Tom Feelings

Tom Feelings
Portrait from the first edition of To Be a Slave (1968)
BornMay 19, 1933
DiedAugust 25, 2003(2003-08-25) (aged 70)
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Cartoonist, illustrator
Notable works
Tommy Traveler In the World of Negro History (1991)
To Be a Slave (1968)
The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo (1995)
AwardsCaldecott Honor, 1972, 1975
Coretta Scott King Award, 1996
Spouse
(m. 1969⁠–⁠1974)

Tom Feelings (May 19, 1933 – August 25, 2003) was an American artist, cartoonist, children's book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist. Many of his books focus on African-American and African culture, such as To Be a Slave (1968), Jambo Means Hello (1974), and The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo (1995).

Feelings was the recipient of numerous awards for his art in children's picture books. Feelings was the first African-American artist to receive a Caldecott Honor, and was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he lived in New York City, Ghana, Guyana, and Columbia, South Carolina.