Julius Lester Essay examples -- Children Literature African American E

Julius Lester Julius Lester is an African American Jewish Professor at UMass-Amherst who writes children's books along with teaching classes in departments of Judaic Studies, History and Literature. Before Julius was a professor at UMass-Amherst; he was a graduate of Fisk University in 1960, where he began as a professional musician and singer. He then furthered his career to direct the Newport Folk Festival and then went on to host a live radio show. Presently, Julius is known as "foremost among black writers who produce their work from a position of historical strengths." Julius writes children's books to teach moral and political values. In many of his books, he uses African American characters to relate back to the days of slavery. For example in his book; John Henry, he uses an African American character and ,makes him into a hero. The character in the book is able to break through a cave faster than a machine which symbolizes strength and courage among the African American race. In Les ter's book, How Many Spots Does A Leopard Have?, he uses n...