Mr. Tom Feelings (1933 – 2003), a highly acclaimed artist and illustrator, was a master chronicler of the African American experience in visual form. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Feelings spent several years in West Africa which profoundly affected his work and encouraged his diasporic vision. Among Feelings’ many books are Moja Means One, Jambo Means Hello, (children’s books) and The Middle Passage (a striking artistic study of the transatlantic slave trade). Feelings won numerous national and international recognitions for his work, including two Caldecott Honors and a Newberry Honor, among the highest national awards for children’s literature.