\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFebruary is Black History Month, and in 2026 the celebration reaches a historic milestone \u2014 100 years of national Black history commemorations.This year\u2019s theme, \u201cA Century of Black History Commemorations,\u201d reflects how honoring Black history has shaped identity, strengthened community, and elevated the contributions of Black leaders, innovators, and storytellers across generations.At KCRA 3, we\u2019re marking Black History Month by spotlighting the powerful impact of Black Northern Californians. Dr. JaNay Brown-Wood is a Sacramento-area author and educator whose work is inspiring young readers across the country.For Brown-Wood, storytelling isn\u2019t just creative expression \u2014 it\u2019s a calling.The New York Times bestselling author has written more than 30 children\u2019s books, all driven by a clear mission: helping children see themselves reflected in the stories they read.\u201cI hated reading,\u201d she said, reflecting on her childhood. \u201cIt\u2019s because I couldn\u2019t find myself. I couldn\u2019t find books that looked like me or my family.\u201dRaised in Fresno in a large, loving family, Brown-Wood turned to storytelling long before she found a love for reading. She began writing her own books as a child \u2014 a passion that would later shape her career.That journey led her to UCLA, Sacramento State, and ultimately UC Davis, where she earned a Ph.D. focused on education, learning, and the developing mind. Through both research and lived experience, she uncovered a troubling reality: many Black and Brown children fall behind early, often because they lack access to books that reflect their lives.\u201cIf we can get to them early \u2014 giving them literacy skills so they know how to read, write, and spell well \u2014 we increase their likelihood of living the life they want to live,\u201d she said.Brown-Wood writes with intention, creating stories that serve as mirrors, windows, and doors for young readers. Her books reach children nationwide \u2014 including families right here in Northern California.Her journey hasn\u2019t been without challenges. One of her books even landed on a list of titles targeted for banning.\u201cWhen you looked for the rationale, all you saw was that it was written by a Black author,\u201d she said.Still, she presses forward.A former high school basketball and volleyball standout, Brown-Wood now travels the country speaking to educators and parents. She also offers free online resources like \u201cJammies with JaNay,\u201d encouraging families to read together.\u201cRead to your child every night before they go to bed,\u201d she said. \u201cIt helps solidify important brain networks that set the stage for literacy.\u201dBrown-Wood is building Black history \u2014 one page at a time.She also hopes to one day expand her stories to television with her own show.Each Monday in February, KCRA 3 will highlight the significant contributions of Black Northern Californians. You can watch all of the Black History Month profiles on the KCRA 3 app.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tFAIR OAKS, Calif. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
February is Black History Month, and in 2026 the celebration reaches a historic milestone \u2014 100 years of national Black history commemorations.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s theme, \u201cA Century of Black History Commemorations,\u201d reflects how honoring Black history has shaped identity, strengthened community, and elevated the contributions of Black leaders, innovators, and storytellers across generations.<\/p>\n
At KCRA 3, we\u2019re marking Black History Month by spotlighting the powerful impact of Black Northern Californians. <\/p>\n
Dr. JaNay Brown-Wood is a Sacramento-area author and educator whose work is inspiring young readers across the country.<\/p>\n
For Brown-Wood, storytelling isn\u2019t just creative expression \u2014 it\u2019s a calling.<\/p>\n
The New York Times bestselling author has written more than 30 children\u2019s books, all driven by a clear mission: helping children see themselves reflected in the stories they read.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hated reading,\u201d she said, reflecting on her childhood. \u201cIt\u2019s because I couldn\u2019t find myself. I couldn\u2019t find books that looked like me or my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raised in Fresno in a large, loving family, Brown-Wood turned to storytelling long before she found a love for reading. She began writing her own books as a child \u2014 a passion that would later shape her career.<\/p>\n
That journey led her to UCLA, Sacramento State, and ultimately UC Davis, where she earned a Ph.D. focused on education, learning, and the developing mind. Through both research and lived experience, she uncovered a troubling reality: many Black and Brown children fall behind early, often because they lack access to books that reflect their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can get to them early \u2014 giving them literacy skills so they know how to read, write, and spell well \u2014 we increase their likelihood of living the life they want to live,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Brown-Wood writes with intention, creating stories that serve as mirrors, windows, and doors for young readers. Her books reach children nationwide \u2014 including families right here in Northern California.<\/p>\n
Her journey hasn\u2019t been without challenges. <\/p>\n
One of her books even landed on a list of titles targeted for banning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you looked for the rationale, all you saw was that it was written by a Black author,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Still, she presses forward.<\/p>\n
A former high school basketball and volleyball standout, Brown-Wood now travels the country speaking to educators and parents. <\/p>\n
She also offers free online resources like \u201cJammies with JaNay,\u201d encouraging families to read together.<\/p>\n
\u201cRead to your child every night before they go to bed,\u201d she said. \u201cIt helps solidify important brain networks that set the stage for literacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown-Wood is building Black history \u2014 one page at a time.<\/p>\n
She also hopes to one day expand her stories to television with her own show.<\/p>\n
Each Monday in February, KCRA 3 will highlight the significant contributions of Black Northern Californians. You can watch all of the Black History Month profiles on the KCRA 3 app.<\/p>\n
See more coverage of top California stories here<\/a> | Download our app<\/a> | Subscribe to our morning newsletter<\/a> | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"February is Black History Month, and in 2026 the celebration reaches a historic milestone \u2014 100 years of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[2820,5661,961,68879,78208,24264,78206,3409,49511,32955,1431,13052,473,121,123,122,78209,3044,315,78207],"class_list":["post-160951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-app","tag-author","tag-black-history","tag-black-history-month","tag-black-history-spotlight","tag-book","tag-brown-wood","tag-child","tag-contribution","tag-educator","tag-family","tag-february","tag-kcra","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news","tag-sacramento-area-author","tag-story","tag-time","tag-young-reader"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}