NYC Middle Schoolers Write the Only Children’s Book About Black Composer Florence Price
At Special Music School, NYC’s only music-focused K-12 public school, English teacher Shannon Potts assigned her sixth, seventh and eighth grade classes to study Florence Price, the first Black woman to have her music played by a major American orchestra. But as her students learned more about Price—whose contributions have become largely erased from historical and cultural memory—they realized there was little written about her, and no books at all aimed at kids, so Potts suggested they create their own. After 45 students wrote and illustrated Price’s biography, their book Who is Florence Price? found its way from the school to G Schirmer, the company that publishes Price’s music. The president of the company, Robert Thompson, was so floored by the children’s work, he agreed to publish it. The book is currently available for purchase with all royalties going to the non-profit organization Kaufman Music Center. Read more about the kids behind this inspiring work at NPR.
Image courtesy of Special Music School + Kaufman Music Center
Via npr.org link opens in a new window
