BLK MKT Vintage is taking us back to school in the best way.
The Black-owned archival brand recently released The Black ABC’s Coloring Book, a new 32-page coloring book inspired by the original Black ABC classroom materials created in Chicago in 1970. The book features illustrations based on images from the original learning aids, with pages centered on affirming words and ideas like “A is for afro,” “J is for jazz,” “U is for us,” and “V is for vote.”
The original Black ABCs were created by Black educators June Sark Heinrich and Bernadette H. Triplett for the Society for Visual Education. The set included 26 poster-sized study prints, each pairing a letter with photographs, educational keywords, biographies, and activities rooted in Black history, culture, and identity.
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Created during the Black Power era, the materials were designed to center Black children in the classroom and reflect the lives, language, achievements, and cultural pride that traditional learning materials often left out.
Now, more than five decades later, BLK MKT Vintage is giving that history new life.
Founded by Jannah and Kiyanna Handy, BLK MKT Vintage describes its work as a way of reclaiming Black objects, memories, and material culture. Through archival pieces and contemporary reproductions, the brand brings Black history into everyday spaces and helps younger generations connect with the visual language of the past.
The coloring book joins the brand’s larger collection of Black ABC reproductions, including flashcards and 11-by-17-inch poster prints featuring phrases like “B is for beautiful,” “L is for learn,” and “S is for soul sister.”
There is even an earlier chapter to this history. BLK MKT Vintage has also reproduced The ABC’s of Great Negroes, a children’s book originally created in 1933 by Black artist, educator, activist, and Buffalo Soldier Charles Clarence Dawson to introduce young readers to Black achievement.
What started as classroom material generations ago is now becoming something families and teachers can put directly into children’s hands again.
A is for Afro. J is for Jazz. V is for Vote.
And now, a whole new generation gets to learn the alphabet with Black history built right in.
