Feelings, Tom (1933-2003), was an African American illustrator known for his books that celebrate African and African American history and culture. Feelings began his career with pen and ink drawings and then began to include wet tissue paper and paint. He made these choices at first because he could not afford more expensive materials. However, he retained his original technique, comparing it historically to how African Americans had to be creative to survive and make do with what they had.
Feelings won the Coretta Scott King Award three times. He won in 1979 for Something on My Mind (1978), in 1994 for Soul Looks Back in Wonder (1993), and in 1996 for The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo (1995). The awards annually honor African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books that portray the Black experience for young readers.
Feelings is probably best known for The Middle Passage, which describes life on the ships that brought enslaved people to America from Africa. The book is a collection of 64 dramatic black-and-white illustrations and took Feelings 20 years to complete. Something on My Mind, written by Nikki Grimes, is a collection of prose poems that express the fears, hopes, joys, and sorrows of growing up. Soul Looks Back in Wonder is a collaboration between Feelings and 13 poets who offer positive messages about the heritage, strength, and dreams of African Americans.
Feelings illustrated two books written by his wife, Muriel, intended to introduce young readers to the Swahili number system and language. They are Moja Means One (1971) and Jambo Means Hello (1974). Swahili is an East African language. Feelings also wrote and illustrated Black Pilgrimage (1972), an autobiography.
Thomas Feelings was born in the Brooklyn section of New York City on May 19, 1933. There, he studied art at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School from 1951 to 1953 and the School of Visual Arts from 1957 to 1960. He became a free-lance illustrator in 1961. From 1964 to 1966, Feelings lived in Ghana, where he illustrated a government publication, The African Review. He worked in Guyana in South America from 1971 to 1974 as a teacher and consultant for the Ministry of Education. There, he trained young artists in textbook illustration. Feelings died on Aug. 25, 2003.
