Doing the Work

Founders Wade Hudson, Cheryl Willis Hudson, Paul Coates,
Haki Madhubuti and Kassahoun Checole speak at IBPA's
Legends of Black Independent Publishing panel

As we start the second week of Black History Month, we hope this post will be an encouraging reminder of companies that are doing the work. Institutions that have made sharing our stories their mission. Black-owned publishers that celebrate Black people, Black culture, and Black histories in their books all year round. We’re proud to be one of them.

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

Universal Write Publications - publishes a variety of topics through the framework of Black scholars who write through the African lens. https://uwpbooks.com 

Urban Ministries, Inc. - publisher of books, magazines, curricula, and more for African and African American churches since 1970.  https://urbanministries.com

And this is just a start. Comment below to shout out other Black-owned book publishers that are doing this important work!

Good Trouble

One of the most popular questions we get at speaking events, after “how do I get my book published” is: “what can I do to better support Just Us Books and diverse children’s books in general?”

We appreciate the question. It signals that people know they can help drive the change they want to see. At the 2024 Children’s Institute in New Orleans, I spoke to a group of people who are in a unique position to ensure these books are available: booksellers. But the spirit of my message applies to us all, and I’d like to share a few lines with you:

“I encourage all of you to be involved in helping to make sure books that can enrich, inform, uplift, inspire, sometimes rescue, and yes, entertain our youth in this too often challenging and difficult world are available to them."

It takes all of us: booksellers, parents, extended family members, educators, librarians, program directors, community members. Buy the books, borrow them from your library, ask for them at bookstores, share them with young people, push for them to be considered for school and summer reading lists, share them on social media and talk about them in person. We must all play a more active and intentional role in supporting diverse books and ensuring they are accessible.

Kudos to the American Booksellers Association for playing their part in this work. They made a concerted effort to ensure the Children’s Institute was more inclusive and that more BIPOC publishers and booksellers had platforms to be seen and heard, such as the Spotlight on Black Publishing panel, where Cheryl spoke. This year’s workshops and panels also tackled important issues we’re facing, including book banning, which has removed thousands of books — many by BIPOC and LGBTQ creators — from library shelves and school curricula.

During my talk at the Rep Picks Luncheon, I spoke about book banning and how we can fight back, quoting the great John Lewis’ call to make “good trouble.” A number of publishers and booksellers thanked me for my words. What’s clear is this work is about more than sales and profitability, although both are important to sustain any business. It’s about ensuring our children are represented and affirmed in the books they read and that they can see themselves in history, the present, and the future. I’m glad to see more of us are in for the good fight and I hope even more join.

Wade Hudson
CEO and Co-Founder
Just Us Books

Read more about the 2024 Children’s Institute in Publishers Weekly.