Book of Black Heroes: Political Leaders Past and Present

by Gilbert L. Robertson, IV

The highly anticipated fourth installment of the Book of Black Heroes series, Political Leaders Past and Present, spotlights African American who have made valuable contributions in U. S. governmental leadership.Included are Hiram Revels, P.B.S. Pinchback and Robert Smalls, among the first African Americans to hold political offices, Oscar De Priest and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr, who served during the Jim Crow period as well as Edward M. Brooke, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, John Lewis, John Conyers, Carl Stokes , and others who emerged during the 1960s on the heels of major civil rights legislation that gave millions of African American the right to vote. New political leaders are also featured, including Keith Ellison, Kamala Harris, Tim Scott and Mia Love. Book of Black Heroes: Political Leaders Past and Present contains celebrates 150 years of African-American leadership, profiling nearly four dozen Black U.S>, local and state representatives, mayors, governors, members of Congress, and the nation's first Black president - all of whom helped make and shape history.

Reading Level: Ages 8-12; Paperback, 80 pages

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A veteran journalist and bestselling author, Gil L. Robertson IV has edited three anthologies, Where Did Our Love Go: Love and Relationships in the African American Community (2013), Family Affair: What it Means to be African American Today (2008), a Pick of the Week selection by Publisher s Weekly, and Not in My Family: AIDS in the African American Community (2006). An entertainment journalist, his work has appeared in publications such as Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Billboard, Fortune, Essence and Ebony magazines. He is the co-founder and President of the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), an organization of Black film critics which produces the AAFCA Awards held in Hollywood each spring. Book of Black Heroes: Political Leaders Past & Present is his first book for young readers.

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