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A Long Time Coming

A Lyrical Biography of Race in America from Ona Judge to Barack Obama

Author Ray Anthony Shepard
Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
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Hardcover
$19.99 US
| $25.99 CAN
Astra Publishing House | Calkins Creek
On sale Aug 08, 2023 | 336 Pages | 9781662680663
Age 12 and up | Grade 7 & Up
Reading Level: Lexile 1050L | Fountas & Pinnell Z
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This YA biography-in-verse of six important Black Americans from different eras, including Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama, chronicles the diverse ways each fought racism and shows how much—and how little—has changed for Black Americans since our country’s founding.

Full of daring escapes, deep emotion, and subtle lessons on how racism operates, A LONG TIME COMING reveals the universal importance of its subjects’ struggles for justice. From freedom seeker Ona Judge, who fled her enslavement by America’s first president, to Barack Obama, the first Black president, all of Shepard’s protagonists fight valiantly for justice for themselves and all Black Americans in any way that they can.  But it is also a highly personal book, as Shepard — whose maternal grandfather was enslaved — shows how the grand sweep of history has touched his life, reflecting on how much progress has been made against racism, while also exhorting readers to complete the vast work that remains to be done.
This is a work of creative nonfiction told in five
story-poems—flash lines of verse, prose, and quotes—
anchored in historical facts. Nonfiction in verse may sound
like an oxymoron, a mash-up gone astray, as awful as a
sardines-and-sauerkraut breakfast sandwich. Instead, I hope to
serve you banana and peanut butter spread on a toasted sesame
seed bagel—delicious, but not your usual fare. Nonfiction
in verse is my way to tell a story of race in the lives of six
American historymakers who helped form a more perfect
Union: Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman,
Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama.
I have not attempted to tell their complete life stories. Instead,
I present scenes from significant events that show how they
tilted the country’s moral arc toward liberty, freedom, and
justice to make the United States the world’s first major
multiethnic democracy. These scenes are authentic moments
inspired by real and confirmed facts of our country’s heroic and
continuing struggle to become an inclusive democracy. In place
of quotation marks, I have italicized all quotes and listed their
references in the sources notes. Also, I have capitalized Black
and White when pertaining to race.
—Ray Anthony Shepard
 
 
EPILOGUE
The Long Time
 
1796
Ona, not a Judge, but a
Thief.
Did not wait to hear liberty’s
Bell.
Stole what she could not have—
Herself.
It was a long time coming.
 
1838
Frederick Douglass’s lightning
Mind.
Did not wait for Union’s
Victory.
Sparked freedom from heaven’s
Stars.
It was a long time coming.
 
1849
Harriet Tubman fearless
Warrior.
Did not wait for Lincoln’s
Proclamation.
Guided the unfree with her North Star’s
Torch.
It was a long time coming.
 
1892
Ida B. Wells, citizens’
Crusader.
Did not wait to expose
Jim Crow.
Showed the world his brutal
Crimes.
It was a long time coming.
 
1955
Martin Luther King Jr., America’s protest
Preacher.
Did not wait for the Guardians’
Repentance.
Marched evil from the country’s
Promise.
It was a long time coming.
 
2009
Barack Obama, United States
President.
Did not wait for racial hate to
Clear.
Challenged the Guardians to
Change.
It was a long time coming.
 
Today
 
Ona to Obama, red, white, and blue
Sparks.
Did not wait for others to light the
Sky.
Declared a new Fourth of
July.
It was a long time coming.
 
Tomorrow
 
You, you, and you,
Friend.
Do not wait. Their work is not yet
Done.
Push We the people beyond the founders’
Vision.
It was a long time coming.
Copyright © 2023 by Ray Anthony Shepard; Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
A School Library Journal Best Book
A Booklist Editors' Choice 
A Kirkus Best Book
Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List
Finalist, SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction Text for Older Readers
Named to the 2024 Capitol Choices list
A Bank Street Best Children's Book

★ "These narratives will also give young people a new understanding of how the subjects became exceptional forces for racial freedom...Meticulously researched and organized...Shepard creatively argues through captivating poetic history that racial justice is the long struggle in this country and that we are still working toward who ''we' is in this more perfect union. A must ­purchase." —School Library Journal, starred review

★ "Rooting the events presented in documented history, Shepard distills them into concentrated bursts of truth... Christie’s section-heading black-and-white scenes are as starkly powerful as the poems. The information presented is kaleidoscopic rather than comprehensive; readers will come away with clear senses of who these individuals were and what motivated them, while formidable backmatter...provides avenues for them to fill in the gaps. Electrifying." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "In this substantive nonfiction history in verse, Shepherd depicts the lives of six Black Americans who 'tilted the country’s moral arc toward liberty, freedom, and justice.' The poetry is always engaging, at times unwieldy, at times electric in its power. Highly recommended for both personal reading and curricular study." —Booklist, starred review

★ “This is a highly readable work of creative nonfiction told in five story-poems–flash lines of verse, prose, and quotes–anchored in historical facts The individual poems are impressionistic, and many have a rhythm that would work well when read aloud.” —Youth Service Book Review

"In this biography in verse, Shepard presents thoroughly researched portraits of six historical Black figures...Shepard makes each subject both distinct and connected; repetitive phrases and similar stylistic structures thread through the book, underscoring an arc of history that has lurched toward racial justice in fits and starts, taking one step back as many times as it moved forward." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“A Long Time Coming is an unflinching, thoughtful, instructive, and beautiful rendering of the African American journey from slavery to freedom and beyond. Students of all ages will benefit from reading it.”—Randall Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School and author of Say It Loud! On Race, Law, History, and Culture

“Ray Anthony Shepard takes readers on an epic journey along Freedom’s road. As they encounter conquering souls like Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and President Obama, readers will finish the book bolstered with understanding and feelings of inspiration and joy.”—Alice Faye Duncan, author of Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop

“In powerful prose poetry, Ray Anthony Shepard recounts the lives and audacity of Black leaders from Harriet Tubman and Frederic Douglass to Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and President Barack Obama. Learning about them together gives this history of our country’s sins and the people who fought for justice the gravitas it deserves. I pray that this book—painful, revealing, and ultimately inspiring—will disprove forever ‘the lie,’ as Shepard puts it perfectly, ‘that people are color-coded into winners and losers.’ It is a long time coming.”—Deborah Heiligman, author of Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith

“An exquisite historical tapestry, A Long Time Coming, weaves the lives of six heroes to create unflinchingly detailed documentation of American strength, suffering, and survival. Approachable, quick, and brimming with dynamic storytelling. Depth of research shines as Shepard graciously sheds new light on the lives of these heroes.”—Angela Joy, author of Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement
Ray Anthony Shepard is the grandson of a slave and was the first African American editor-in-chief of a major educational publishing house. He holds an MAT from Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he received a Martin Luther King Jr. Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. He has taught at Phillips Andover Academy and Brandeis University. He lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts. rayanthonyshepard.com View titles by Ray Anthony Shepard
R. Gregory Christie is the award-winning illustrator of over fifty children's books, including The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children, edited by Davida Adedjouma, which won a Coretta Scott King Honor for illustration, and Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, which was selected as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. He lives in Decatur, Georgia, where he also owns and operates a bookstore that sells autographed children's books. gas-art.com View titles by R. Gregory Christie

A message from author Ray Anthony Shepard, author of A LONG TIME COMING

About

This YA biography-in-verse of six important Black Americans from different eras, including Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama, chronicles the diverse ways each fought racism and shows how much—and how little—has changed for Black Americans since our country’s founding.

Full of daring escapes, deep emotion, and subtle lessons on how racism operates, A LONG TIME COMING reveals the universal importance of its subjects’ struggles for justice. From freedom seeker Ona Judge, who fled her enslavement by America’s first president, to Barack Obama, the first Black president, all of Shepard’s protagonists fight valiantly for justice for themselves and all Black Americans in any way that they can.  But it is also a highly personal book, as Shepard — whose maternal grandfather was enslaved — shows how the grand sweep of history has touched his life, reflecting on how much progress has been made against racism, while also exhorting readers to complete the vast work that remains to be done.

Excerpt

This is a work of creative nonfiction told in five
story-poems—flash lines of verse, prose, and quotes—
anchored in historical facts. Nonfiction in verse may sound
like an oxymoron, a mash-up gone astray, as awful as a
sardines-and-sauerkraut breakfast sandwich. Instead, I hope to
serve you banana and peanut butter spread on a toasted sesame
seed bagel—delicious, but not your usual fare. Nonfiction
in verse is my way to tell a story of race in the lives of six
American historymakers who helped form a more perfect
Union: Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman,
Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama.
I have not attempted to tell their complete life stories. Instead,
I present scenes from significant events that show how they
tilted the country’s moral arc toward liberty, freedom, and
justice to make the United States the world’s first major
multiethnic democracy. These scenes are authentic moments
inspired by real and confirmed facts of our country’s heroic and
continuing struggle to become an inclusive democracy. In place
of quotation marks, I have italicized all quotes and listed their
references in the sources notes. Also, I have capitalized Black
and White when pertaining to race.
—Ray Anthony Shepard
 
 
EPILOGUE
The Long Time
 
1796
Ona, not a Judge, but a
Thief.
Did not wait to hear liberty’s
Bell.
Stole what she could not have—
Herself.
It was a long time coming.
 
1838
Frederick Douglass’s lightning
Mind.
Did not wait for Union’s
Victory.
Sparked freedom from heaven’s
Stars.
It was a long time coming.
 
1849
Harriet Tubman fearless
Warrior.
Did not wait for Lincoln’s
Proclamation.
Guided the unfree with her North Star’s
Torch.
It was a long time coming.
 
1892
Ida B. Wells, citizens’
Crusader.
Did not wait to expose
Jim Crow.
Showed the world his brutal
Crimes.
It was a long time coming.
 
1955
Martin Luther King Jr., America’s protest
Preacher.
Did not wait for the Guardians’
Repentance.
Marched evil from the country’s
Promise.
It was a long time coming.
 
2009
Barack Obama, United States
President.
Did not wait for racial hate to
Clear.
Challenged the Guardians to
Change.
It was a long time coming.
 
Today
 
Ona to Obama, red, white, and blue
Sparks.
Did not wait for others to light the
Sky.
Declared a new Fourth of
July.
It was a long time coming.
 
Tomorrow
 
You, you, and you,
Friend.
Do not wait. Their work is not yet
Done.
Push We the people beyond the founders’
Vision.
It was a long time coming.
Copyright © 2023 by Ray Anthony Shepard; Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Reviews

A School Library Journal Best Book
A Booklist Editors' Choice 
A Kirkus Best Book
Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List
Finalist, SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction Text for Older Readers
Named to the 2024 Capitol Choices list
A Bank Street Best Children's Book

★ "These narratives will also give young people a new understanding of how the subjects became exceptional forces for racial freedom...Meticulously researched and organized...Shepard creatively argues through captivating poetic history that racial justice is the long struggle in this country and that we are still working toward who ''we' is in this more perfect union. A must ­purchase." —School Library Journal, starred review

★ "Rooting the events presented in documented history, Shepard distills them into concentrated bursts of truth... Christie’s section-heading black-and-white scenes are as starkly powerful as the poems. The information presented is kaleidoscopic rather than comprehensive; readers will come away with clear senses of who these individuals were and what motivated them, while formidable backmatter...provides avenues for them to fill in the gaps. Electrifying." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "In this substantive nonfiction history in verse, Shepherd depicts the lives of six Black Americans who 'tilted the country’s moral arc toward liberty, freedom, and justice.' The poetry is always engaging, at times unwieldy, at times electric in its power. Highly recommended for both personal reading and curricular study." —Booklist, starred review

★ “This is a highly readable work of creative nonfiction told in five story-poems–flash lines of verse, prose, and quotes–anchored in historical facts The individual poems are impressionistic, and many have a rhythm that would work well when read aloud.” —Youth Service Book Review

"In this biography in verse, Shepard presents thoroughly researched portraits of six historical Black figures...Shepard makes each subject both distinct and connected; repetitive phrases and similar stylistic structures thread through the book, underscoring an arc of history that has lurched toward racial justice in fits and starts, taking one step back as many times as it moved forward." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“A Long Time Coming is an unflinching, thoughtful, instructive, and beautiful rendering of the African American journey from slavery to freedom and beyond. Students of all ages will benefit from reading it.”—Randall Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School and author of Say It Loud! On Race, Law, History, and Culture

“Ray Anthony Shepard takes readers on an epic journey along Freedom’s road. As they encounter conquering souls like Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and President Obama, readers will finish the book bolstered with understanding and feelings of inspiration and joy.”—Alice Faye Duncan, author of Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop

“In powerful prose poetry, Ray Anthony Shepard recounts the lives and audacity of Black leaders from Harriet Tubman and Frederic Douglass to Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and President Barack Obama. Learning about them together gives this history of our country’s sins and the people who fought for justice the gravitas it deserves. I pray that this book—painful, revealing, and ultimately inspiring—will disprove forever ‘the lie,’ as Shepard puts it perfectly, ‘that people are color-coded into winners and losers.’ It is a long time coming.”—Deborah Heiligman, author of Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith

“An exquisite historical tapestry, A Long Time Coming, weaves the lives of six heroes to create unflinchingly detailed documentation of American strength, suffering, and survival. Approachable, quick, and brimming with dynamic storytelling. Depth of research shines as Shepard graciously sheds new light on the lives of these heroes.”—Angela Joy, author of Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement

Author

Ray Anthony Shepard is the grandson of a slave and was the first African American editor-in-chief of a major educational publishing house. He holds an MAT from Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he received a Martin Luther King Jr. Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. He has taught at Phillips Andover Academy and Brandeis University. He lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts. rayanthonyshepard.com View titles by Ray Anthony Shepard
R. Gregory Christie is the award-winning illustrator of over fifty children's books, including The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children, edited by Davida Adedjouma, which won a Coretta Scott King Honor for illustration, and Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, which was selected as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. He lives in Decatur, Georgia, where he also owns and operates a bookstore that sells autographed children's books. gas-art.com View titles by R. Gregory Christie

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