Description

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Your Legacy Begins: First Words to Empower is an uplifting board book adapted from author Schele Williamsand illustratorTonya Engel’s award-winning picture book Your Legacy: A Bold Reclaiming of Our Enslaved History that celebrates African American children’s heritage and the legacy of their ancestors.
 
Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and receive your ancestors.
They are a part of YOU.
 
Now reimagined for a younger audience, this board book speaks directly to African American children, introducing empowering vocabulary while inspiring little ones to walk tall and do great things.
 
With a joyous feel and vibrant art, Your Legacy Begins: First Words to Empower reminds little ones that their ancestors passed down the best of themselves—gifts like determination, courage, dignity, and love. That is your legacy!

About the Author

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Schele Williams is a director committed to cultivating new musicals and devised work with authentic representation. She is directing the Broadway revivals of Aida (Disney Theatrical Group) and The Wiz, as well as the premieres of Mandela the Musical and Indigo. She is helming the Disney Theatrical Group’s Hidden Figures. Williams has directed at regional theaters and festivals across the country and has a long history of work on Broadway in Rent, Aida, and Motown: The Musical. Passionate about pairing social justice with the arts, Williams is a founding member of Black Theatre United, an organization committed to dismantling systemic racism on our streets and stages. She has been a member of Broadway Inspirational Voices for over two decades and serves as chairperson of the board. She is also on the board of trustees for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
 

Tonya Engel is a self-taught artist living in Houston, Texas. Folk artists of the Deep South have influenced her work, as well as contemporary masters such as Marc Chagall, Frida Kahlo, Romare Bearden, and Gustav Klimt. Her bold style is figurative, textured, colorful, and ripe with symbolism. Engel made a spectacular debut in children’s publishing with her illustrations in Rise!: From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou, written by Bethany Hegedus and published by Lee & Low Books in 2019, and the recently published My Hair Is Magic! by M.L. Marroquin.