryland. The family-run company was founded in 1995 as a complimentary business to Black Classic Press, Inc., a publishing company also founded by W. Paul Coates. BCP Digital’s products range from annual reports and magazines to banners and calendars, and its services include binding, digital imaging, shrink wrapping, and lamination. This full suite means not only can BCP Digital print your book, it can produce the marketing material to help you promote your book too.
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://www.bcpdigital.com/
The
African American Children’s Book Project
Every year, on the first Saturday in February, thousands of children, parents, teachers, librarians and book lovers of all kinds brave the cold in the name of good books. To be more specific: good children’s books by and about African Americans. The event is the African American Children’s Bookfair and it’s the marquee initiative of The African American Children’s Book Project, a non-profit created to promote and preserve children’s literature written by or about African Americans.
Under the leadership of its founder, Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, AACBP collaborates with authors, illustrators, publishers, booksellers, educators, consumers, libraries, non-profits and corporations to promote literacy programs across the country. The bookfair is now in its 29th year, and going virtual for the first time. So there’s no cold and no line but still lots of books!
The
African American Children’s Book Fair, held February 6, 2021, drew nearly 3,000
attendees.
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://www.theafricanamericanchildrensbookproject.org/
The inspiration for kweliTV came when DeShuna Spencer, Founder & CEO, was while flipping through cable channels. She was frustrated with the stereotypes, lack of diversity, and limited content options. She wanted documentaries, global Black history, indie films - and she couldn’t find enough of that content on cable or streaming services. So she started her own.
KweliTV’s
mission is to curate and create content that is a true reflection of the global
Black experience. It focuses on high-quality content — film, news, web shows,
kids programming, documentaries and more — produced by independent, globally
diverse and unique filmmakers and journalists. 98 percent of kweliTV’s films
have been official selections at film festivals and 60% of its revenue goes to
content creators. That means a large portion of subscription fees support the
filmmakers who create the content you watch.
Learn
more, support and spread the word: https://www.kweli.tv/
Black
History Mini Docs
Inspiring and entertaining stories of Black trailblazers in under 90 seconds? Soon there will be an app for that. Until then, you can find Black History Mini Docs on social media and blackhistoryminidocs.com The initiative was created by Producer-Director Neema Barnette, whose work includes Women thou Art Loosed: On The 7th Day and Queen Sugar. She works with her husband Reed R. McCants, also an award-winning filmmaker, to chronicle the contributions and achievements of well-known people such as Harriet Tubman, Nelson Mandela, Thurgood Marshall, James Baldwin and Angela Davis as well as un-sung heroes in the Black community. In addition to Mini Docs, they posts daily tributes as an extension of their work to educate people about the contributions Black people have made to US history.
The Brown Bookshelf
Children’s books by award-winning and veteran Black creators are more visible and accessible these days, but how can you find new Black authors and illustrators or great books that have flown under the radar? Enter The Brown Bookshelf. Formed by Paula Chase and Varian Johnson in a collaboration with author Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrator Don Tate, BBS promotes awareness of the many diverse Black people creating books for young readers. Its flagship initiative is 28 Days Later, a month-long showcase of the best in children’s and young adult books written and illustrated by Black creators. In short, it centers Black authors and illustrators whose work should be shared year-round.
Learn more, support and spread the word https://thebrownbookshelf.com
The web domain is LoveBlackgirls.org and simply reading the names of their projects is enough to inspire. The Chisholm Project educates Black girls and the community through policy analysis and by developing policy. The Colvin Project provides a summer institute where girls who have made difficult choices meet, fellowship and learn skills that aid them in overcoming personal challenges while supporting their sense of self. The Hamer Project focuses on our communities’ holistic well-being through human rights education, including legal clinics.
These
are just a few initiatives of The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects. The
Jackson, Mississippi based organization offers leadership development for Black
girls and women, addressing the whole person: physical, emotional, spiritual
and social wellbeing. Founder and president Natalie Collier created the
Lighthouse from her dream to see Black girls recognized. Her organization’s
work ensures that Black “girls and young women are supported and uplifted so
they, too, can dream their own dreams and realize them on their terms.”
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://loveblackgirls.org
Say It Loud Readers
and Writers
Say It Loud! Readers and Writers brings communities together through literature. Educational consultant and literacy advocate Patrick Oliver founded Say It Loud to support educational and community organizations in implementing innovative literary arts projects and programs. Since 1997, the organization has worked with educators and administrators across the country to decrease the literacy achievement gap and empower students. Poetry, narrative, prose, rap, vision boards are all tools Patrick and his team use to teach young people the power of visualizing dreams and planning their goals early and often. Say It Loud also features a speakers bureau that connects young Black students with authors and illustrators who look like them. How impactful is that representation? This testimonial from a Little Rock organization says it all: “This was one of the most phenomenal experiences we’ve been able to bring to our students. When the students heard the author shout out to them they screamed to the top of their lungs with excitement and pride. The students ask everyday “what book are we reading next and who is the author?” As Patrick often says, who got next?
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://www.speakloudly.com/
Because
of Them We Can
It began in February 2013 as a photo campaign where children appeared as iconic Black history figures. Eunique Jones Gibson was inspired by her sons to teach Black history while connecting the dots between the past, present and future. Today, Because of Them We Can® is a full movement powered by an online platform that reaches millions every month. Perhaps the best known project of the movement is the Because of Them We Can (BOTWC) Box. The first Black history subscription box for kids, it’s a curated learning experience that uses branded apparel, educational activities, and other products to help children learn about Black history makers, organizations and movements.
Learn more, support and spread the word https://www.becauseofthemwecan.com
Learn more and spread the word: https://www.thehistorymakers.org/
Its productions focus on racial literacy, social justice, and color-conscious casting. The latest, premiering this Thursday, Feb. 18, is “How Black Performers Peeled the Tar off Blackface: Setting the Stage for American Musical Theater,” which explores the history of minstrelsy and how Black producers, playwrights, and composers used this form of entertainment as a catalyst to change the narrative and begin telling their own stories.
The organization
presenting this critical work is Vanguard Theater Company, whose mission is to
change the narrative through theater dedicated to DREAM: Diversity,
Reciprocity, Education, Activism & Mentorship. The Company’s presented its latest
work on February 18 during a video presentation and conversation featuring
Vanguard's Founding Artistic Director, Janeece Freeman Clark; singer-filmmaker
and founder of the Living Heritage Foundation, Susheel Bibbs; and Professor of
English and Director of the African American Studies program for Boston
University, Louis Chude-Sokei. Preview the production here: https://vimeo.com/512715482
Eyeseeme
Their mission is to be a resource to parents, teachers and schools who need children’s books that promote a positive reflection of African-American culture and history. And Pamela and Jeffrey Blair achieve that mission through their bookstore: EyeSeeMe.
EyeSeeMe is the only children’s bookstore devoted exclusively to African American centered books. Based in University City, MO, the family owned and operated business is a full service bookstore with both a retail location and online store. Their selection is diverse; they have classroom sets and book bundles, a subscription service, and audio books. They also go beyond traditional book sales, offering community bookfairs, a reading mentorship program, and cultural presentations. If you follow them on Facebook, you’ll can catch live storytime featuring Ms. Tracey reading one of thousands of books in EyeSeeMe’s collection.
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://www.eyeseeme.com/
GirlTrek is walking inspiration. The nation’s largest public health nonprofit for African-American women and girls it was founded by best friends, Vanessa Garrison and Morgan Dixon, and encourages women to use walking as a practical first step toward healthy living, families, and communities. Their vision is a health movement “grounded in civil rights history and principles through walking campaigns, community leadership, and health advocacy." They make that grounding easy and accessible through projects like the Black History Bootcamp. The series challenges participants to walk for 30 mins a day for 21 days while listening to podcast episodes dedicated to a Black person or moment in history. They produced three podcast seasons in 2020 — each focused on a different theme but all leaving listeners with new insight and inspiration.
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://www.girltrek.org
Dare to Be King
Author David Miller founded the Dare to Be King Project to inspire Black boys and men by supporting the organizations that serve them. David recognized that some organizations had the passion to do good work, but did not have the programmatic expertise to realize their vision. So he structured Dare to Be King to focus on strong partnerships, strategies, and solutions-oriented approaches that would help organizations create effective, high-impact programming. The organization has four focus areas: academic success/growth, emotional development, healthy notions of manhood/masculinity and familial reconciliation. Services include after school program design, mentorship transformation, curriculum design, and administrative consultation; support materials range from books to curricula to workshops. Community partners have called the organization’s work essential and a game changer: “From positive identity to decision making and problem solving, [Dare to Be King] helps African American boys successfully navigate their way into adulthood.”
Learn more, support and spread the word: http://daretobeking.net
“I don’t sell books just sell books and make money. It’s because what I want to is share our story, make sure our story gets out and doesn’t get distorted.” Troy Johnson, founder & webmaster, AALBC
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://aalbc.com
Learn more, support, and spread the word: https://sesimag.com
Bisa Butler
Her subjects are African Americans from ordinary walks of life. Their photographs may have been captured during a family portrait or taken by a passing photographer. Either way, their often untold stories inspire artist Bisa Butler and she takes that inspiration to her fabric to create art quilts.
In
2020, her portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai was featured
as a cover for Time Magazine’s special issue honoring the 100 Women of the
Year. “Bisa Butler: Portraits” is currently on exhibit at the Art Institute of
Chicago. Learn more about Bisa and her work at: https://www.bisabutler.com
Third World Press Foundation
The year was 1967. Haki R. Madhubuti, then known as Don L. Lee, took a $400 honorarium he received from a poetry reading and a used mimeograph machine, to found what would become one of the most influential Black institutions in the nation: Third World Press. One of his goals was to cultivate a broader readership of individuals who wanted to gain greater insight into African American cultural traditions. He had the support of luminaries like Margaret Burroughs, Dudley Randall, Gwendolyn Brooks and others who were committed to Black Arts and empowerment movements. For more than 50 years, the Press has been dedicated to publishing a rich tradition of African American writing, with a list that includes work by Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Mari Evans, Margaret Walker, Sterling Plumpp, John Henrik Clarke, Useni Eugene Perkins, Pearl Cleage, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Marc Lamont Hill, Tony Medina, Wade Hudson, and of course its founder Haki Madhubuti. Today, Third World Press Foundation is the oldest independent publisher of Black thought and literature in the U.S.
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://thirdworldpressfoundation.org
The “shortest trip to Africa without getting on a plane" - Pan-African Connection is a bookstore, art gallery and resource center that specializes in the history, health and forward movement of African people. Founded in 1989 by Bandele Tyehimba, the Dallas-based store has one of the largest online retail African art galleries in the world. When Bandele died in 2012, his wife Akwete stepped up to keep the business running and daughter Adjwoa Tyehimba later came on board serving as the CFO. In addition to books and art, the Center also sells clothes, learning materials, jewelry and natural hair care products all in support of its vision: Connecting African people scattered globally with our great history, culture and collective strength, uniting Africa and African Peoples, and the upliftment of humanity worldwide.
Learn more, support and spread the word: https://www.panafricanconnection.com