Event

Lifting Voices: Celebrating The Coretta Scott King Book Awards

Mar 15, 12:00 PM - 11:59 PM

Register for the event below

Celebrate Women’s History Month with an inspiring event spotlighting the Coretta Scott King Book Awards and their impact on literature. Join us for an engaging discussion with award-winning author Claire Hartfield as we explore the powerful voices of African American authors and illustrators whose work uplift and preserve the Black experience. This event welcomes all ages, featuring a special Storytime for children with Carmenita Peoples, highlighting past Coretta Scott King Award-winning books. In collaboration with Da Book Joint, a pop-up bookstore will be on-site, offering a selection of featured titles for purchase.

Weatherford, Carole Boston; Morrison, Frank, illustrator, Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual (Ne... — Image taken from Weatherford, Carole Boston; Morrison, Frank, illustrator, Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual (New York: Crown Books, 2022); Illustrator winner, 2023

Image taken from Weatherford, Carole Boston; Morrison, Frank, illustrator, Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual (New York: Crown Books, 2022); Illustrator winner, 2023

Program Schedule

12:00 PM – Guest Arrival & Tour of Honoring Voices: The Coretta Scott King Book AwardsExhibition 12:30 PM – Featured Talk: Lifting Voices: The Coretta Scott King Book Awardswith Claire Hartfield, followed by Q&A 12:30 PM – Children’s Storytime with Carmenita Peoples, highlighting past Book Award winners (running concurrently) 1:30 PM – Second Exhibit Tour Free and open to the public (with registration), light refreshments will be served

*First 10 guests to arrive will receive a copy of Claire’s Book A Few Red Drops.

Special Collaborators & Activities

Da Book Joint Pop-Up Bookstore – Browse and purchase books from Coretta Scott King Award-winning authors, including A Few Red Drops. https://www.dabookjoint.com/

League of Women Voters, Chicago – On-site voter registration table

Featured Speaker: Claire Hartfield

2019 Coretta Scott King Book Award Winner

Claire Hartfield is a nationally recognized children’s book author and education leader. She is the author of A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919, which won the 2019 Coretta Scott King Author Book Award and was a Los Angeles Times Book Award Finalist. Her work has also received the Carter G. Woodson Book Award, Junior Library Guild Choice, and other honors.

A graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago Law School ’82, Hartfield has dedicated her career to expanding educational opportunities for underserved communities. She currently serves as Board Vice Chair and senior consultant for one of Chicago’s top-performing charter schools.