The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the attorney general, but serves as the enforcement arm of the U.S. federal courts to ensure the effective operation of the judiciary and integrity of the Constitution. It is the oldest U.S. federal law enforcement agency, created by the Judiciary Act of 1789 during the presidency of George Washington as the "Office of the United States Marshal". The USMS as it stands today was established in 1969 to provide guidance and assistance to U.S. Marshals throughout the federal judicial districts.
Bass Reeves was a former enslaved person turned American lawman. He was among the first Black deputy U.S. Marshals, and the first west of the Mississippi River. He worked mostly in the Indian Territory.
Kadir Nelson is a Los Angeles–based painter, illustrator, and author who is best known for his paintings often featured on the covers of The New Yorker magazine, and album covers for Michael Jackson and Drake. His work is focused on African-American culture and history. The New York Times describes his work as: "sumptuous, deeply affecting work. Nelson’s paintings are drenched in ambience, and often overt symbolism. He has twice been a Caldecott honor recipient and won the 2020 Caldecott Medal for his book The Undefeated.
Ashley Frederick Bryan was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Most of his subjects are from the African-American experience. He was U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006 and he won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his contribution to American children's literature in 2009. His picture book Freedom Over Me was short-listed for the 2016 Kirkus Prize and received a Newbery Honor.
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is an American writer known for her fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults. She was the winner of the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award and Gelett Burgess Children's Book Honor for her non-fiction book Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal about the life of Bass Reeves. Nelson is also the author of The Book Itch: Freedom,Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore. Her book Who Will I Be, Lord? received a Charlotte Zolotow Award Commendation in 2010.
Kwame Alexander is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction.
Randy DuBurke is an American artist best known as the author and illustrator of the Steptoe Award winning book The Moon Ring (2003) and as the illustrator of Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty (2010). He previously worked as a comic book artist in the 1980s and 1990s.
Last Stop on Market Street is a 2015 children's book written by American author Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson, which won the 2016 Newbery Medal, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, and a Caldecott Honor. The book follows a young boy named CJ as he learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things during a bus ride. De la Peña and Robinson both drew on personal experiences when working together to create the book. Through its story and illustrations, Last Stop on Market Street tackles issues of race and class as they may be seen through the eyes of a young teen. Last Stop on Market Street was met with widespread acclaim after its release, receiving positive reviews from Kirkus Reviews and the New York Times Book Review amongst many others. Last Stop on Market Street's Newbery win was monumental, as it is extremely rare for picture books to be awarded this medal. In 2018, the children's book was adapted into a children's musical which has been performed by various children's theater groups across the country.
God Bless the Child is a 2003 picture book by Jerry Pinkney with the words and music of Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. It is about an African-American family moving from the rural Deep South to urban Chicago during the Great Migration.
Becoming Billie Holiday is a 2008 book of poetry for young readers by American poet and author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper, originally published by Wordsong. It won an honorary Coretta Scott King Award in 2009.
Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets is a 2017 collection of poems for children's by Kwame Alexander with co-authors Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth and illustrated by Ekua Holmes. The book won the 2018 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. Each of the 20 poems is written in tribute to and in the style of a well known poet.
I See the Rhythm, illustrated by Michele Wood with text by Toyomi Igus, was published in 1998 by Lee & Low Books. It won the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator in 1999.
Before She Was Harriet is a 2017 children's picture book written by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by James E. Ransome, first published by Holiday House. It was awarded an honorary Coretta Scott King Award in 2018.
Let the Children March is a 2018 children's picture book written by Monica Clark-Robinson and illustrated by Frank Morrison, originally published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The historical fiction work is set during the Birmingham Children's Crusade in 1963. The book was named a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book in 2019.
The Great Migration: Journey to the North is a 2011 children's poetry book. Written by Eloise Greenfield and illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist, the poems depict the experiences and feelings of African-American families that participated in the Great Migration in the United States in the 20th century. It was first published by Amistad.
Richard Gregory Christie is an American author and illustrator of picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, and album covers best known for his Coretta Scott King Award-winning books No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal, and Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Only Passing Through, and the NAACP Image Award-winning Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change.
The Undefeatedis a 2019 poem by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The poem's purpose is to inspire and encourage black communities, while also delivering a tribute to black Americans of all occupations in past years. The poem describes the toughness black Americans faced during times such as slavery, and segregation in America. Nelson's illustrations also provide a visual for the meaning of the poem. The book was well received and won the 2020 Caldecott Medal and a Newbery Honor. Kadir Nelson's artwork also earned it a Coretta Scott King Award.
The Harder They Fall is a 2021 American Western film directed by Jeymes Samuel, who co-wrote the screenplay with Boaz Yakin. The film stars Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, and Deon Cole. It is one of few Westerns whose principal cast members are all black. Its characters are based on real cowboys, lawmen, and outlaws of the nineteenth-century American West.
David S. Turk is an American historian and author. His specialties are the areas of law enforcement, the Old West, the Civil Rights Era, and Virginia history.
Corsicana is a 2022 American Western film, featuring Isaiah Washington in his directorial debut. The film was co-written by Washington and Robert Johnson, and stars Washington alongside Noel Gugliemi, Lew Temple, and Stacey Dash. Washington portrays Bass Reeves, a former slave who went on to become the first noted black deputy U.S. Marshal, as he tracks an outlaw gang to Corsicana, Texas.
