Timelines from Black History: Leaders, Legends, Legacies

The lives and achievements of leading lights as diverse as Stormzy, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, basketball star LeBron James, poet and novelist Maya Angelou, slavery abolitionist Olaudah Equiano and activist and creator of Afrobeat music Fela Kuti are chronicled in this excellent book that follows black history across many centuries to today’s contemporary world.

Yet rather than just a selected “who’s who” of black history, this essential and fascinating book also teaches children about important international events that contribute to a well-rounded understanding of current culture, such as a timeline detailing events in 1950s and 60s postcolonial Africa and important powerful African history from the 15^th to 19^th centuries, including information about the Kongo, Songhai and Benin empires as well as the American Civil Rights movement and the US Civil War.

As you’d expect from Dorling Kindersley, it’s a fascinating book with plenty of clear and well laid out information and photography, providing an excellent place for mid to older primary aged children to learn about notable contemporary and historical black people and events.