Kin: Rooted in Hope – A Profound Journey Through Black Family History

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the KIN by Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Boston Weatherford Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: KIN: Rooted in Hope

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Boston Weatherford

Pub. Date: September 19, 2023

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 208

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/KINROOTEDINHOPE 

A powerful portrait of a Black family tree shaped by enslavement and freedom, rendered in searing poems by acclaimed author Carole Boston Weatherford and stunning art by her son Jeffery Boston Weatherford.

I call their names:
Abram Alice Amey Arianna Antiqua
I call their names:
Isaac Jake James Jenny Jim
Every last one, property of the Lloyds,
the state’s preeminent enslavers.
Every last one, with a mind of their own
and a story that ain’t yet been told.
Till now.

Carole and Jeffery Boston Weatherford’s ancestors are among the founders of Maryland. Their family history there extends more than three hundred years, but as with the genealogical searches of many African Americans with roots in slavery, their family tree can only be traced back five generations before going dark. And so from scraps of history, Carole and Jeffery have conjured the voices of their kin, creating an often painful but ultimately empowering story of who their people were in a breathtaking book that is at once deeply personal yet all too universal.

Carole’s poems capture voices ranging from her ancestors to Frederick Douglass to Harriet Tubman to the plantation house and land itself that connects them all, and Jeffery’s evocative illustrations help carry the story from the first mention of a forebear listed as property in a 1781 ledger to he and his mother’s homegoing trip to Africa in 2016. Shaped by loss, erasure, and ultimate reclamation, this is the story of not only Carole and Jeffery’s family, but of countless other Black families in America.

 

Why Should You Read This?

“Kin: Rooted in Hope” by Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffery Boston Weatherford is a powerful and poignant exploration of a Black family’s history, shaped by the intertwined legacies of enslavement and freedom. Through searing poems and stunning artwork, the Weatherfords craft a compelling narrative that transcends their personal story to resonate with the broader Black American experience.

The book begins with a haunting list of names, individuals owned by the Lloyds, powerful enslavers in Maryland. The authors deftly give voice to these individuals, breathing life into their stories, their resilience, and their unyielding spirit. With each page turn, the reader is transported to a different time and place, from the plantations of the past to the struggles and triumphs of luminaries like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman.

Carole Boston Weatherford’s poems are a masterclass in capturing the essence of each character, while Jeffery Boston Weatherford’s evocative illustrations bring the narrative to life, bridging the gap between the distant past and the present.

“Kin” is not just a family’s history; it’s a universal tale of resilience, loss, erasure, and reclamation that resonates with countless Black families in America. It’s a reminder that despite the darkness of history, hope endures, and stories untold can find their voices. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the profound and complex tapestry of Black history in the United States.

 

About Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Boston Weatherford Mother-Son/Author-Illustrator
Duo:

Hailed as “a master” and “the dean” of nonfiction for young people,” Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King  Award winner Carole Boston Weatherford is a New York Times best-seller and two-time NAACP Image Award  winner. Since her 1995 debut, she has authored 70-plus books including four Caldecott Honor winners: Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre; Freedom in Congo Square, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: Spirit  of the Civil Rights Movement, and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Her books have  won nine Coretta Scott King Awards or Honors. She writes the diverse books that she lacked as a child. 

A Baltimore native and the daughter of educators, Carole was virtually born with ink in her blood. At age six,  she dictated her first poem to her mother. Her father, a high school printing teacher, published a few of her  early poems on the press in his classroom. Meanwhile, her grandmothers passed down oral traditions and  stories. By middle school, Carole had transferred from an all-black public school to a majority-white, private  school where a teacher wrongfully accused her of plagiarism. That slight compelled her to chronicle a more  inclusive history, to amplify marginalized voices and to build monuments with words. 

Now, children’s books are a family affair for Carole. In KIN: Rooted in Hope, she and her son, award-winning  illustrator Jeffery Weatherford embark on a genealogical quest. Through multi-voiced poems and dramatic scratchboard illustrations, mother and son conjure the voices and visages of their forebears. Their ancestors lived through the American Revolution, fought in the Civil War, were enslaved alongside Frederick Douglass,  cofounded Reconstruction-era villages, and according to local lore, descended from African royalty.  

A professor at Fayetteville State University, an HBCU in North Carolina, Carole has been recognized with the  Nonfiction Award from the Children’s Book Guild, the North Carolina Literature Award, the Ragan-Rubin  Award from North Carolina English Teachers Association and a place in the North Carolina Literary Hall of  Fame. She is a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. 

Jeffery earned his M.F.A. from Howard University where he was a Romare Bearden scholar and studied under  artists from the Black Arts Movement. A rapper and a fine artist, Jeffery has performed or exhibited in  Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Baltimore, North Carolina, West Africa and the Middle East. Jeffery’s first book was  You Can Fly the Tuskegee Airmen, and his first picture book was Call Me Miss Hamilton. Both appeared on best  book of the year lists. 

Website: http://cbweatherford.com Email: cbwpoet@gmail.com  

Publicist: The Literary/Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati (vlloydsgam@aol.com) 

Agent: Rubin Pfeffer Content

 

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of KIN, US Only.

Ends September 19th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway