Born March 15, Harriet E. Wilson was the first African American to publish a novel in North America. Her novel, Our Nig, Sketches From the Life of a Free Black, published in 1859, is an autobiographical narrative that stands as one of the most important accounts of the life of a black woman in the antebellum North.
Dr. Kendra Boyd, scholar and professor on Black business and economic history, urban history and migration, talked about her book Freedom Enterprise, Black Entrepreneurship and Racial Capitalism in Detroit. She was very informative and has thoroughly researched her topic.
Born March 3, Lawrence Dunbar Reddick was an African American historian, professor, and author of the first biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
W.E.B. Du Bois is another author born on February 23. Author of the classic, The Souls of Black Folk, Dr. Du Bois continued writing many more books on African Americans. Read more about this scholarly professor, writer, and civil rights activist here.
John Lewis was born February 20. Posting books about his life and legacy. Read more about him here.
Here are just a few books written by and about him.
T. Thomas Fortune was a journalist and editor. He wrote about civil rights and other issues. Read more about his life and writings here. Some of his more notable books are below:
At the Sherwood Forest Branch Library, I saw a documentary film about Dorothy Foreman Cotton, an activist, educator, and unsung hero in the civil rights movement. She taught voting education to people in the South during the civil rights movement. More information about her film can be found here:
She wrote a book titled “If Your Back’s Not Bent”
Also born January 26, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima was a literary critic, a linguist, an anthropologist and has made a name in all three fields. More information about Dr. Van Sertima can be found here.
2019 Author Winner: A Few Red Drops by Claire Hartfield
2019 Illustrator Winner: The Stuff of Stars; illustrated by Ekua Holmes
2019 Author Honor Title: The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
2019 Illustrator Honor Title: Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop; illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
2020 Author Winner: New Kid by Jerry Craft
2020 Illustrator Award Winner: The Undefeated; illustrated by Kadir Nelson
2020 John Steptoe New Talent Author Award Winner: Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
2020 John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award Winner: What is Given From the Heart; illustrated by April Harrison
The CamaraIfe Maktaba 