Heavenly birthday wishes Eldridge Cleaver! Born August 31, 1935, Leroy Eldridge Cleaver was an African American writer and political activist. He was an early leader of the Black Panther Party, serving as Minister of Information and, while in exile, head of the International Section of the Panthers. He was known for his book, Soul on Ice. Later in life, he became a conservative Republican. He died in 1998. His other notable works:
Heavenly birthday wishes Henrietta Cordelia Ray! Born August 30, 1852, Henrietta Cordelia Ray was an African American poet and teacher. Her parents were notable abolitionists, and had worked for the Underground Railroad in Manhattan. Her ode “Lincoln” was read at the unveiling of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, DC, in April 1876. She died in 1916.
Belated birthday wishes Roseanne A. Brown! Born August 26, Roseanne A. Brown is a Ghanaian American writer of fantasy, science fiction and young adult fiction. She is best known for her debut novel A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, which became a New York Times best seller, and its sequel, A Psalm of Storms and Silence. By Divine Rage, her debut adult novel, will be published in 2027.
Happy birthday Rita Dove! Born August 28, Rita Frances Dove is an African American poet and essayist. She served as poet laureate consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995, becoming the first African American appointed to the position after it was established in 1986. In 1987, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her third collection of poetry, Thomas and Beulah. Other notable works:
Heavenly birthday wishes Simeon Booker! Born August 27, 1918, Simeon Saunders Booker Jr. was an African-American journalist whose work appeared in leading news publications for more than 50 years. He was known for his journalistic works during the civil rights movement and for his coverage of the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till. He also was the first African American full-time journalist for the Washington Post. He died in 2017. He authored two works:
Happy birthday Nikky Finney! Born August 26, Nikky Finney is an award winning African American poet. She was the Guy Davenport Endowed Professor of English at the University of Kentucky for twenty years. In 2013, she accepted a position at the University of South Carolina as the John H. Bennett, Jr. Chair in Southern Letters and Literature. Her collection of poems, Head Off & Split received the National Book Award for Poetry in 2011. Other notable works are:
Happy birthday Clint Smith! Born August 25, Clint Smith is an award winning, New York Times bestselling African American author, poet, and scholar. He is the author of the number one New York Times Best Seller, How the Word Is Passed, which won the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and was named one of the top ten books of 2021 by the New York Times.
Happy birthday Gary Phillips! Born August 24, Gary Phillips is an African American writer, editor, and community activist whose 1994 novel Violent Spring is considered a classic work of crime fiction and one of the essential crime novels about Los Angeles. His notable books are:
Happy birthday Kyra Davis Lurie! Born August 23, Kyra Davis Lurie is a New York Times bestselling African American author and screenwriter. She is the author of The Great Mann, So Much For My Happy Ending, the Sophie Katz mystery series, the Just One Night series and the Pure Sin series. Her books have been published in nine languages across 6 continents. Her first historical fiction novel, The Great Mann, is a literary interpretation of the Great Gatsby.
Happy birthday Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi! Born August 22, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi is an African American curator, quilter, author, art historian, and aerospace engineer. She is a strong advocate for presenting and documenting African-American-made quilts. Her quilts are designed to tell complex stories around African-American heritage and contemporary experiences. A few of her curated works:
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