Personal & Professional Journeys in Black Children’s Literature

A missing mirror can change a life. In this chapter of Reading in Black, we move from the long arc of history to the intimate origins of four trailblazers whose early reading experiences—both abundant and absent—sparked a lifelong mission to center Black children on the page. We welcome Deborah Taylor, retired librarian of the Enoch Pratt Free Library; Dr. Violet Harris, Professor Emerita and leading scholar of African American children’s and youth literature; Dr. Cavanya Hinton Johnson, scholar of young adult literature; and Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, researcher and author on race and representation in children’s and YA books.

What emerges is a clear throughline: personal histories shape professional missions. These guests transformed missing mirrors into advocacy, scholarship, and new pathways in publishing and education. You’ll hear how they sought out titles, mentored gatekeepers, and insisted on stories that capture Black childhood in all its fullness—joy, curiosity, struggle, and triumph. Their journeys offer a roadmap for anyone who cares about equitable access, culturally responsive classrooms, and the power of books to build identity.

If this conversation moves you, make sure to follow Reading in Black, share this episode with a friend who loves children’s literature, and leave a review with the first book that made you feel seen. Your story helps shape the shelves of tomorrow.

Transcript

Meet The Four Trailblazers

What Sparked Their Calling

SPEAKER_03 0:05

Welcome to Reading in Black. In episode one, we explored the long arc of Black children's literature, how it grew from oral storytelling to published books, and how each generation pushed for representation. Today we shift from the historical to the personal. Today, in episode two, you'll hear from four distinguished scholars and advocates whose personal and professional journeys illustrate why black children's literature matters and how each of them came to devote their lives to preserving, teaching, and uplifting it. Joining me for this conversation are four remarkable voices. Deborah Taylor, a retired librarian, whose 44 years at the Enoch Pratt Free Library shaped generations of young readers. Dr. Violet Harris, Professor Emerita, and one of the nation's foremost scholars of African American children's and youth literature. Dr. Cavanya Hinton Johnson, author, scholar, professor, whose research centers on young adult literature, and Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, professor, researcher, author, and leading scholar on race and representation in children's and young adult literature. Their journeys from childhood readers to academic trailblazers help us understand the emotional and intellectual roots of this field. This is episode two, Personal and Professional Journeys in Black Children's Literature. We begin by asking a simple question. What first inspired your interest in Black children's literature? Their stories reveal how representation or the lack of it profoundly shaped their lives long before they became scholars.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

And those were the children who walked in the door and needed to have resources and to be able to reach them and to encourage them to see the library as a safe place and a place that valued them. But I didn't have a whole lot to work with. So that made me very mindful of looking for the titles that I could give to them that could encourage them and keep them engaged.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

Deborah's first days as a librarian revealed the gap between the needs of children and what the library offered.

Deborah’s Early Library Gaps

Harris’s Bookstore Discovery

SPEAKER_00 2:23

For me, it started when I was in middle school, around 12 years old. And I was fortunate in Chicago to have Ellis bookstore, which had uh two bookstores in Chicago that were solely devoted to African, American, and dance Korean literature. And so I would take my allowance to go to that bookstore. There weren't um hardly any children's books there, but there was a young book literature and history and culture, newspapers and magazines from all over the world. So I began to immerse myself in what was available. I was young and didn't understand a lot of it, but still I read it, and I got a chance to read the things regarding the black arts movement, the things that were produced from Broadside Press out of Detroit, and their little pamphlet-like books kind of a chance to give Ani there and some other people there. This is all in the late 60s through early 70s, and it was quite essential to who I was to read these things.

SPEAKER_03 3:26

For Dr. Harris, literature was a place of discovery, even when it wasn't written for children.

Classroom Libraries And Roll Of Thunder

SPEAKER_01 3:32

My interest in black children's literature goes back to my girlhood too. I had a great middle school teacher. She was African American, she was fresh out of college, and she stopped her classroom library with all kinds of black children's literature. And my interest was really piqued when she had the entire class read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. I just love that book.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

Each story begins in a different place, but all revealed the personal stakes of representation. Those early encounters grew into something more profound, a calling to study, collect, teach, and protect black stories.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

Virginia Hamilton believed that they were capable of understanding the complexity of human beings.

SPEAKER_03 4:17

Hamilton showed what black children's literature could be: expansive, brilliant, and unbounded. Their early experiences shaped the work they would later take on in libraries, classrooms, publishing, and scholarship.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

The books weren't reviews. A school or a library could not buy a book without a review. So I think that was another reason why there was this perception that the books weren't there.

SPEAKER_03 4:43

Deborah reminds us availability does not equal access. Of all the stories shared, one captures the emotional heart of this work, Deborah Taylor's.

SPEAKER_02 5:05

And I guess I'm a little bit like Ebony described. I was probably thinking, oh, that's reading about history. But when I want to read from pleasure, I don't know the books. There are no books for me. So I was reading things like, you know, The Diet That Was Available. I read Caddy Woodlawn, I read Henry Huggins, I read Betsy Tacey and Tibbs had as far removed from a girl, a black girl living in inner city Baltimore as you could be. But I think there was always a sense of looking for yourself in a book, finding the book that spoke to you, finding the book that both mirrored your experience, and so that when I got to be a professional, it was a natural feeling that the next kids that I deal with are not going to be looking quite the same way that I will be.

Closing Reflection And Next Episode

SPEAKER_03 6:03

Deborah's story reminds us black children deserve to be seen fully, joyfully, truthfully. As we close this chapter, we see how personal histories shaped professional missions and how each of our guests turned absences into advocacy. Join me in episode three as we step into Deborah Taylor's world and explore the evolution of black children's literature through one of its most dedicated champions. This is Reading in Black, a celebration of stories, our histories, and the power of the page.