Black History Month has been celebrated in February for nearly a century. These four titles from HarperCollins' Children's Books illuminate some of the achievements and history of African Americans.

Nelson Mandela is a beautiful picture book about the inspiring anti-apartheid activist and former president of South Africa. Raised by a powerful chief to ultimately do what he did is an astonishing and almost unbelievable story. It is all here, laid out in simple prose for younger readers to understand.

Brick by Brick is about the actual construction of the White House. The author relates the emotion, frustration and physical pain that went into building the President's home. The structure was put together literally brick-by-brick, by slaves and whites alike.

I've Seen the Promised Land is about the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Beginning in March 1968, the book relates the tale of protests about the war and social injustice in the the US. It talks about Dr. King going to Memphis, Tennessee, to support sanitation workers on strike there. The book covers the historic tale of Rosa Parks and King's ultimate death by assassination. From one of the final pages of the book:

On April 3, 1968, at the Masonic Temple in Memphis, Dr. Kig spoke of his life. He said that he had been to the mountaintop and seen the promised land. He knew he might not reach that land with his people. But still he held on to the faith that America would become the promised land of liberty and justice for all.