Written and narrated by Schele Williams and illustrated by Tonya Engel, the children’s book Your Legacy: A Bold Reclaiming of Our Enslaved History traces the ancestry of African Americans back to Africa itself. Williams explains in the author’s note the embarrassment she felt as a child to be descended from slaves. In this story, she reclaims her ancestry proudly, highlighting the brilliance and courage of Africans throughout time.
Andy T. Jones animates and directs Your Legacy for this video production of the book. Engel’s intricate paintings beautifully capture the heart of the story, moving and dancing along with Williams’ narration and the African background music. Williams first lays out the beautiful diversity of Africa: its many kingdoms, languages, identities, and talents. When European ships came to capture Africans into slavery, they squelched much of these differences.
However, the African people were strong. Words in large font periodically splash across the screen—“intellect,” “courage,” “determination,” etc.—highlighting the enduring traits of these people. Williams calls attention to several important African American figures and their contributions to the country. Your Legacy ultimately urges Black children to be proud of their history and encourages them to, like their ancestors before them, pass down equality to future generations.
Though containing a universal message of equality, this book speaks directly to African American children, whose experiences might reflect Williams’ own. With Williams’ passion combined with Engel’s life-bringing paintings, this production is a masterpiece of children’s media. Your Legacy would be a wonderful talking point for American families and is a necessary purchase for children’s and world cinema library shelves. Highly recommended for media librarians looking to develop an inclusive children's film collection that has a focus on race. Aud: K, E.