Coretta Scott King Book Awards Co-founder Dies at 87

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By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 03/26/2009

Mabel R. McKissick, cofounder of the American Library Association’s Coretta Scott King Book Awards, died March 20 at the Bridebrook Rehabilitation Center in Niantic, CT. She was 87.

Mabel McKissick, cofounder of the Coretta Scott King Award, dies at 87.

The idea for an award that recognizes African-American authors and illustrators of children’s books came about in 1969, when McKissick and Glyndon Greer, both school librarians, were attending a library association conference in New Jersey. They happened to talk about their disappointment that no such award existed with John Carroll, a publisher and conference exhibitor. He suggested that they do something about it—and they did.

Greer and McKissick talked to Coretta Scott King and received approval to use her name on the award. The two librarians made arrangements for annual awards presentations in the same cities as the American Library Association (ALA) from 1970 through 1984.

McKissick and Greer presented the first Coretta Scott King Award to Lillie Patterson for her biography, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Man of Peace(Garrard), in 1970 at the New Jersey Library Association conference.

Effie Lee Morris, who chaired the committee starting in 1981, recalls McKissick’s enthusiasm when the award became an official part of the American Library Association in 1984, as a task force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT).

McKissick and Greer also negotiated the first honorarium with Johnson Publishing Company, a commitment that continues today. They eventually came up with the idea for the first illustrator award in 1974, which went to Sharon Bell Mathis for her biography, Ray Charles (Crowell).

The committee is now affiliated with the ALA Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, where it welcomes up to 800 attendees at their awards breakfast meetings held at ALA annual conferences. Other sponsors include World Book, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. and DEMCO.

McKissick participated in the 25th awards breakfast, where she was recognized by attendees and received a plaque celebrating her vision and leadership in the founding and continuation of the award.

Henrietta M. Smith, editor of the four editions of The Coretta Scott King Award Book (ALA Editions), remembered McKissick’s delight at being recognized at the breakfast and her pride in the development of the award and its growth in libraries, schools and homes since its inception.

More information about McKissick and the Coretta Scott King Book Awards can be found at www.ala.org/csk.