At the African American Children’s Book Fair, ‘the choir is loud’ in favor of greater representation of Black authors, stories

Patrice Parks-Smith told her 9- and 12-year-old nieces to take their time Saturday afternoon as they perused the tables at the African American Children’s Book Fair: In their school libraries, they don’t see as many books by Black authors, featuring Black characters, educating about racism and Black history.

“Having books with characters that look like us … it shows we can be more than what they see on social media,” said Parks-Smith, a 43-year-old charter school assistant principal from Strawberry Mansion.

Nearby in the crowded conference room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Jazmine Stewart held a stack of books that her 6-year-old son, Justice Chandler, had picked out as part of his quest to read at least 100 books this school year. The kindergartner is on track to far surpass that goal, his mother said, having already read more than 70 books and averaging three to four books a day.

Stewart, a 31-year-old mental health and addiction counselor, said she made the trip over the river from Delran because she wanted him to stock up on books about prominent African Americans in honor of Black History Month. And like Parks-Smith, she said she can’t find these books everywhere.

“You don’t see characters that look like him,” she said, noting that their ancestors fought for the kind of representation that was on display around her. “It’s important to see.”

That sums up the importance of the annual event, meant to increase the visibility of Black authors and promote literacy among children of all races and backgrounds, said founder Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati. Now in its 32nd year, it is one of the country’s largest and longest-running single-day events of its kind, she added.

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“Throughout the day, I run into parents who say, ‘I used to come to the book fair when I was a kid and now I’m bringing my children,’” Lloyd-Sgambati said. “We are creating generational readers.”

“Children who read books that reflect their image are more inclined to be long-term readers,” she added.

When the African American Children’s Book Fair started in 1992, a couple hundred people showed up. Now, she said, it draws about 3,500 people on average. In the years before the pandemic, it was held at Community College of Philadelphia, before going virtual in 2021 and then returning in person at the larger Convention Center space in 2022.

Every year, “it gets bigger,” said Paulette Poole-Phillips, 71, a retired U.S. postal worker from Morton, Delaware County, who has been attending the book fair for 25 years. She excitedly took photos of her 10-year-old grandson, Karter Walker, with author Vashti Harrison, who signed one of his favorite books, Hair Love, which she illustrated. Every year, Poole-Phillips said, “they have more authors.”

About 40 children’s authors lined up at tables. They included industry stars such as Harrison, the first Black woman to win the Caldecott Medal for her illustrated children’s book Big, which tackles anti-fat bias and promotes body positivity, and Ibi Zoboi, who recently won the Coretta Scott King Award for her young-adult novel Nigeria Jones. While there were some book giveaways for children and educators throughout the day, most books on display were for sale for $8 to $20.

“Every year, the books are more exciting,” Lloyd-Sgambati said. “Every year, these authors and illustrators are winning tons of awards. We’ve got some of the best books of our generation.”

The book fair was among the first of many local events being held for Black History Month, the theme of which is “African Americans and the Arts,” and is one of several free book-related activities happening across the city. Philadelphia libraries are holding events throughout the month. Visit Philadelphia and the Little Free Library have also pledged to give away 1,500 banned books, all of which are written by Black authors, at 13 stops on the “Little Free(dom) Library” trail.

The mission of the book fair and other events is especially timely as libraries have become ground zero for conservative culture wars about education, race, and LGBTQ representation.

The number of book bans has increased nationwide, with books that include characters of color or themes about race or racism making up about 37% of banned content over the last two school years, according to PEN America.

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Pennsylvania recorded the third-highest number of book bans of any state from July 2021 to June 2023, with 644 instances across 16 school districts, according PEN, a free-speech advocacy group that tracks bans through news reports, information on district websites, and communication with school staff. Pennsylvania ranked behind only Florida, which logged 1,972 instances across 37 districts, and Texas, which had 1,426 reports across 28 districts. New Jersey, meanwhile, recorded only six instances.

“I don’t like to talk about banned books, because the chorus, yes, it’s loud, but the choir is resonating even louder,” Lloyd-Sgambati said above the cacophony of hundreds of people talking as they browsed the book fair’s offerings.