My debut picture book, THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM: The Story of Juneteenth and Houston’s Emancipation Park, releases in May 2024 through HarperCollins, Balzer + Bray. Illustrator Jenin Mohammed is putting finishing touches on her amazing images, and I couldn’t be prouder of the visuals.
The book chronicles the history of Emancipation Park, the oldest park in Houston and Texas, purchased by formerly enslaved leaders in Houston’s historic Third Ward to celebrate Juneteenth. During the Jim Crow era, Emancipation Park was the only park available to African Americans in the area. The park has been a gathering place for Civil Rights protests.
Preorder THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM HERE.
Tonya Duncan Ellis
Tonya Duncan Ellis is author THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM: The Story of Juneteenth and Houston’s Emancipation Park and the bestselling, award-winning, Sophie Washington chapter book series and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Authors Guild, Black Creators in KidLit and the Brown Bookshelf’s Highlights Foundation Sponsored Amplify Black Stories storyteller cohort.
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