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Happy birthday Tomi Adeyemi! Born August 1, Tomi Adeyemi was name one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. Tomi Adeyemi is a Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning writer, speaker, and model based in New York, New York. She is best known for her Children of Blood and Bone, book 1 in an Orisha trilogy.
Belated happy birthday Farai Chideya! Born July 27, Farai Chideya is an African American novelist, multimedia journalist, and radio host. Farai states: “I listen critically to stories about our human journey, and track the data on people, governments, and our global society.” Here are a few of her works:
Heavenly belated birthday wishes Chester Himes! Born July 29, 1909, Chester Himes Chester Bomar Himes was an African American writer. His works, some of which have been filmed, include If He Hollers Let Him Go, published in 1945, and Cotton Comes to Harlem. He died in 1984.
Happy birthday Renee Watson! Born July 29, Renee Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with over one million books sold. TIME named Watson a 2026 Visionary, honoring her commitment to helping children and young people reach their full potential. Renee Watson was among the first authors invited to give a reading at the Obama Presidential Center. Renee Watson is best known for her Newbery Medal winning All the Blues in the Sky and New York Times bestselling young adult novel Piecing Me Together. Watson was among the first authors invited to give a reading at the Obama Presidential Center.
Heavenly belated birthday wishes Austin Clarke! Born July 26, 1934, Austin Ardinel Chesterfield “Tom” Clarke, CM OOnt, was a Barbadian novelist, essayist, and short story writer who was based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Among his notable books are novels such as The Polished Hoe, memoirs including Membering, and two collections of poetry, Where the Sun Shines Best and In Your Crib. He died in 2016.
Belated birthday wishes R. Gregory Christie! Born July 26, R. Gregory Christie is a phenomenal award-winning children’s author and illustrator. He has illustrated numerous books and won numerous awards! Here are just a few of his award-winning works:
Heavenly belated birthday wishes Charles S. Johnson! Born July 24, 1893, Charles Spurgeon Johnson was an American sociologist and college administrator, the first black president of historically black Fisk University, and a lifelong advocate for racial equality and the advancement of civil rights for African Americans and all ethnic minorities. He died in 1956. His notable academic works include:
Heavenly belated birthday wishes Buchi Emecheta! Born July 21, 1944, Buchi Emecheta was a Nigerian writer, whose work includes novels, plays, autobiography, and children’s books. Her novels deal largely with the difficult and unequal role of women in both immigrant and African societies and explore the tension between tradition and modernity. She was best known for her 1974 novel, Second Class Citizen. She died in 2017. Her other notable works are:
Heavenly belated birthday wishes Frantz Fanon! Born July 20, 1925, Frantz Omar Fanon was a French West Indian psychiatrist and political philosopher from the French colony of Martinique. His works have become influential in the fields of post-colonial studies and critical theory. He died in 1961. He is well-known for his book The Wretched of the Earth. Other notable works are:
Heavenly belated birthday wishes Henry Dumas! Born July 20, 1934, Henry Dumas was an African American writer and poet. He was called “an absolute genius” by Toni Morrison, who as a commissioning editor at Random House published posthumous collections of his poetry and of his short stories, in 1974. He died in 1968. Some of his notable works:
Some of Henry Dumas’ poetry can be read here:
