Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America
Written by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Publisher’s Summary:
Hand in Hand presents the stories of ten men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day. The stories are accessible, fully-drawn narratives offering the subjects’ childhood influences, the time and place in which they lived, their accomplishments and motivations, and the legacies they left for future generations as links in the “freedom chain.” This book will be the definitive family volume on the subject, punctuated with dynamic full-color portraits and spot illustrations by two-time Caldecott Honor winner and multiple Coretta Scott King Book Award recipient Brian Pinkney. Back matter includes a civil rights timeline, sources, and further reading.
Primary Source Pairing:
The collection of history and stories told in Hand in Hand presents ten men who have influenced history in great ways. Each man’s biography includes a poem, a painting of him, and illustrations throughout the text highlighting his successes, challenges, and accomplishments. Invite students to study the poem, the painting, and illustrations; pair with the information a primary source image of the man featured. Use these image analysis opportunities to support the text about each man. Additional information and primary sources are linked below.
Questions for Discussion:
- Describe what you see.
- What do you notice first?
- What people and objects are shown?
- How are they arranged?
- What is the physical setting?
- What’s happening in the image?
- What tools were used to create this?
- How does the illustration or image help you further understand the man featured?
- How does the poem included in the text support the image of the featured man?
- What questions do you have when studying these images?
Credits:
Book Cover and Summary: Follett
Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker Biography: Library of Congress
Benjamin Banneker Image: Wikimedia Commons
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass Image: Library of Congress
The Frederick Douglass Papers: Library of Congress
Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington Image: Wikipedia
Booker T. Washinton: Wikipedia
W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois Image: Library of Congress
W. E. B. Du Bois Online Resources: Library of Congress
A. Philip Randolph
A. Philip Randolph Image: Library of Congress
Speech at the National Press Club Luncheon on August 26, 1963: Library of Congress
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall Image: Wikimedia Commons
Thurgood Marshall Website: thurgoodmarshall.com
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson Image: Wikipedia
Jackie Robinson Website: www.jackierobinson.com
Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s, Collection: Library of Congress
Malcolm X
Malcolm X Biography: malcolmx.com
Malcolm X Image: Library of Congress
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on This Day in History: Library of Congress
Martin Luther King, Jr. Image: Wikimedia Commons
King Center website: www.thekingcenter.org
Barack H. Obama
Barack Obama Website: barackobama.com
Barack Obama: Wikipedia
Barack Obama Image: Wikipedia
Related Primary Source Pairings:
I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr.
I, Too, Am America
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X: A Novel
Primary Source Pairings 