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June is African American Music Month! As usual, there are far too many influential Black musicians to name all of them in a single blog post, but these books will give a good start!
Music is how the boys and I got started reading books about diverse Americans in the first place. I found a few children’s books for African American Music Month (also known as Black Music Month) at the library (including the Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald books listed below), we read the books together, and then listened to the music. It was such a fun way to integrate what we learned about, and eventually this branched into other people and topics, like reading books about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and listening to the “I have a dream” speech…and eventually the pile of books we read became this blog.
Why Do We Have African American Appreciation Month?
President Jimmy Carter designated June as African American Music Appreciation Month in 1979 as a time to honor the incredible contributions of African Americans to music as we know it.
“Music is what feelings sound like.”
Music connects us to each other. African American folk and spiritual music were brought to the United States when enslavement ships first landed on American shores in the 1600s, and have heavily influenced American music ever since – everything from ragtime to blues to jazz, to soul, to R&B, hip hop, and rap has been created by African American musicians creating new unique methods and sounds.
As you read these books, be sure to look up their music and listen to these incredible artists.
Note: The Radical Agenda believes in supporting independent bookstores over big box stores, so we share book links using Bookshop.org. Click on the picture to order your copy of the books that catch your eye, and thank you for supporting small businesses around the country!
Swing Sisters: The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm by Karen Deans, illustrated by Joe Cepeda
Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil Rights Activist Nina Simone by Alice Brière-Haquet, illustrated by Bruno Liance
Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuoso by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Duke Ellington by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Just a Lucky So and So: The Story of Louis Armstrong by Lesa Cline-Randsome, illustrated by James Ransome
R-E-S-P-E-C-T Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison
Trombone Shorty by Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Dark Was the Night: Blind Willie Johnson’s Journey to the Stars by Gary Golio, illustrated by E.B Lewis
Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis, Illustrated by George Ford
Birth of the Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound by Kathleen Cornell Berman, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown
Kendrick Lamar Story Book: The Rapper Who Inspires the World by Toni G. Brooks
