This YA biography-in-verse of six important Black Americans from different eras, including Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama, chronicles the diverse ways each fought racism and shows how much—and how little—has changed for Black Americans since our country’s founding.Full of daring escapes, deep emotion, and subtle lessons on how racism operates, A LONG TIME COMING reveals the universal importance ...

Kirkus Reviews Best Children's BookHere is the riveting dual biography of two little-known but extraordinary African-American Union soldiers in Civil War history—George E. Stephens and James Henry Gooding.Stephens and Gooding not only served in the Massachusetts 54th Infantry, the well-known black regiment, but were also war correspondents who published eyewitness reports of the battlefields. Their dispatches told the truth of their lives a...

A powerful poem about Ona Judge's life and her self-emancipation from George Washington’s household.Ona Judge was enslaved by the Washingtons, and served the President's wife, Martha. Ona was widely known for her excellent skills as a seamstress, and was raised alongside Washington’s grandchildren. Indeed, she was frequently mistaken for his granddaughter. This poetic biography follows her childhood and adolescence until she decides to run away.Author Ray A...

Six heroes challenge the racial barriers of their dayOna Judge wanted more than the best job an enslaved person could have, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman challenged why some people are masters and others enslaved, Ida B. Wells exposed post-slavery brutality, Martin Luther King Jr. was the key voice to overturn Jim Crow, and Barack Obama changed modern-day racial attitudes.For author Ray Anthony Shepard A Long Time Coming is highly personal, a chronicle of the times ...