Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter

by Shani Mahiri King, Bobby C. Martin Jr (Illustrator)

Overview

Booklist Star

A tender and powerful affirmation that Black lives have always mattered.

Black lives matter. That message would be self-evident in a just world, but in this world and this America, all children need to hear it again and again, and not just to hear it but to feel and know it.

This book affirms the message repeatedly, tenderly, with cumulative power and shared pride. Celebrating Black accomplishments in music, art, literature, journalism, politics, law, science, medicine, entertainment, and sports, Shani King summons a magnificent historical and contemporary context for honoring the fortitude of Black role models, women and men, who have achieved greatness despite the grinding political and social constraints on Black life. Frederick Douglass, Toni Morrison, Sojourner Truth, John Lewis, Langston Hughes, Louis Armstrong, Maya Angelou, Aretha Franklin, and many more pass through these pages. An America without their struggles, aspirations, and contributions would be a shadow of the country we know.  A hundred life sketches augment the narrative, opening a hundred doors to lives and thinking that aren’t included in many history books. James Baldwin’s challenge is here: “We are responsible for the world in which we find ourselves, if only because we are the only sentient force which can change it.” Actress Viola Davis’s words are here, too: “When I was younger, I did not exert my voice because I did not feel worthy of having a voice. I was taught so many things that didn’t include me. Where was I? What were people like me doing?”

This book tells children what people like Viola were and are doing, and it assures Black children that they are, indisputably, worthy of having a voice.

Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter? is a book for this time and always. It is time for all children to live and breathe the certainty that Black lives matter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884488897
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	01/19/2021
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	1,036,686
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.25(d)
Lexile:	1010L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Shani Mahiri King is Vice Dean and a professor at Rutgers Law School, where he is also the director of the Center for Immigration Law, Policy and Justice. Shani is the father of two, for whom he wrote the picture books Have I Ever Told You? and Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter?


Bobby C. Martin Jr (Brooklyn, NY) is co-founder of Champions Design, a branding and design agency headquartered in New York City, where he has worked with a wide range of clients including Dartmouth College, For Freedoms, the Girl Scouts, MTV, the NBA, and The Studio Museum in Harlem. In 2019, Champions Design was named one of the 30 Most Important Companies in Design by Fast Company. Bobby has won numerous international awards from the AIGA, Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, D&AD, and the TDC, among others. He is a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts, where he earned an MFA. Bobby’s design credits include the June 24,2020 New York Times Sunday magazine cover “What Is Owed” and the February 2020 cover of The Atlantic magazine honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Read an Excerpt

Have I told you that we have never, ever accepted that Black lives don’t matter? Not Frederick, Harriet, Sojourner, Martin, Rosa, Malcolm, or Nelson?  

We have always known and you must remember that Black lives matter.  

W. E. B. knew that Black lives matter. He preached about Black equality and liberation and would be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with us today.  

Have I ever told you that?  

Have I told you that we have long been world-acclaimed poets and authors—Zora, Richard, Langston, James, Ralph, Maya, Toni, Ta-Nehisi, and so many others—affirming with powerful voices that Black lives matter?  

Have I ever told you that?

Editorial Reviews

"Black history and culture come alive in this celebratory biography, whose fresh, pop art-style bursts with color and creatively sized and set sanserif font, which is as much a part of the illustrations as the many portraits and sleek silhouettes. Taking cues from the street art created during recent Black Lives Matter protests and say-their-name campaigns born of racism and such tragedies as the murder of Breonna Taylor, this book powerfully reflects current events and attitudes, while raising up Black Americans past and present. Over 116 figures are name dropped within an inspiring array of fields, literally filling the space with a host of groundbreaking individuals: dancers, journalists, writers, community activists, lawyers, politicians, judges, artists,and illustrators. As readers turn each page, they will notice enlarged text, typically a famous quote or affirming rallying cry, accompanied by a list of names connected to that spread's topic.Teachers will find this an excellent book to use with students, both as a springboard for Black history lessons and cross-curricular studies as well as inspiration for research projects and creative activities for students, like creating their own #BLM word clouds or Black history collages of famous leaders. A brief biographical listing for each person featured in the text rounds out this empowering, fiery speech of a book."

Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter - Booklist (Starred Review) - Tiffany Flowers

"This book is alive. Reading it - and it must be read out loud - gives your voice meaning and poetry. King's powerful words, combined with Martin's vibrant graphics, feel like a parade, a celebration, an inspiration and an affirmation - Black lives matter. "

Books4YourKids - Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter

"This gorgeous new release is a testament to how beautiful typography can influence a book’s design. A combination of bright colors, silhouettes, and names decorate the pages inviting the reader to take it all in. The text is magnificent, and I love the design choice of having a wide variety of colors throughout the book. The text meanders around the page, taking the reader on a physical journey on the page and throughout history while speaking directly to them. This book is bold and celebratory. In the back is extensive information about those quoted in the beginning pages. Each name mentioned in the back (after a note from Shani) has a quote from the individual before the biographical information. In short, there is a plethora of historical knowledge in between these bright purple covers. It could be used and studied all year long, and it absolutely should be! Absolutely required reading in middle school classrooms, I can’t wait to return to it again and again."

Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter - The Tiny Activist - Corrie Locke-Hardy

"...The book’s narrative rhythms portray time as a river of swirling currents as opposed to points on a straight line. King’s long view of history connects the past strongly to the present, and vice versa. A mention of Colin Kaepernick expands to include Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Black athletes who bravely protested at the 1968 Olympics. A mention of Ida B. Wells sends us cascading through generations of journalists who have followed in her stead, including Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Yamiche Alcindor. In the world King has created, Jean Toomer occupies the same space as Jacqueline Woodson, and it’s but a small leap from Josephine Baker to Gregory Hines. At strategic intervals the narrator wisely reasserts — plainly — that Black lives matter..."

2 Picture Books Celebrate the Poetry and Promise of Black Lives - New York Times Book Review - Jabari Asim

"A children's tome filled with Black excellence, celebrating — and providing the historical context for — accomplishments of Black musicians, artists, journalists, politicians, scientists, and more. It goes without saying that this book offers something to adults as well as kids."

The Best Books to keep you Warm this January - Entertainment Weekly - Seija Rankin

"According to the preface, the goal here is to help kids, specifically Black kids, learn to believe in themselves. Mission accomplished. In this bold homage to the Black experience, they can access a birthright of struggle, excellence and resilience. On poster-like pages, words dominate in wildly varied font sizes. They march and scramble across bright pages, filled with quotations, commentary and a few abstract portraits. From Crispus Attucks to Simone Biles, Black achievers are enumerated — writers, musicians, journalists, athletes, academics, artists, scientists, moviemakers, politicians and public servants, 116 in all. (Check out their useful thumbnail bios.) The big takeaway: “You are valued. We are valued. Your life matters.”"

You are Valued: 7 Books to Empower Black Children - San Francisco Chronicle - Susan Faust

★ 02/01/2021

Gr 3–7—This inspiring title chronicles African American accomplishments from the Revolutionary War to the present. On alternating pages, the question, "Have I ever told you that…?" is posed, then answered by focusing on important Black trailblazers in disciplines such as science, arts, and politics. Each colorful page features bold fonts that vary in size and outlined portraits that resemble pop art. King's introduction explains the need for Black children to see themselves in young people's literature. He hopes that readers will understand that "all people—including native peoples; people of color; people with disabilities; ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities; and LGBTQIA" are integral to the fabric of America. Following the main text, short biographies provide further information. This unique format works for a wide range of reading levels. The intention of Black empowerment can be achieved with these inspiring role models, and the eye-catching design enhances the powerful message. This book will appeal to fans of Kwame Alexander's The Undefeated. VERDICT A must-purchase that will empower Black children, and expand all readers' knowledge of African American history.—Katherine Rao, Palos Verdes Lib. Dist., CA

School Library Journal

2020-11-18
Colorful pages introduce the names of historical and contemporary African American figures to young readers.

This follow-up to King’s picture book Have I Ever Told You, illustrated by Anna Horváth (2019), gets specific in its affirmation of Black lives. From “the very first person to die for [the] dream” of American independence, Crispus Attucks, through the freedom fighters down the ages who always knew that Black lives matter, the writers and artists who affirmed the same, and the statespeople who “worked to build a better world,” the unnamed adult narrator leads child readers in a direct address through pages of names to drive home the fact that “Black lives matter.” The litany is rhythmic and powerful, punctuated all along the way with “Have I told you…?” The historical and contemporary examples of Black excellence effectively build up a sense of confidence and indisputable value before the Black lives cut short by violence are named, so that these acts of violence are seen in proper context as wrongful denial of a birthright. Each spread splashes words in large display type on brightly colored pages, making the eye wander, then linger. Some spreads feature images or silhouettes of iconic individuals using the same bright palette. While the first pages list names within categories, the final pages offer minibiographies of those 116 individuals, in encyclopedia-style columns with small type in bright colors against a light blue background.

Best for curious nonfiction lovers or for reference, this unconventionally designed book fulfills its purpose. (Nonfiction. 6-12)

Kirkus Reviews