100 African Americans Who Shaped American History

This book is wonderful for children! I bought this in order to introduce my grandchildren to important, historical Black figures. I would recommend this book to other parents, grandparents and teachers. The illustrations also make this book very engaging.

I like that the book highlights a wide range of figures. I also appreciate the concise information.

Outstanding, Thank You

I AM A 61 YEAR OLD BLACK GRANDFATHER OF 7 GRANDCHILDREN BORN TO MY TWO DAUGHTERS AND MY SON. I CAN REMEMBER WHEN I ATTENDED A SEGREGATED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. THOSE SEVEN YEARS WAS THE ONLY TIME THAT MY TEACHERS PROVIDED THE MOST KNOWLEDGE AT THAT TIME ABOUT BLACK HISTORY. IT WAS SO STRANGE BEING BUSSED TO AN ALL BLACK SCHOOL IN THE CITY DAILY FROM AN ARMY MILITARY BASE THAT WAS FULLY INTEGRATED. EVEN BEFORE MY FATHER GAINED HOUSING ON THE MILITARY BASE I PLAYED WITH OTHER WHITE KIDS IN OUR SEGREGATED NEIGHBORHOODS ALMOST DAILY, BUT WE WENT TO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS BECAUSE OF RACE. PRIOR TO MY DAD BEING TRANSFERRED TO VIRGINIA I ATTENDED INTEGRATED SCHOOLS IN MARYSVILLE AND STOCKTON CALIFORNIA AND CANNOT REMEMBER ANY TEACHING ABOUT IMPORTANT BLACK AMERICANS AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS THEY MADE. TO LEARN THAT MANY BLACK AMERICANS CONTRIBUTED OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF ALL AMERICANS, BUT IN MANY INSTANCES HOW WHITE PEOPLE IN MY AMERICA TRIED SUCCESSFULLY AT TIMES AND MANY MORE TIMES FAILED TO STEAL OR TAKE CREDIT FOR INVENTIONS, DISCOVERIES IN MEDICINE, ARCHITECTURE ADVANCED MATHEMATICS AND MANY MORE FIELDS. HOW A BLACK MAN FROM MEMORY WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE FROM MEMORY THE LAYOUT OF WASHINGTON D.C. AND COMPLETE THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. AFTER THE FRENCH ARCHITECT WHO WAS COMMISSIONED FOR THE JOB BECAME INVOLVED IN A DISPUTE WITH THE AUTHORITIES; TOOK HIS ARCHITECTURAL PLANS AND RETURNED HOME TO FRANCE. TODAY WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND THE MANY TIMES PEOPLE HAVE BESMIRCHED NOT ONLY HIS CHARACTER, HIS CITIZENSHIP, BUT ALSO DEFAME THE FIRST LADY MRS. OBAMA. SOMETHING THAT IN MY MANY YEARS I NEVER HEARD REGARDING THE WIVES OF OUR WHITE PRESIDENTS.I HAD BEEN SEARCHING FOR LITERATURE FOR A LONG TIME THAT I COULD PURCHASE TO GIVE TO MY CHILDREN TO PASS ON TO THEIR CHILDREN, MY GRANDCHILDREN. I HAVE READ THIS PAPERBACK FROM COVER TO COVER AND I HAVE DECIDED TO PROVIDE COPIES FOR ALL OF MY GRANDCHILDREN. IT IS NOT THE END ALL OF BLACK HISTORY IN AMERICA, BUT I FEEL IT IS AN OUTSTANDING PRIMER TO BEGIN THEIR EDUCATION OF THEIR HERITAGE THAT WOULD BE LOST IF THE AUTHOR HAD NOT WRITTEN THIS HISTORICAL DOCUMENT!

Great factual content! However print is small and illustrations are in black and white which, in my opinion does not make it very appealing to younger children. Probably more suited for upper elementary grades and above.

My Niece Loved The Book.

Thank you for the information for all children .

I am a middle-school American History teacher and use this book in my classroom. I have my students draw a number out of a bag that coincides with the number of an individual in the book. This is the person they then research as their big research project project for the year. The small bio for each individual in the book is a great starting point for the students to use. They then fill out a short form identifying their research subject and the three questions they are going to answer in their project. After that they begin doing online research through various websites and use biographies on the individual to learn all they can. The culmination of the project is the students producing an essay, a poster presentation, a living wax museum (in which they dress as the individual) and the public display of their work for our school's Black History Month program. It is an amazing book full of individuals my students have never heard of and they are intrigued not only by their own research but the research of their classmates! Excellent resource and book!