Netflix Preps Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices

Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices, a live-action preschool series that brings children’s stories from prolific Black creators to the screen, is set to bow on Netflix next month.

Centering around themes of identity, respect, justice and action, this 12-episode series features prominent Black voices—authors, athletes, actors, musicians and comedians—reading children’s books from Black authors that highlight the Black experience. The series is hosted and executive produced by Marley Dias, a 15-year-old activist, author and founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign. Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices will premiere on September 1 on Netflix and on the Netflix Jr. YouTube channel.

Netflix partnered with Jesse Collins Entertainment and other prolific Black creatives with a history of celebrating Black voices for the project. The team includes showrunner, director and executive producer Fracaswell Hyman (Little Bill and The Famous Jett Jackson), executive producers Jesse Collins (Rhythm + Flow, The New Edition Story), Dionne Harmon (John Lewis: Celebrating a Hero, BET Awards), David E. Talbert and Lyn Sisson-Talbert (Jingle Jangle, Almost Christmas) as well as creative producer Kevin A. Clark, Ph.D.

Further, Netflix launching a companion site at NetflixBookmarks.com that will have additional book recommendations, videos and resource guides to help continue the conversations off-screen. In an effort to share these stories more broadly, it will also be partnering with First Book to donate and distribute copies of each of the books featured in the collection to educators serving kids in need across the country, and in select international countries.

Titles of books, authors and readers include: Tiffany Haddish reads I Love My Hair (Written by: Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, Illustration by: E.B. Lewis); Grace Byers reads I Am Enough (Written by: Grace Byers, Illustration by: Keturah A. Bobo); Caleb McLaughlin reads Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut (Written by: Derrick Barnes, Illustration by: Gordon C. James); Lupita Nyong’o reads Sulwe (Written by: Lupita Nyong’o, Illustration by: Vashti Harrison); Marsai Martin reads ABC’s For Girls Like Me (Written by: Melanie Goolsby, Illustration by: Princess Kay); Karamo Brown reads I Am Perfectly Designed (Written by: Karamo Brown, Illustration by: Anoosha Syed); Jill Scott reads Pretty Brown Face and Brown Boy Joy (Written by: Andrea Davis Pinkney, Illustration by: Brian Pinkney/Written by: Thomishia Booker, Illustration by: Thomishia Booker); Misty Copeland reads Firebird (Written by: Misty Copeland, Illustration by: Christopher Myers); Common reads Let’s Talk About Race (Written by: Julius Lester, Illustration by: Karen Barbour); Jacqueline Woodson reads The Day You Begin (Written by: Jacqueline Woodson, Illustration by: Rafael Lopez); Kendrick Sampson reads Anti-Racist Baby (Written by: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Illustration by: Ashley Lukashevsky); and Marley Dias reads We March (Written by: Shane W. Evans, Illustration by: Shane W. Evans).

Heather Tilert, director of original animation for preschool at Netflix, said: “At Netflix, we believe that more people deserve to see their lives represented on screen. We hope that by providing opportunities for children to see themselves and to learn about the perspectives of others, Bookmarks will be the start of an exciting new chapter.”