The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Coretta Scott King Book Award Round Table, part of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

(ALA). Named for

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his assassination in 1968. As an advocate for African-Ameri ...

, wife of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

, this award recognizes outstanding books for young adults and children by

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

that reflect the African American experience. Awards are given both to authors and to illustrators for universal human values. The first author award was given in 1970. In 1974, the award was expanded to honor illustrators as well as authors. Starting in 1978, runner-up Author Honor Books have been recognized. Recognition of runner-up Illustrator Honor Books began in 1981. In addition, the Coretta Scott King Awards committee has given the Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, starting in 2010, and beginning in 1996 an occasional John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Like the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

and

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

, the Coretta Scott King Awards have the potential to be used in classroom teaching and projects.

History

The idea for the Coretta Scott King Award came from Glyndon Flynt Greer, a school librarian in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

. At a meeting of the American Library Association in Atlantic City in 1969, Greer, librarian Mabel McKissick, and publisher John M. Carroll, lamented the lack of recognition for minority writers. No person of color had won either the Newbery or Caldecott Medals at that time. Before the conference ended, a group of African American librarians had formed to promote the creation of a new award. Among them were

Augusta Braxton Baker Augusta Braxton Baker (April 1, 1911 – February 23, 1998) was an American librarian and storyteller. She was known for her contributions to children's literature, especially regarding the portrayal of Black Americans in works for children. E ...

, Charlemae Hill Rollins, and

Virginia Lacy Jones Virginia Lacy Jones (June 25, 1912 – December 3, 1984) was an American librarian who throughout her 50-year career in the field pushed for the integration of public and academic libraries. She was one of the first African Americans to earn a ...

. The award's name was intentionally chosen to honor recently assassinated

and his wife,

. The name also commemorates the life of King Jr. and honors the dedication Coretta Scott King had to making the world a place that welcomes all people. The first Coretta Scott King Award was presented to Lillie Patterson, a librarian in Baltimore, for her elementary level biography ''Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace''. Early sponsors of the award included the New Jersey Library Association, and the library councils of the Englewood Middle School and

Dwight Morrow High School Dwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from ...

.With support from Roger McDonough, the third annual Coretta Scott King Award was presented during the American Library Association's 1972 Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The award was briefly sponsored by the School of Library and Information Studies at

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the Southe ...

from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, a separate awards committee and an advisory board of mostly local librarians were formed, co-chaired by

Ella Gaines Yates Ella Gaines Yates (June 14, 1927 – June 27, 2006) was an American librarian who served as the first African-American director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System in Georgia. Early life and education Yates was born into a well known and ...

. In 1974, the award was expanded to honor illustrators as well as authors. The first illustrator to receive the award was George Ford, for his work in illustrating ''Ray Charles'' by Sharon Bell Mathis. Starting in 1978, the runner-ups for the author prize were listed as Honor Books, and beginning in 1981 the illustrator runner-ups were also listed as Honor Books. In 1979, the awards committee and the advisory board merged, forming the Coretta Scott King Award Task Force. With support from

E. J. Josey Elonnie J. Josey (January 20, 1924 – July 3, 2009) was an African-Americans, American activist and librarian. Josey was the first chair of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, having been instrumental in its formation in 1970; s ...

, the new committee became part of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) of the American Library Association. Greer served as its first chair until her death on 24 August 1980. Harriet Brown then became acting chair. Brown was succeeded by

Effie Lee Morris Effie Lee Morris (April 20, 1921 – November 9, 2009) was an African American children's librarian, educator, and activist, best known for her pioneering public library services for minorities and the visually-impaired. Morris developed Clevelan ...

in 1981. Under Morris' leadership, the Coretta Scott King Awards were officially recognized by the executive board of the ALA. Morris wrote formal selection criteria for the awards to meet ALA's standards, and the Coretta Scott King Awards were accepted as an ALA unit award in 1982, the twelfth year that they had been given. Winning books receive a medal; honor books receive a certificate. Winning and honor books are identified by the presence on their covers of the Coretta Scott King Award Seal. The original seal was designed by artist Lev Mills in 1974, with a bronze seal on winning books and a pewter seal on honor books. In a later revision of the seal, the colors changed to bronze and black for winners, and pewter and black for honors. The award eventually changed its ALA affiliation from the SRRT to the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT), which had previously been a task force of the SRRT and was a closer match for its activities. In 2022 The Coretta Scott King Book Award was designated an official ALA Round Table: the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Round Table. Dr. Henrietta M. Smith edited four volumes, published by the American Library Association, that provide a history of the award. ''The Coretta Scott King Awards: 50th Anniversary'' was published in 2019 on the Award's 50th anniversary. From 1996 on, the Coretta Scott King Awards program includes the John Steptoe Award for New Talent, optionally awarded to an author, an illustrator, or both.

Recipients

Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

From 2010 the Coretta Scott King Awards include the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, or Virginia Hamilton Award. It is presented to creators and practitioners alternately: in even years, to an African American writer or illustrator of books for children or young adults; in odd years, to a practitioner for "active engagement with youth using award-winning African American literature for children and/or young adults, via implementation of reading and reading related activities/programs." * 2010:

Walter Dean Myers Walter Dean Myers (born Walter Milton Myers; August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was an American writer of children's books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem, New York City ...

, author * 2011: Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith, professor emerita,

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

, School of Information. * 2012:

Ashley Bryan Ashley Frederick Bryan (July 13, 1923February 4, 2022) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Most of his subjects are from the African-American experience. He was a U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2 ...

, storyteller, artist, author, poet, and musician * 2013: Demetria Tucker, family and youth services librarian for the Pearl Bailey Library, a branch of the Newport News (Va.) Public Library System * 2014:

Patricia Patricia is a feminine given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning 'noble', it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. Another we ...

and

Fredrick McKissack Fredrick Lemuel "Fred" McKissack, Sr. (August 12, 1939 – April 28, 2013) was an American writer, best known for collaborating with his wife, Patricia C. McKissack, on more than 100 children's books about the history of African-Americans. The M ...

, children's authors * 2015: Deborah D. Taylor, young adult librarian * 2016:

Jerry Pinkney Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addresse ...

, illustrator * 2017: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, professor emerita of education at Ohio State University * 2018:

Eloise Greenfield Eloise Greenfield (May 17, 1929 – August 5, 2021) was an American children's book and biography author and poet famous for her descriptive, rhythmic style and positive portrayal of the African-American experience. After college, Greenfield bega ...

, author * 2019: Dr. Pauletta Brown Bracy, professor of library science and director of the Office of University Accreditation at North Carolina Central University * 2020: Mildred Taylor, author * 2021: Dorothy L. Guthrie, retired librarian, district administrator, author and school board member * 2022:

Nikki Grimes Nikki Grimes (born October 20, 1950) is an American author of books written for children and young adults, as well as a poet and journalist. Background and career Grimes was born in Harlem, New York. In a conversation with a Reading Is Fundament ...

, author * 2023: Dr. Claudette McLinn, retired librarian and bookseller *2024:

Christopher Paul Curtis Christopher Paul Curtis (born May 10, 1953)Judy Levin, Allison Stark Draper, ''Christopher Paul Curtis'' (The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005), , p. 84. Excerptsat Google Books. Retrieved 2015-07-25. is an American children's book author. His f ...

, author *2025: Carolyn L. Garnes, public library director and founder of Aunt Lil’s Reading Room

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:King Award, Coretta Scott American children's literary awards American librarianship and human rights American Library Association awards Awards established in 1970 Awards honoring African Americans Coretta Scott King Illustrated book awards Literary awards honoring minority groups English-language literary awards American Library Association

History

Recipients

Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

See also

References

External links