Cheryl Willis Hudson is the cofounder and editorial director of Just Us Books, which she launched in 1988 with her husband, Wade Hudson, to uplift Black history and culture. She has written 26 children’s books, including her forthcoming When I Hear Spirituals (Holiday House, Jan. 2025), illustrated by London Ladd, which weaves together the lyrics of a dozen classic spirituals with seminal events in African American history. The cover of When I Hear Spirituals is revealed here for the first time.
What was your inspiration for When I Hear Spirituals?
Listening to these songs as a child affected me deeply because the words and melodies were so beautiful. Personally, they made me feel a range of emotions, from joy to sadness. At the same time, they relayed such painful memories of slavery times and events that I knew very little about. I was inspired to create a book that would connect the dots and notes of an amazing musical art form that developed out of real lived experiences of specific events in Black history. It’s important for all children to know how deeply rooted spirituals are in American history and what a powerful musical contribution they have made.
How did you decide which spirituals to spotlight?
I chose some spirituals that are familiar to American audiences, including “Get on Board Little Children” and “Wade in the Water.” Other songs, like “Go Down, Moses” and “Oh, Freedom,” have often been identified with heroes such as Harriet Tubman or as songs in the civil rights movement. Many have been
performed by famous artists—the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, and Leontyne Price.
How does being a publisher impact you as an author, and vice versa?
I think in many ways the roles feed into each other. Wade and I founded Just Us Books to produce authentic stories that reflect Black life and experiences that were not at the time being published by larger trade presses. In establishing the author-publisher relationship, the driving force has been grounded in the dual goal of the author who wants to create more Black-centered stories and the publisher whose aim is to get more Black stories to an audience who wants them for their children.
Actually, both roles merge in a larger sense. As authors, we want to share our stories with children. As publishers, we provide a vehicle for access.
Now that the large houses are publishing more children’s books by BIPOC authors that reflect BIPOC children’s experiences, is there still a need for publishers like Just Us?
Absolutely! There is so much Black history and there are so many Black experiences ripe with stories that need to be told to enrich the canon of children’s literature. Prior to the emergence of publishers such as Just Us, many major publishers did not expand and diversify their lists. There will always be a need for institutions to push the envelope.
What do you want CI2024 booksellers to know about the Black
publishing scene?
Black publishing plays an essential role in the overall industry. Independent publishers such as Just Us, Africa World Press, Third World Press, Black Classic Press, and others have led the way in identifying audiences, markets, and resources for diverse content. We are viable institutions that provide content and pathways of access to a larger and more diverse reading public.
What is next for you as a publisher and as an author?
At Just Us Books, we continue our work of the past 35 years—to publish good books for young people about Black history and experiences. Wade and I are especially excited about our next anthology, Toward a More Perfect Union, produced in partnership with Calkins Creek, which will feature contributions by Kelly Starling Lyons, Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Eliot Schrefer, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Tanya Lee Stone, and other outstanding writers. And as an author, I’ve got a bunch of
stories waiting for life as a book.
Cheryl Willis Hudson will participate in the breakfast keynote “Spotlight on Black Publishing,” June 12, 7:30–8:45 a.m.
