At our annual gala on Friday, May 20th, at Shorehaven Golf Club in Norwalk, we will be honoring Jerry Craft.

Jerry taught graphic arts and writing to Carver kids for more than 10 years. Jerry is an American cartoonist and children's book illustrator best known for his syndicated newspaper comic strip Mama's Boyz and his graphic novel New Kid. Jerry is one of only a handful of syndicated African American cartoonists in the US.

Jerry is the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid and Class Act. New Kid is the only book in history to win the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature (2020); the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature (2019), and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for the most outstanding work by an African American writer (2020). Jerry was born in Harlem and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City.

Despite attempts by lawmakers and some parents to remove his books from Texas schools, Jerry’s books have actually gotten more attention thanks to the controversies.

Moreover, the director Prentice Penny, LeBron James’ SpringHill, and Universal are teaming up to bring Jerry’s New Kid to the big screen!