About Daniel

writer
animator
publisher
illustrator
graphic designer
content manager
independent historian

Daniel J. Middleton is passionate about black history. His mission is to inspire and enlighten people by revealing the sacrifices, struggles, and triumphs of those who came before us. Through his books, he chronicles the perseverance of past trailblazers who left a lasting legacy for our generation. Along with detailed articles, Daniel also illustrates coloring pages and creates interactive black history activities based on the articles for adults to engage with.

Daniel has spent the past sixteen years as a graphic designer in the book industry, where he worked with small presses and advised publishers and authors along the way. He has taken that experience and funneled it into Unique Coloring, which is an extension of his overall vision. During his career, what Daniel noticed was a severe lack of diversity in publishing. Books rarely depicted the black experience in an authentic manner, with positive images and narratives that adequately represented black people. He felt a need to correct that oversight.

Each subject Daniel approaches begins with meticulous research, which includes various primary, secondary, and tertiary sources that are carefully vetted for accuracy. This same determination is carried over to the materials he illustrates, the references for which are also carefully chosen to represent a given period in a factual light. Daniel writes all the articles for Unique Coloring and illustrates the grayscale images seen throughout the website. He is also the animator and producer of the black history explainer videos featured on the YouTube channel. Unique Coloring is focused on materials celebrating black history and culture.