Coretta Scott King Award
The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association. Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., this award recognizes outstanding books for young adults and children by African Americans that reflect the African-American experience. Awards are given both to authors and to illustrators.
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 and Caldecott Medal, 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 originated with librarian Glyndon Flynt Greer. 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, Charlemae Hill Rollins, and Virginia Lacy Jones. The award's name was intentionally chosen to honor recently assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. The name also commemorates the life of Dr. King and honors the dedication Coretta Scott King had to making the world a place that welcomes all people.It was particularly fitting that the first Coretta Scott King Award was presented to Lillie Patterson, a school librarian from New Jersey, for her elementary level biography Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace. The award's first presentation was held during the 1970 New Jersey Library Association conference in Atlantic City, and its second at the corresponding conference in 1971. 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.
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. However, the award was not yet officially recognized by the ALA. As of 1972, Greer moved to Atlanta, Georgia. The award was briefly sponsored by the School of Library and Information Studies at Atlanta University. An awards committee and an advisory board of mostly local librarians were formed, co-chaired by Ella Gaines Yates.
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. Mathis won the author award for 1974.
Starting in 1978, runner-ups to the Author award have been recognized as Honor Books. As of 1981, runner-ups to the Illustrator award have been recognized 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, the new committee became part of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association. Greer served as its first chair until her death on August 24, 1980. Harriet Brown then became acting chair.
Brown was succeeded by Effie Lee Morris 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, which had become a closer match for its activities.
Dr. Henrietta M. Smith has edited four volumes, published by the American Library Association, that provide a history of the award.
Recipients
| Year | Work | Recipient | Title | Citation |
| 2020 | author | Jerry Craft | New Kid | Winner |
| 2020 | author | Junauda Petrus | The Stars and the Blackness Between Them | Honor |
| 2020 | author | Kwame Mbalia | Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky | Honor |
| 2020 | author | Jason Reynolds | ' | Honor |
| 2020 | illustrator | Kadir Nelson | The Undefeated | Winner |
| 2020 | illustrator | James Ransome | The Bell | Honor |
| 2020 | illustrator | Ashley Bryan | Infinite Hope: A Black Artist's Journey from World War II to Peace | Honor |
| 2020 | illustrator | Vashti Harrison | Sulwe | Honor |
| 2019 | author | Winner | ||
| 2019 | author | Finding Langston | Honor | |
| 2019 | author | Honor | ||
| 2019 | author | Honor | ||
| 2019 | illustrator | Winner | ||
| 2019 | illustrator | Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race | Honor | |
| 2019 | illustrator | Let the Children March | Honor | |
| 2019 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 2018 | author | Piecing Me Together | Winner | |
| 2018 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 2018 | author | Long Way Down | Honor | |
| 2018 | author | Honor | ||
| 2018 | illustrator | Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets | Winner | |
| 2018 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 2018 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 2017 | author | and | March: Book Three | Winner |
| 2017 | author | As Brave as You | Honor | |
| 2017 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 2017 | illustrator | ' | Winner | |
| 2017 | illustrator | Freedom in Congo Square | Honor | |
| 2017 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 2017 | illustrator | In Plain Sight | Honor | |
| 2016 | author | Gone Crazy in Alabama | Winner | |
| 2016 | author | and | All American Boys | Honor |
| 2016 | author | The Boy in the Black Suit | Honor | |
| 2016 | author | and | ' | Honor |
| 2016 | illustrator | Trombone Shorty | Winner | |
| 2016 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 2016 | illustrator | Last Stop on Market Street | Honor | |
| 2015 | author | Brown Girl Dreaming | Winner | |
| 2015 | author | Honor | ||
| 2015 | author | How I Discovered Poetry | Honor | |
| 2015 | author | How It Went Down | Honor | |
| 2015 | illustrator | Firebird | Winner | |
| 2015 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 2015 | illustrator | Little Melba and Her Big Trombone | Honor | |
| 2014 | author | P.S. Be Eleven | Winner | |
| 2014 | author | March: Book One | Honor | |
| 2014 | author | Darius & Twig | Honor | |
| 2014 | author | Words with Wings | Honor | |
| 2014 | illustrator | ' | Winner | |
| 2014 | illustrator | Nelson Mandela | Honor | |
| 2013 | author | ' | Winner | |
| 2013 | author | Honor | ||
| 2013 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 2013 | illustrator | I, Too, Am America | Winner | |
| 2013 | illustrator | Ellen's Broom | Honor | |
| 2013 | illustrator | H.O.R.S.E. | Honor | |
| 2013 | illustrator | I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. | Honor | |
| 2012 | author | ' | Winner | |
| 2012 | author | Honor | ||
| 2012 | author | Never Forgotten | Honor | |
| 2012 | illustrator | ' | Winner | |
| 2012 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 2011 | author | One Crazy Summer | Winner | |
| 2011 | author | Lockdown | Honor | |
| 2011 | author | Ninth Ward | Honor | |
| 2011 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 2011 | illustrator | ' | Winner | |
| 2011 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 2010 | author | Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal | Winner | |
| 2010 | author | Mare's War | Honor | |
| 2010 | illustrator | My People | Winner | |
| 2010 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 2009 | author | ' | Winner | |
| 2009 | author | Keeping the Night Watch | Honor | |
| 2009 | author | Honor | ||
| 2009 | author | Becoming Billie Holiday | Honor | |
| 2009 | illustrator | Winner | ||
| 2009 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 2009 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 2009 | illustrator | Before John Was a Jazz Giant | Honor | |
| 2008 | author | Elijah of Buxton | Winner | |
| 2008 | author | November Blues | Honor | |
| 2008 | author | Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali | Honor | |
| 2008 | illustrator | ' | Winner | |
| 2008 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 2008 | illustrator | Jazz On A Saturday Night | Honor | |
| 2007 | author | Copper Sun | Winner | |
| 2007 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 2007 | illustrator | ' | Winner | |
| 2007 | illustrator | Jazz | Honor | |
| 2007 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 2006 | author | Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue | Winner | |
| 2006 | author | Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl | Honor | |
| 2006 | author | Dark Sons | Honor | |
| 2006 | author | Honor | ||
| 2006 | illustrator | Rosa | Winner | |
| 2006 | illustrator | Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan | Honor | |
| 2005 | author | Remember: The Journey to School Integration | Winner | |
| 2005 | author | Honor | ||
| 2005 | author | Who Am I without Him?: Short Stories about Girls and the Boys in Their Lives | Honor | |
| 2005 | author | Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem | Honor | |
| 2005 | illustrator | Ellington Was Not a Street | Winner | |
| 2005 | illustrator | God Bless the Child | Honor | |
| 2005 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 2004 | author | Winner | ||
| 2004 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 2004 | author | Honor | ||
| 2004 | illustrator | Beautiful Blackbird | Winner | |
| 2004 | illustrator | Almost to Freedom | Honor | |
| 2004 | illustrator | Thunder Rose | Honor | |
| 2003 | illustrator | Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles | Honor | |
| 2003 | author | Bronx Masquerade | Winner | |
| 2003 | author | Honor | ||
| 2003 | author | Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman | Honor | |
| 2003 | illustrator | Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman | Winner | |
| 2003 | illustrator | Visiting Langston | Honor | |
| 2002 | author | Winner | ||
| 2002 | author | Money-Hungry | Honor | |
| 2002 | author | Carver: A Life in Poems | Honor | |
| 2002 | illustrator | Goin' Someplace Special | Winner | |
| 2002 | illustrator | Martin's Big Words | Honor | |
| 2001 | author | Miracle's Boys | Winner | |
| 2001 | author | Let It Shine! Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters | Honor | |
| 2001 | illustrator | Uptown | Winner | |
| 2001 | illustrator | Freedom River | Honor | |
| 2001 | illustrator | Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth | Honor | |
| 2001 | illustrator | Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys | Honor | |
| 2000 | author | Bud, Not Buddy | Winner | |
| 2000 | author | Francie | Honor | |
| 2000 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 2000 | author | Monster | Honor | |
| 2000 | illustrator | In the Time of the Drums | Winner | |
| 2000 | illustrator | My Rows and Piles of Coins | Honor | |
| 2000 | illustrator | Black Cat | Honor | |
| 1999 | author | Heaven | Winner | |
| 1999 | author | Jazmin's Notebook | Honor | |
| 1999 | author | Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground | Honor | |
| 1999 | author | Honor | ||
| 1999 | illustrator | I See the Rhythm | Winner | |
| 1999 | illustrator | I Have Heard of a Land | Honor | |
| 1999 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 1999 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 1998 | author | Forged By Fire | Winner | |
| 1998 | author | Bayard Rustin: Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movement | Honor | |
| 1998 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 1998 | illustrator | In Daddy's Arms I am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers | Winner | |
| 1998 | illustrator | Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry | Honor | |
| 1998 | illustrator | Harlem | Honor | |
| 1998 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 1997 | author | Slam | Winner | |
| 1997 | author | Rebels Against Slavery: American Slave Revolts | Honor | |
| 1997 | illustrator | ' | Winner | |
| 1997 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 1997 | illustrator | Running the Road to ABC | Honor | |
| 1997 | illustrator | Neeny Coming, Neeny Going | Honor | |
| 1996 | author | Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales | Winner | |
| 1996 | author | Honor | ||
| 1996 | author | Like Sisters on the Homefront | Honor | |
| 1996 | author | From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun | Honor | |
| 1996 | illustrator | Winner | ||
| 1996 | illustrator | Her Stories | Honor | |
| 1996 | illustrator | The Faithful Friend | Honor | |
| 1995 | author | Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters | Winner | |
| 1995 | author | Honor | ||
| 1995 | author | I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This | Honor | |
| 1995 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 1995 | illustrator | Winner | ||
| 1995 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 1995 | illustrator | Meet Danitra Brown | Honor | |
| 1994 | author | Toning the Sweep | Winner | |
| 1994 | author | Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea | Honor | |
| 1994 | author | Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary | Honor | |
| 1994 | illustrator | Soul Looks Back in Wonder | Winner | |
| 1994 | illustrator | Brown Honey in Broom Wheat Tea | Honor | |
| 1994 | illustrator | Uncle Jed's Barbershop | Honor | |
| 1993 | author | Winner | ||
| 1993 | author | Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? | Honor | |
| 1993 | author | Somewhere in the Darkness | Honor | |
| 1993 | author | Mississippi Challenge | Honor | |
| 1993 | illustrator | Winner | ||
| 1993 | illustrator | Little Eight John | Honor | |
| 1993 | illustrator | Sukey and the Mermaid | Honor | |
| 1993 | illustrator | Working Cotton | Honor | |
| 1992 | author | Now is Your Time: The African American Struggle for Freedom | Winner | |
| 1992 | author | Night on Neighborhood Street | Honor | |
| 1992 | illustrator | Tar Beach | Winner | |
| 1992 | illustrator | All Night, All Day: A Child's First Book of African American Spirituals | Honor | |
| 1992 | illustrator | Night on Neighborhood Street | Honor | |
| 1991 | author | Winner | ||
| 1991 | author | Black Dance in America | Honor | |
| 1991 | author | When I Am Old with You | Honor | |
| 1991 | illustrator | Aida | Winner | |
| 1990 | author | Winner | ||
| 1990 | author | Nathaniel Talking | Honor | |
| 1990 | author | Honor | ||
| 1990 | author | Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Freedom Movement | Honor | |
| 1990 | illustrator | Nathaniel Talking | Winner | |
| 1990 | illustrator | ' | Honor | |
| 1989 | author | Fallen Angels | Winner | |
| 1989 | author | Honor | ||
| 1989 | author | Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave | Honor | |
| 1989 | illustrator | Mirandy and Brother Wind | Winner | |
| 1989 | illustrator | Under the Sunday Tree | Honor | |
| 1989 | illustrator | Storm in the Night | Honor | |
| 1988 | author | Winner | ||
| 1988 | author | Honor | ||
| 1988 | author | Honor | ||
| 1988 | illustrator | Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale | Winner | |
| 1988 | illustrator | What a Morning! The Christmas Story in Black Spirituals | Honor | |
| 1988 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 1987 | author | Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World | Winner | |
| 1987 | author | Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Folk Tales | Honor | |
| 1987 | author | Which Way Freedom | Honor | |
| 1987 | illustrator | Half a Moon and One Whole Star | Winner | |
| 1987 | illustrator | Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Folk Tales | Honor | |
| 1987 | illustrator | C.L.O.U.D.S. | Honor | |
| 1986 | author | Winner | ||
| 1986 | author | Junius Over Far | Honor | |
| 1986 | author | Trouble's Child | Honor | |
| 1986 | illustrator | Winner | ||
| 1986 | illustrator | Honor | ||
| 1985 | author | Motown and Didi | Winner | |
| 1985 | author | Circle of Gold | Honor | |
| 1985 | author | Honor | ||
| 1985 | illustrator | - | ||
| 1984 | author | Everett Anderson's Goodbye | Winner | |
| 1984 | author | Honor | ||
| 1984 | author | Lena Horne | Honor | |
| 1984 | author | Bright Shadow | Honor | |
| 1984 | author | Because We Are | Honor | |
| 1984 | author | Special | ||
| 1984 | illustrator | My Mama Needs Me | Winner | |
| 1983 | author | Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush | Winner | |
| 1983 | author | This Strange New Feeling | Honor | |
| 1983 | illustrator | Black Child | Winner | |
| 1983 | illustrator | All the Colors of the Race | Honor | |
| 1983 | illustrator | I'm Going to Sing: Black American Spirituals | Honor | |
| 1983 | illustrator | Just Us Women | Honor | |
| 1982 | author | Let the Circle Be Unbroken | Winner | |
| 1982 | author | Rainbow Jordan | Honor | |
| 1982 | author | Lou In the Limelight | Honor | |
| 1982 | author | Mary: An Autobiography | Honor | |
| 1982 | illustrator | Mother Crocodile: An Uncle Amadou Tale from Senegal | Winner | |
| 1982 | illustrator | Daydreamers | Honor | |
| 1981 | author | This Life | Winner | |
| 1981 | author | Don't Explain: A Song of Billie Holiday | Honor | |
| 1981 | illustrator | Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum | Winner | |
| 1981 | illustrator | Grandmama's Joy | Honor | |
| 1981 | illustrator | Count on Your Fingers African Style | Honor | |
| 1980 | author | Winner | ||
| 1980 | author | Movin' Up | Honor | |
| 1980 | author | ' | Honor | |
| 1980 | author | Andrew Young: Young Man with a Mission | Honor | |
| 1980 | author | James Van Der Zee: The Picture Takin' Man | Honor | |
| 1980 | author | Let the Lion Eat Straw | Honor | |
| 1980 | illustrator | Cornrows | Winner | |
| 1979 | author | Escape to Freedom | Winner | |
| 1979 | author | Benjamin Banneker | Honor | |
| 1979 | author | I Have a Sister, My Sister is Deaf | Honor | |
| 1979 | author | Justice and Her Brothers | Honor | |
| 1979 | author | Skates of Uncle Richard | Honor | |
| 1979 | illustrator | Something on My Mind | Winner | |
| 1978 | author | Africa Dream | Winner | |
| 1978 | author | Honor | ||
| 1978 | author | Marvin and Tige | Honor | |
| 1978 | author | Mary McCleod Bethune | Honor | |
| 1978 | author | Barbara Jordan | Honor | |
| 1978 | author | Coretta Scott King | Honor | |
| 1978 | author | Portia: The Life of Portia Washington Pittman, the Daughter of Booker T. Washington | Honor | |
| 1978 | illustrator | Africa Dream | Winner | |
| 1977 | author | Winner | ||
| 1977 | author | Everett Anderson's Friend | Honor | |
| 1977 | author | Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry | Honor | |
| 1977 | author | Quiz Book on Black America | Honor | |
| 1977 | illustrator | - | ||
| 1976 | author | Duey's Tale | Winner | |
| 1976 | author | Julius K. Nyerere: Teacher of Africa | Honor | |
| 1976 | author | Paul Robeson | Honor | |
| 1976 | author | Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff | Honor | |
| 1976 | author | Song of the Trees | Honor | |
| 1976 | illustrator | - | ||
| 1975 | author | Winner | ||
| 1975 | illustrator | - | ||
| 1974 | author | Ray Charles | Winner | |
| 1974 | author | Honor | ||
| 1974 | author | Don't You Remember? | Honor | |
| 1974 | author | Ms. Africa: Profiles of Modern African Women | Honor | |
| 1974 | author | Guest in the Promise Land | Honor | |
| 1974 | author | Mukasa | Honor | |
| 1974 | illustrator | Ray Charles | Winner | |
| 1973 | author | I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson | Winner | |
| 1972 | author | 17 Black Artists | Winner | |
| 1971 | author | Black Troubadour: Langston Hughes | Winner | |
| 1971 | author | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | Honor | |
| 1971 | author | Unbought and Unbossed | Honor | |
| 1971 | author | I Am a Black Woman | Honor | |
| 1971 | author | Every Man Heart Lay Down | Honor | |
| 1971 | author | Honor | ||
| 1971 | author | Black Means | Honor | |
| 1971 | author | Ebony Book of Black Achievement | Honor | |
| 1971 | author | Mary Jo's Grandmother | Honor | |
| 1970 | author | Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace | Winner |
Steptoe Award for New Talent
From 1996 the Coretta Scott King Awards program includes the occasional John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Through 2012, seventeen new talents have been recognized in 18 years.- 1995: Sharon Draper, author of Tears of a Tiger
- 1996: none
- 1997: Martha Southgate, author of Another Way to Dance
- 1998: none
- 1999: Sharon Flake, author of The Skin I'm In
- 1999: Eric Velasquez, illustrator of The Piano Man, written by Debbie Chocolate
- 2000: none
- 2001: none
- 2002: Jerome Lagarrigue, illustrator of Freedom Summer, written by Deborah Wiles
- 2003: Janet McDonald, author of Chill Wind
- 2003: Randy DuBurke, author and illustrator of The Moon Ring
- 2004: Hope Anita Smith, author of The Way a Door Closes, illustrated by Shane W. Evans
- 2005: Barbara Hathaway, author of Missy Violet and Me
- 2005: Frank Morrison, illustrator of Jazzy Miz Mozetta, written by Brenda C. Roberts
- 2006: Jaime Adoff, author of Jimi & Me
- 2007: Traci L. Jones, author of Standing Against the Wind
- 2008: Sundee T. Frazier, author of Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It
- 2009: Shadra Strickland, illustrator of Bird, written by Zetta Elliott
- 2010: Kekla Magoon, author of The Rock and the River
- 2011: Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon, authors of Zora and Me
- 2011: Sonia Lynn Sadler, illustrator of Seeds of Change, written by Jen Cullerton Johnson
- 2012: none
- 2013: none
- 2014: Theodore Taylor III, illustrator of When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop
- 2015: Jason Reynolds, author of When I Was the Greatest
- 2016: Ronald L. Smith, author of Hoodoo
- 2016: Ekua Holmes, illustrator of Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
- 2017: Nicola Yoon, author of The Sun Is Also a Star
- 2018: David Barclay Moore, author of The Stars Beneath Our Feet
- 2018: Charly Palmer, illustrator of Mama Africa! How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with Her Song
- 2019: Oge Mora, illustrator of Thank You, Omu
- 2019: Tiffany D. Jackson, author of Monday's Not Coming
- 2020: Alicia D. Williams, author of Gensis Begins Again
- 2020: April Harrison, author of What is Given from the Heart
Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2010: Walter Dean Myers, author
- 2011: Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith, professor emerita at the University of South Florida, Tampa, School of Library and Information Science
- 2012: Ashley Bryan, 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 Public Library System
- 2014: Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, children's authors
- 2015: Deborah D. Taylor, young adult librarian
- 2016: Jerry Pinkney, illustrator
- 2017: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, Professor Emerita of Education at Ohio State University
- 2018: Eloise Greenfield, 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