Jaha Nailah Avery

1 week ago | essence.com | Jaha Nailah Avery

Early American banjo music is Black music. The banjo was created by enslaved African Americans, and , up until the 1830s, the banjo was exclusively an African American tradition. Banjo history has since been colonized and rewritten, but today, an increasingly growing number of people are ushering in a Black banjo revival. The banjo is a time machine. For centuries before colonialism, its music connected our ancestors to place, history, and heritage.

1 week ago | essence.com | Jaha Nailah Avery

Cheyney McKnight says her work as a historical interpreter and researcher led to her path as a designer. McKnight launched Not Your Momma’s History in 2014, where she develops programming and makes videos that educate about slavery and the Black experience, in collaboration with museums, historical sites, and businesses. McKnight is also the Manager of Living History at The New York Historical.

3 weeks ago | essence.com | Jaha Nailah Avery

Pleasant Company’s mission was to make history accessible to young girls, using dolls. Each American Girl character had a series of books, and corresponding dolls, that explored her story in a particular time throughout history. The company started in 1986, and by the early 1990s, American Girl was everywhere. There were full spreads in catalogs, commercials on TV, and copies of the books in school libraries everywhere.

2 months ago | essence.com | Jaha Nailah Avery

Monrowe NYC Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter highlights the history of African American influence in the making of American Western culture, uplifting country music, cowboy life, and entrepreneurship in the Wild West.

Feb 26, 2025 | slj.com | Jaha Nailah Avery |Melanie Crowder |Megan Benedict |Shauntay Grant

In 1977, the NCTE Excellence in Children’s Poetry Award Committee was established to honor outstanding poets who write for children. Since its inception, the committee has selected an outstanding poet every two years and begun selecting annual notable lists of poetry and novels in verse. This year, the committee is pleased to recognize twelve outstanding books of poetry and nine novels in verse as the 2025 Notable Books.