Hamilton, Virginia (b. 1936), writer for children and young adults, first 
African American to win Newbery Medal (1974), and first American to win Hans Christian Andersen Medal (1992). Since the 1970s, the number of children’s books featuring African American characters has declined; however, the continuous publication of Virginia Esther Perry Hamilton’s provocative works reminds the public that artistic integrity in African American-authored children’s and young adult literature has not been relinquished. Hamilton maintains this integrity by uniting politics and art and by continuing to capture the universal in the particulars and complexities of the African American experience. Hamilton, who has published more than thirty books, generally satisfies her goal “to find a certain form and content to express black literature as American literature and perpetuate a pedigree of American black literature for the young,” as stated by Violet Harris (Black Women in America). (taken from answers.com)
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