Little Black Lives Matter

Little Black Lives Matter empowers all children, but Black children especially, by affirming that their lives, however little they may yet be, matter. Featuring fifteen great Black heroes of the past and the powerful words they spoke and actions they took, Little Black Lives Matter is a rhyming board book that incorporates memorable quotations and a reminder to little ones that each of these great people once lived a little Black life themselves. From Harriet Tubman and Malcolm X to other inspiring freedom fighters like Marsha P. Johnson, Fred Hampton, and Frederick Douglass, writers James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and Maya Angelou, musical artists Billie Holiday and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, athletes Wilma Rudolph, Jesse Owens, and Muhammad Ali, and Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., this little book encourages young readers to find their inner heroes and see their own self-worth and agency through the acts of great Black heroes who came before them.

"Those who've shaped the world we're in,

the past, and, yes, the now,

they too lived little Black lives, my child,

before they made us so proud.

Let us look upon them

and let us say their names,

And let us hear the mighty words

they spoke to bring us change.

…

there are countless more Black heroes; this is just to name a few.

But don't forget the greatest life you can lead belongs to you.

So go on and live your own little life.

Yes, live it brave and free!

And know, this child: you matter here, 

and most of all...to me."

 

KHODI DILL is a husband, father, writer, anti-racist educator, public speaker, and spoken word artist. His writing for adults and children explores life, politics, and identity through a critical social justice lens. With a background in hip hop and spoken word poetry, it’s not surprising that his picture book, Welcome to the Cypher (Annick Press; October 2021), illustrated by Awuradwoa Afful, is an introduction to rapping for young kids. Little Black Lives Matter is his debut board book. Dill lives with his family in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.