M. LaVora Perry is a writer and the author of children's book A History of the Civil Rights Movement (Mason Crest, 2012). She is also a photojournalist, website editor, and videographer for Greater University Circle Neighborhood Voice and Neighborhood-Voice.com, a print and online publication in Cleveland, Ohio. Each monthly print edition features her front-page column. Visit her website, mlavoraperry.com.

Floyd Cooper received a Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations in The Blacker the Berry and a Coretta Scott King Honor for his illustrations in Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea, Meet Danitra Brown, and I Have Heard of a Land. Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mr. Cooper received a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and, after graduating, worked as an artist for a major greeting card company. In 1984, he came to New York City to pursue a career as an illustrator of books and now lives in Easton, Pennsylvania, with his wife and children.