Andrews Alum Authors Kids’ Book About Juneteenth
19 June 2023 |
Andrews University alumnus Garrison Hayes has partnered with publisher A Kids Co. to write a new book for kids explaining the history of Juneteenth. The package for kids comes with a free eBook, activity sheet, and discussion guide. According to the publisher’s website, the book “delves into the historical journey that led to the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865,” and “provides a powerful exploration of the past and its impact on our present.”
Hayes is the founder of Kindred Media, a video-first creative agency at the cutting edge of culturally-relevant media for Fortune 500 companies, higher education institutions, and nonprofit organizations. He is an experienced filmmaker, creator, and entrepreneur who also works as associate pastor of Community Praise Church in Alexandria, Virginia.
His videos on social media have gone viral, promoting anti-racist education and often sharing stories of forgotten historical figures and their influential roles throughout American history. With more than 400,000 followers on TikTok, he has become a prominent influencer in the arena, sharing bite-sized lessons for his viewers. In the Know has called him “TikTok’s unofficial history professor and documentarian.”
In 2022, Hayes was selected for Snap’s Black Creator Accelerator program as one of 24 Black creators selected to receive financial support and mentorship for their creations. He has been featured on Today.com’s “Black Voices Column,” and has partnered with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Most recently, he was featured by Forbes as one of the “3 Content Creators That Are Disrupting the Media Industry.”
In the book, Hayes explains to kids that he wrote the book for three reasons:
1. Because I think the stories of the past help us understand today and build a better tomorrow.
2. I LOVE history.
3. I’m the descendent of people who were enslaved in the United States of America
Hayes shares that his “goal in writing it is to bring Juneteenth to life, introducing kids to a powerful account of resilience, joy, and solidarity that will stay with them for a lifetime.”
The free eBook, activity book and discussion guide can be found here.
