Heavenly birthday wishes James McEachin! Born May 20, 1930, James McEachin was an African American actor, author, veteran, and Purple Heart recipient. His memoir, Swing Low My Sweet Chariot was an international best seller. He passed away in 2025. Other notable books:
Belated heavenly birthday Albert Murray! Born May 12, 1916, Albert Murray was an African American literary and music critic, novelist, essayist, and biographer. He passed away in 2013. His notable books are:
Belated heavenly birthday Rudolph Fisher! Born May 9, Rudolph Fisher was an African American physician, radiologist, novelist, short story writer, dramatist, musician, and orator. He was known for his novel, The Conjure Man Dies, the very first detective novel written by an African-American, set in 1930s New York with only Black characters.
Heavenly birthday Louise Meriwether! Born May 8, Louise Meriwether was a novelist, activist, and journalist. She is known for her debut novel, Daddy Was a Number Runner.
For Throwback Thursday, I am featuring three books that were published 50 years ago.
Book 1: The Adventures of Aku by Ashley Bryan
Book 2: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Book 3: Roots by Alex Haley
Belated heavenly birthday Jessie Redmon Fauset! Born April 27, Jessie Redmon was a poet, an editor, author, and educator. She was the literary editor for The Crisis. She was also a key figure during the Harlem Renaissance. Here are a few of her notable works:
Happy birthday Charles R. Johnson! Born April 23, Charles R. Johnson is an award-winning author, McArthur Fellow, and professor. His novel, Middle Passage, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1990. Here are a few of his notable novels:
Born April 13, Nella Larsen was an author of the classic novels Quicksand and Passing.
Happy birthday Jesmyn Ward! Born April 1, 1977, Jesmyn Ward won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction for her second novel Salvage the Bones. Other books are:
Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins was born in Portland, Maine in 1859. She was a playwright, journalist, novelist, historian, editor, feminist, public intellectual, supporter of the arts, and an outspoken crusader for African American rights. She is considered a pioneer in her use of the romantic novel to explore social and racial themes and is best known for her 1900 novel Contending Forces: A Romance of Negro Life North and South.
The CamaraIfe Maktaba 