Red Emma’s

Join Stephanie M. Henderson @booksandbounty in conversation with indie publishing founders W. Paul Coates, Kassahun Checole, and Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson as they discuss the past, present, and future of Black book publishers.

Featuring: Africa World Press (founded in 1983 by Kassahun Checole), Just US Books (founded in 1988 by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson), and Black Classic Press (founded in 1978 by W. Paul Coates)

What began as The Black Book (1972–1978), a Baltimore-based bookstore founded by W. Paul Coates, soon evolved into Black Classic Press (BCP). Established in 1978, BCP specializes in republishing obscure and significant works by and about people of African descent. BCP Digital Printing was founded in 1995 as a parallel entity of the Press, producing books and documents on demand, and placing Black Classic Press on the forefront of 21st-century print and publishing technology.

As a former African American Studies Manuscript and Reference Librarian at Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, W. Paul Coates was responsible for the collection and acquisition of African American books and related materials, including the selection and purchase of rare and non-rare items. A former member of the Black Panther Party, he led the effort to establish the Black Panther Archives at Howard.

Mr. Coates is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University’s School of Library and Information Studies and Sojourner-Douglass College (SDC), from which he received an honorary PhD in 2015. He is an active Black bibliophile and collector of cultural artifacts. In 2025, The Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard University acquired a collection from him and his wife, Rosalyn, of over 1,000 volumes focused on African American, African diaspora, and African cookbooks. He was a founding member and chair of the National Association of Black Book Publishers. In addition, he served as an adjunct instructor of African American Studies at SDC. He formerly owned and operated The Black Book from 1972–1978, a Baltimore-based bookstore. His experience with the purchase, sale, and collection of books by and about Blacks is a love affair that has continued over six decades.

Africa World Press (AWP) is a publishing company founded in 1983 by Kassahun Checole in Trenton, New Jersey, United States, with a mission to publish books on the history, culture and politics of Africa and the African diaspora. Two years later, The Red Sea Press was added as an imprint of AWP, with a primary focus on the Horn of Africa and taking on the role of distributor for books on and about Africa and people of African descent in the continent as well as the diaspora

Kassahun Checole, president and publisher of Africa World Press and The Red Sea Press, formerly taught at Rutgers University and El Colegio de Mexico. Checole is the recipient of many academic honors and equally numerous recognitions for his activist work. In January 2000, he served as one of the organizers of the first international conference in independent Eritrea, “Against All Odds: African Languages and Literatures in the 21st Century, as a Visiting Professor at Harbin Institute of Technology, Checole contributed to academic research and mentored students. and he is the 2023 receipient of the PEN Eritrea’s Freedom of Expression Award.

Since 1988, Just Us Books has revolutionized children’s publishing by proving there is a powerful market for books that center Black children, history, and culture. Nearly 40 years later, the Hudsons continue to lead as the premier independent publisher of African American children’s literature. Their legacy is built on championing Black representation, advocating for diversity in publishing, and launching the careers of new Black authors and illustrators.

Cheryl Wills Hudson got her start in publishing doing textbook design and has gone on to write and lead the editorial and art direction for hundreds of titles. Her AFRO-BETS® Kids characters, featured in titles including the AFRO-BETS ABC Book and the AFRO-BETS 1 2 3 Book helped to launch Just Us Books and demonstrate a need and a market for children’s books that center and celebrate Black people and culture. Cheryl is also the author with Bernette Ford of Bright Eyes, Brown Skin; Hands Can; My Friend Maya Loves to Dance; Brave Black First, 50+ Women Who Changed the World, a collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, and co-editor with her husband Wade of three anthologies, including the award-winning We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices.

A champion for change in the children’s book industry, Cheryl is a member of PEN America and PEN’s Children’s and Young Adult Books Committee, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Her honors include induction into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, the Harlem Book Fair Phillis Wheatley Award (2007), the Ida B. Wells Institutional Leadership Award (2008) presented by the Center for Black Literature, the Madame C. J. Walker Legacy Award (2012) given by the Zora Neale Hurston-Richard Wright Foundation, and the 2022 Carle Honors award from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

Cheryl also demonstrates her creative talents through fabric art, hand-sewing improvizational story quilts that are threaded with images from Black history and culture. Her work is inspired by the colors and design of indigenous African textiles, African American applique quilts, contemporary quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend, and reflects themes of social justice, Black cultural icons and the influences of African American music.

Wade Hudson’s career in publishing spans four decades. He has written more than 30 books including: Book of Black Heroes From A to Z; Poetry from the Masters: The Pioneers; Jamal’s Busy Day, and Powerful Words: More than Two Hundred Years of Extraordinary Writing by African Americans. He is co-editor with Cheryl of three anthologies published in partnership with Crown Books for Young Readers, including: The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth and Recognize! An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life. He wrote a collection of poetry, Journey, which was published by Third World Press and his coming-of-age memoir, Defiant: Growing up in the Jim Crow South, which Kirkus Reviews called a “powerful testimony from a children’s literature legend,” won the 2022 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature. His newest title is the picture book Invincible: Fathers and Mothers of Black America.

In his role as CEO of Just Us Books, Wade leads the company in bringing to market children’s books that reflect the fullness of Black stories, history, culture and experiences, breaking barriers in the industry, and contributing to a more inclusive literary landscape.

As a speaker with the dual roles of publisher and author, Wade offers unique perspectives into the world of children’s literature, education, diversity, and publishing. He speaks at schools, industry conferences, educational institutions, libraries and corporate events across the nation, and has facilitated with his wife Cheryl workshops for Freedom Schools, operated nationwide by the Children’s Defense.

Wade’s contributions to children’s literature have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Stephen Crane Literary Award, induction into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, the Harlem Book Fair Phyllis Wheatley Award (2007), the Ida B. Wells Institutional Leadership Award (2008) presented by the Center for Black Literature, the Madame C. J. Walker Legacy Award (2012) given by the Zora Neale Hurston-Richard Wright Foundation, and the 2022 Carle Honors award from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a recognition he shares with his wife Cheryl.