Gordon C. James
BIO
Born in Washington, DC and raised in Fort Washington, MD, GORDON C. JAMES has been pursuing an art career ever since attending high school at Suitland Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Forestville, Maryland. From there he went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration from School of Visual Arts in New York City. Gordon was one of only two full-time illustrators hired to work for Hallmark Cards Inc. After Hallmark, he became an award-winning fine artist. His beautiful figurative paintings being featured in International Artist Magazine and his work is part of the Paul R. Jones Collection at the University of Alabama. Gordon brings the same passion to his illustrations. They are soulful, emotive and technically sound. He works hard so that we know how the characters look and most importantly exactly how they feel.
He is the only illustrator to win twice with author Derrick Barnes the Kirkus Best Book prize. His books included Ode To The Fresh Cut and I Am Every Good Thing both written by Derrick Barnes, Let’er Ride Buck: George Fletcher, the People’s Champion written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, and Just Like Jesse written by Ambassador Andrew Young as told to Paula Young Shelton. Currently alongside of his illustration work, Gordon has returned to his fine art roots. He combines classical figure painting and vibrant abstraction as he explores the black body and its place in the world. James lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife Ingrid and their two children Astrid and Gabriel, and their pets Rascal the dog and Ricky the gecko. He is proud to create beautiful works of art that help to tell stories on bookshelves and museum and gallery walls.
JUST LIKE JESSE OWENS
Civil rights icon, Ambassador Andrew Young and his daughter, Paula Young Shelton, deliver a powerful oral history about a special day in Andrew’s childhood that changed him forever. This story of race relations in the 1930s South is illustrated by bestselling Caldecott Honor winner Gordon C. James.
As a boy, Andrew Young learned a vital lesson from his parents when a local chapter of the Nazi party instigated racial unrest in their hometown of New Orleans in the 1930s. While Hitler’s teachings promoted White supremacy, Andrew’s father, told him that when dealing with the sickness of racism, “Don’t get mad, get smart.” To drive home this idea, Andrew Young Senior took his family to the local movie house to see a newsreel of track star Jesse Owens racing toward Olympic gold, showing the world that the best way to promote equality is to focus on the finish line. The teaching of his parents, and Jesse Owens’ example, would be the guiding principles that shaped Andrew’s beliefs in nonviolence and built his foundation as a civil rights leader and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The story is vividly recalled by Paula Young Shelton, Andrew’s daughter.
