Kuumba

Since my book's debut, it has been my mission to share the story with as many kids as I can. I've participated in national events like the Multicultural Book Festival at the Kennedy Center and African American Children's Book Fair, presented at regional conferences and given author visits at many libraries and schools.

But in honor of the upcoming anniversary -- October 16 -- I'd like to share One Million Men and Me in a new way. Beginning Oct. 9 and ending on the 16th, I will do a virtual book tour that will include blog Q&As, new printable activities, giveaways and more.

Please join my FaceBook author page for multicultural book recommendations, news about my writing and updates on the virtual book tour. Thanks so much for your support.

Kuumba is a stop on her virtual book tour. Here she talks about her new book, the importance of people of all races celebrating black history and future projects:

Q: You’ve written several books about African-American history. How did you become interested in that topic?

A: I first started researching African-American history when a publisher requested a proposal on this topic. As I read through the books I got from the library, I was surprised that I had never heard of these events or individuals before. They weren’t in textbooks I’d had in school when I was a child. And I didn’t see this information in the textbooks my sons had in school. I became determined to share what I’d found with others.

Q: What does it mean to you to celebrate black history?

A: I love celebrating black history all year long. For instance, my family and I were traveling back to PA to visit my family a couple of years ago. We specifically arranged our schedule so that we were in Philadelphia on Juneteenth. We joined a small crowd waiting for the Richard Allen Museum to open early that morning. A reporter was there and interviewed all of us asking us why we chose to visit the museum as part of Juneteenth. After that, we went to the African American Museum of Philadelphia where a Juneteenth celebration was being held. We heard an actor portray Frederick Douglass and give one his speeches. It was so powerful and inspiring to us all! I try to learn more and also share what I’ve learned about African American history in as many ways as possible all through the year. In fact, I have a website where I’m inviting teachers and classrooms all across America to help celebrate African American history all year long. It’s at http://www.50niftystatestour.wordpress.com/

Q: What do you hope young people take away from your books?

A: I want today’s youth to be proud about these heroes from reading about America’s Black Founding Fathers and Mothers in my book. I want them to be inspired to follow the example of these amazing men and women who helped found our nation.

Q: Your latest, America’s Black Founders: Revolutionary Heroes and Early Leaders explores the lives of African-American patriots who helped the country rise to greatness. What drew you to these stories?
A: The main thing that drew me in first to these men and women was their faith. It was also their passion and their love for humankind. I was drawn to their ability to forge trails of freedom where no one had stepped before, so that others could follow in their footsteps. I want to follow in their footsteps today!

Q: Why do you think they are so often overlooked?

A: This is a complex issue. I asked myself that question so many times as I searched through the archives of history. There is no easy answer. My search led me back to the days before the slave trade began when Africa was a center of culture and learning during the Middle Ages. For instance, Greek scholars traveled to Timbuktu to conduct research in the amazing libraries there. Others traveled from the known corners of the world to Kano in present day Nigeria as a hub of education, knowledge, and trade. When the slave trade started, highly educated African men, women, and children were kidnapped, many dying on the way to North and South America. A significant number of these were from royal lineage. Those Africans who survived the journey across the Atlantic were stripped of their identity and appeared uneducated due to their lack of English and from their suffering at the hands of the brutality of the slave system. At that time, many of the American colonists, including the colonial leaders, were ignorant of the fact that Africa was a glorious nation and that the people now in their midst had come from such an advanced culture. There was no Internet or TV to show people the truth. The large scale destruction of the slave trade quickly wiped away the evidence of the past and left generations of scars for both blacks and whites. Omitting the truth from newspapers and books about what really happened and how African Americans helped found America as leaders and preachers and community organizers just became part of the terrible effect the slave trade had on everyone it touched. Fortunately, many original documents still exist today. This enables people from our generation to help tell the truth about America’s Black Founders’ important contributions during the founding years of our country.

Q: Please share about a few of the stories that moved you.

A: I read that in 1773, four slaves signed their name to a petition on behalf of the enslaved community in Boston requesting, among other things, the right to work for themselves in order to raise money to move back to Africa. Peter Bestes, Sambo Freeman, Felix Holbrook, and Chester Joie were willing to endanger their lives by signing their names on behalf of their fellow brothers and sisters in chains.

One of the most moving stories I learned about was how Prince Hall, a leader of Boston’s free black community, reacted when he learned that three of Boston’s free black citizens had been kidnapped and sold as slaves in the West Indies. Prince Hall and the free blacks of Boston petitioned the General Court of Massachusetts. John Hancock, the governor of Massachusetts at the time was so influenced by this petition that he contacted the government in the West Indies and had the men set free and returned safely home to Boston. Meanwhile, the General Court of Massachusetts was so affected that they voted to outlaw the slave trade entirely in their state.

I was also moved by how James Forten, one of Philadelphia’s wealthiest merchants and leader of that city’s free black community, heard the Declaration of Independence read out loud for the very first time. He was just a youth at the time. Years later, he often recalled how it stirred his heart in a powerful way. Forten went on to enlist on a privateer to help protect American waters from British warships during the American Revolution. After the war, he became one of the city’s foremost abolitionists. When the American Colonists Society tried to force free blacks to move back to Africa, James Forten said, “We are contented in the land that gave us birth, and which many of us fought for, and many of our Fathers fought and died for, during the war which established our independence.”

Q: Research is a hallmark of your work. Could you please talk about your process of researching America’s Black Founders?
A: I was in the middle of writing this book when Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham published the outstanding encyclopedia set, the African American National Biography. It had so much important research presented in it about the men and women I was writing about in my book. I would drive a distance to the Riverside Public Library to read it and gather research. Oh, how I wished I owned a set of my own, but they were just too expensive. One day, however, I was attending a local book convention in Los Angeles, the American Library Association (ALA). It was five minutes before closing and I spotted the encyclopedia set at one of the displays. My husband and I stopped to hold the beautiful volumes in our hands and browse through the amazing information. A sales rep approached us and explained that when they convention ended in 5 minutes, they had to sell everything there in the display because it was too costly to ship all the books back to the warehouse. They offered us the entire set for half price! My wish came true! I was able to use those books as the definitive resource for all my research, and I treasure them as some of my favorite books of all.

Q: What tips would you offer to others who would like to write non-fiction?

A: Build your own research library. Not only will this save you hours of research and frequent trips to the library, but soon you’ll be surrounded by books that are like treasured friends. Plus, you can use your research books over and over again to write about favorite topics in various genres. Make it your goal to specialize on a favorite topic that you’re passionate about and you’ll be amazed at the doors of opportunity that will open wide to write about that topic.

Q: You bring this era to life for kids with hands-on activities such as making colonial food, designing a flag, stuffing a straw mattress and exploring their family tree. Why is it important to offer these types of connections?
A: It’s important to make learning fun for kids and to also make it real. The activities in this book, as well as in the entire “For Kids” series by Chicago Review Press are based on real history and presented in a way that kids feel like “they were there.” By doing these activities, kids aren’t just learning a list of facts they’ll soon forget, they are experiencing history!

Q: African-American history is still not fully integrated into many school curriculums. Why is it important for parents of all races to fill in the gaps? And what will it take to turn things around?
A: The information I present in America’s Black Founders is cutting edge material, much of it not ever presented to children in this capacity before. Even if a school’s curriculum might choose to add this information, it won’t reach the hands of children for a number of years due to the time it takes to publish and the schedule schools take to adopt new material. Our generation of children need to learn about these African American Founding Fathers and Mothers now. That’s where parents fill the gap. We need to give our kids heroes, both black and white. We need to teach America’s youth about these great leaders who influenced the building of our nation in powerful ways so that they can stand up and carry the torch of freedom into America’s future.

How can we do this? Books can help. I truly believe that books are powerful tools to help spread the word. It’s books like your picture book, One Million Men and Me, that give knowledge. And knowledge empowers. That’s why I love what you’re doing on one of your blogs this month with The Brown Bookshelf and The 28 Days Later Campaign. The more we can let parents and teachers know about books featuring African American history and the truth about our nation’s African American leaders and heroes, the more the next generation will be empowered to take a stand for freedom. Thank you for putting together these amazing resources for parents and teachers.

Q: What’s next for you?
A: I have two new books scheduled to come out in Spring, 2010. Black Abolitionists: Lighting the Way to Freedom is a collection of primary source documents from African American leaders from the era leading up to the Civil War. My second book is the start of a 4-book middle-grade novel historical fiction series called Black Patriots in the American Revolution. The first book, A Dangerous Search, takes place from the first battle in the war at Lexington to the Battle of Bunker Hill and follows minutemen such as Prince Estabrook, Peter Salem, Salem Poor, and Barzillai Lew.

I’m currently writing the book, Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Beginning Readers and Chapter Books. This is the second book in my how-to-write series for children’s writers. The first is Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Children’s Books, Get Them Published, and Build a Successful Writing Career. In it I share step-by-step strategies to implement that I’ve used to build a career as a children’s writer. I want other children’s writers to experience success, too!