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Carole Boston Weatherford
Carole Boston Weatherford 5204376.jpg
Born Carole Michele Boston
(1956-02-13) February 13, 1956 (age 69)
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Education
Notable awards

Carole Michele Weatherford (born February 13, 1956) is an American author, critic, and poet. She has written over 50 books for children. Most of her books are non-fiction or poetry. The musical sound of poetry has always interested her. It also helped guide her writing career. She has won many awards for her books. These include the 2022 Coretta Scott King Award for her book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre. As a critic, she is known for speaking out about characters in popular culture. These include Pokémon character Jynx and Dragon Ball character Mr. Popo. She felt these characters showed unfair or stereotypical images.

Early Life and Education

Carole Michele Boston was born on February 13, 1956. Her parents were Joseph Alexander Boston and Carolyn Virginia Boston. She grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. Carole started writing poems in first grade. She would tell them to her mother, who wrote them down. Her father taught printing. He even published some of her early writings. As a child, she loved reading books by Dr. Seuss and Langston Hughes.

Weatherford went to American University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977. Later, she earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Baltimore in 1982. She also received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Writing Career

Before becoming a full-time writer, Carole Boston Weatherford had many different jobs. She worked as an English teacher and for the American Red Cross. She also created and hosted a radio show called Black Arts Review.

Weatherford published her first picture book in 1995. It was called Juneteenth Jamboree. This book is about a summer celebration that remembers the end of slavery in Texas. After that, she wrote several board books for young children. In 2001, she published The Sound That Jazz Makes. This book is a poem that tells the story of African-American music. It won the 2001 Carter G. Woodson Book Award.

Since then, she has continued to write. Her books include poetry, historical fiction, and biographies for children. She often writes about African-American history. She wants to share these stories with new generations. Many of her stories are inspired by real events. These events often happened in the places where she has lived. In her books, she includes notes about the historical research she did. She wants her books to help kids understand the past. She hopes they will work towards a more fair future.

One of her most important poems is Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. This book won a Caldecott Award for its illustrations. It also won an NAACP Image Award. In 2008, Weatherford wrote her first poetic novel for young adults. It was called Becoming Billie Holiday.

Her book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre was published in 2021. It tells the story of a terrible event in history. This book won both the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator and Author in 2022. It was also a finalist for the Caldecott Medal.

Weatherford also became a writer-in-residence at Fayetteville State University (FSU). In 2007, she became an associate professor. She taught writing and children's literature there.

Speaking Out

Carole Boston Weatherford has written articles about unfair images in popular culture. She has spoken out about how some characters in East Asian popular culture might show stereotypes of Black people.

Pokémon

In 2000, Weatherford wrote an article about the Pokémon character Jynx. She believed that Jynx, Pokémon #124, looked like a negative stereotype of African Americans. She described Jynx as having "jet-black skin, huge pink lips, gaping eyes, a straight blonde mane and a full figure."

Because of this concern, Jynx's skin color was changed. In the American versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver, released in late 2000, Jynx's skin was purple. By 2002, Nintendo officially changed Jynx's skin color from black to purple. This change was later shown in the animated TV series in 2005.

Dragon Ball

In another article in 2000, Weatherford also talked about Mr. Popo. This character is from the Dragon Ball series. She described Mr. Popo as a "rotund, turban-clad genie with pointy ears, jet-black skin, shiny white eyes and, yes, big red lips."

Later, when the Dragon Ball manga was released by Viz Media in 2003, Mr. Popo's lips were drawn smaller. Also, newer shows like Dragon Ball Super have included more Black characters that are not stereotypes.

Awards and Honors

Many of Weatherford's books have been chosen as Junior Library Guild selections. This means they are highly recommended books for young readers. Some of these include Before John Was a Jazz Giant (2008), Freedom in Congo Square (2016), and Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre (2021).

Major Awards

Carole Boston Weatherford has received many important awards for her books. Here are some of them:

Personal Life

Carole Boston married writer Ronald Jeffrey Weatherford on February 2, 1985. They have two children.

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