Darwin McBeth Walton

Darwin McBeth Walton believes that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. She has been called a pathfinder in the field of education, social activism, and diversity education.

Walton’s children’s books bring twenty-five years of public school teaching experience to her writing, and are dedicated to the belief that acceptance is the first law of teaching and learning. Her landmark book, What color are you? published by Johnson Publishing Co., was one of the first books about American Diversity to be used in public schools. She believes that “Children who are excluded for any reason – by teachers or peers –fail to reach their learning potential.”

Much of Walton’s writing is around the theme of acceptance and inclusion in the multi-cultural and diverse society our children are growing up in today. Her stories revolve around social challenges and family relationships. Her book Overcoming Challenges is the story of Astronaut Major General Charles F. Bolden, one of the first four black astronauts in the U.S. and the challenges he faced. Her acclaimed middle grade novel, Dance Kayla is about the courage of a young girl who – upon the sudden death of her grandmother – was uprooted from her farm live in South Carolina to begin her new life with a family in Chicago. It was chosen as a best children's book of 1999 by the Banks Street Selection Committee.

Other publications include In Nana’s Kitchen; A Part of Our Family; A Family Is Special; and Kwanzaa (A World of Holidays). Her two most recent books for children about the Underground Railroad are Journeys of Courage and Jettey's Journey to Freedom. . In the past several years Darwin Walton has worked with author and historian Glennette Tilley Turner editing and publishing works about the Underground Railroad.

Walton grew up during the Great Depression as part of a family of five girls in North Carolina. In grade school she started writing stories and, loved music and dancing. She attended Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte and Howard University in Washington D.C. while working full time. She moved to Chicago with scholarship to study music at the Chicago Conservatory of Music where she received a Bachelor of Music Degree. The discrimination she experienced as one of three African-American women studying at the Conservatory, as well as in Chicago and the north motivated her to go on to address these problems in her writing and as an educator.

Darwin Walton went on to receive a teaching degree from National-Louis University while continuing to perform at clubs and venues in Chicago and around the country. After teaching for over twenty years she designed and facilitated teacher education courses at National-Louis and also taught seminars in writing and creativity. In 2003 she was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Humanitarian Award at National-Louis University.

Darwin McBeth Walton lives, writes, and edits in Lombard Illinois.