The Coretta Scott King award was established in 1969/1970. It
was the year after Dr. King’s death when a pair of school
librarians were troubled that African American authors and
illustrators were not being recognized for their work. They took
it upon themselves to do something about it, and the new award
was born. These are books by and about African Americans. Over
time, categories other than “author” have been added. In 1974,
the first “illustrator” award was given. This year’s illustrator
award went to Bryan Collier for his work on the book Dave the
Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave. The man whom we know only as Dave,
was a slave, born sometime around 1801, living in South
Carolina. He is thought to have fashioned approximately 40,000
pots over 70 years time, and these pots are known by museums,
antique dealers, and art historians as outstanding American art.
Beautifully crafted. Some of the largest pots known to have been
made at the time, holding as much as 40 gallons, when only one
other known potter could c