Samuel A. Beadle (1857-?)

He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1857. Beadle practiced and studied law in Mississippi. He wrote fiction. His written works include Lyrics of the Underworld (1912), and Adam Shuffler (1901).

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Lerone Bennet, Jr. (1928-)

He was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. While being educated in the Jackson public school system, he worked with the high school newspaper and edited The Mississippi Enterprise, a local Black weekly paper. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta working as an editor of the student newspaper. After graduation, Bennett became a reporter and editor for the Atlanta Daily World. In 1953, Bennett joined the Johnson Publishing Company working as the associate editor of Ebony and Jet until he became the chief editor in 1960. Bennett wrote many articles on African American history, resulting in the title "resident historian" of Johnson Publishing Company. His most noted work, Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America (1962), gives a chronological account of the African American experience in America. He wrote What Manner of Man (1964), a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Other works include: The Negro Mood And Other Essays (1964), Confrontation, Black and White (1965), Black Power, U.S.A., The Human Side of Reconstruction 1867-1877 (1967), Pioneers in Protest (1968), The Challenge of Blackness (1972), The Shaping of Black America (1974), and Wade in the Water: Great Moments in Black History (1979). Bennett also wrote poetry and fiction novels along with lecturing and teaching African American history. He has received honorary degrees from Morehouse, Lincoln University, and the University of Illinois. He was awarded the Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1978.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

African American Almanac

African American Encyclopedia

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Charles Braxton (Charlie R. Braxton) (1961- )

He was born in McComb, Mississippi, in 1961. Braxton attended Jackson State University. In 1990, Braxton wrote Obsidian From The Ashes, a collection of poetry. Braxton's works have been published in the African American Review, The Black Nation, Catalyst, Crossroads, Candle, Drum Voices Review, Cut Bank, and the Minnesota Review. In Mississippi Writers, by Dorothy Abbott, Braxton reflects on his life in Mississippi. He says, "When I look back on my life in the Magnolia State, thus far, I feel a strong sense of being. By that I mean, I feel that my soul is deeply rooted in the soil of this state."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth (Poetry)

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Virgia Brock-Shedd (1943-1992)

She was born in 1943, in Carpenter, Mississippi. She attended Jackson State University and Atlanta University. Brock-Shedd, after reading The Power of Positive Thinking and witnessing Margaret Walker perform her poetry at Piney Woods country life school, concluded that she wanted to be a poet. As a result she went to JSU and studied with Margaret Walker. In 1970, she studied with Alice Walker. Brock-Shedd stated that she wanted to be a role model for people in the manner that Margaret Walker was for her. Brock-Shedd wrote Southern Roads/City Pavements. As a contributor, writer, and editor, her works also appeared in Hoo Doo II, Jackson Advocate, Mississippi Earthworks, Mississippi Woods, Northside Reporter, and Close-Up.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth (Poetry)

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Jonathan Henderson Brooks (1904-1945)

Born in 1904, in Lexington, Mississippi, he attended Tougaloo College and Columbia University. At Tougaloo, he worked as an assistant to the president. He became an ordained minister using his rhetorical skills to deliver sermons and other speeches. Many of his poems reflect his religious background. His written works include The Resurrection and Other Poems, and Still I Am Marveling.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Southern Black Creative Writers

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Isabella Brown

She was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1917. She was a teacher who also composed the words and music to songs. Her poem, "Prayer," appeared in The Poetry of the Negro 1746-1970.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Afro American Encyclopedia (1974)

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Blanche K. Bruce (1841-1898)

Bruce was born a slave in Farmville, Virginia. He was the first black to serve a full six-year term in the United States Senate. In 1868, he moved to Floreyville/Bolivar County, Mississippi. Here, he met several prominent black leaders such as James L. Alcorn and Samuel Ireland. Bruce served as a sheriff during a period of constant racial tension. His actions and conduct helped to suppress a race war in 1875 before it started. Bruce's political career surpassed any black person of the time. In the absence of Vice President W. A. Wheeler, Bruce presided over the Senate, making him the first black to fill that role. According to the New York Tribune, "Senator Bruce occupied the chair yesterday during a portion of the debate on the Chinese bill. This is the first time a colored man ever sat in the seat of the Vice-President of the United States. Senator Bruce is universally respected by his fellow senators and is qualified both in manners and character to preside over the deliberations of the most august body of men in the land." In May of 1881, President James Garfield appointed Bruce to the Register of the U.S. Treasury making him the first black to ever hold this position. At this position Bruce was the first black to sign his name on American money, making it legal tender. Bruce served as a delegate to numerous Republican National Conventions. Bruce served as the editor of the Floreyville Star, a black newspaper in Bolivar County.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Black Press in Mississippi

Mississippi Black History Makers

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Rev. C. S. Buchanan

Information on his birthplace is currently unavailable. However, Buchanan worked in the West Point/Clay County area of Mississippi. He was an editor who published the work Preacher and Teacher. While living in West Point, Buchanan received intimidations and threats. Eventually, he was forced to leave West Point after approximately hundreds of white people met and expressed their objection to Buchanan's economic status and printing activities in the community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Black Press in Mississippi

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Charles Wesley Burton

Born in Meridian, Mississippi, in 1887, Burton received his B. S. from Talladega and a B.D. from Yale; he also attended John Marshall Law School. He wrote Living Conditions Among Negroes in the Ninth Ward of New Haven. In 1950, he was awarded Who's Who in Colored America.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Frank B. Coffin (1871-1951)

He was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Coffin published two books of poems, Coffin's Poems with Ajax Ordeal (1897) and Factum Factorum (1947).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Southern Black Creative Writers

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Walker Milan Davis (1908-1950)

He was born in Okolona, Mississippi. Davis received his bachelor's degree from Alcorn State University and his master's degree from Iowa State. He taught Sociology at Alcorn and worked as business manager of the Ministerial Institute and College. From 1933 to 1940, he was Dean and Registrar at Okolona College, becoming the president of that school in 1943. His works of nonfiction include Pushing Forward: A History of Alcorn A. & M. College and Okolona, Mississippi: The Okolona Industrial School. He received the Who's Who in Colored America award.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lives of Mississippi Authors

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Matthew W. Dogan (1863-1947)

He received an A.B. at Rust College, a D.D. degree at New Orleans College, and a Ph.D. at Walden College. He was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, receiving the Who's Who in Colored America award in 1927. He published The Negro and Methodism.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1927 ed.)

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L. C. Dorsey (1938-?)

She was born in Tribbett, Mississippi. She attended Howard University, Mary Holmes College, State University of New York, the University of Mississippi, and Worker's College at Tel Aviv, Israel. Dorsey was the administrative director of the Mississippi Prisoners' Defense Committee; the director of Social Services for Washington County, the director of the Southern Coalition on Jails and Prisons, the objectives of which were prison reform, as well as the elimination of the death penalty; and the director of Delta Ministries. She wrote Harder Than These Times, Freedom Came to Mississippi (1977), and Cold Steel (1983). She also contributed to the Jackson Advocate. She was one of the fifteen people selected by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity. In Mississippi Writers she states, "Students should prepare themselves to make Mississippi a better community and not rush to escape its customs, tradition, racism, and poverty. For all these things exist everywhere; only not always are they as obvious, or honest, as is our state."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth

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Charles Evers (1923- )

Born in 1923 near Decatur, Mississippi, he attended Alcorn State University. While at the university, he sold peanuts and sandwiches and provided the students and faculty with a taxi service, charging passengers a dollar and a half for a round trip to Natchez. He experienced racism in every aspect of life. When Evers was young, Senator Theodore Bilbo, at the Newton County Courthouse, saw Charles and Medgar Evers in the audience. The senator warned the crowd, saying, "You see them two little niggers sittin' down there? If you don't stop 'em, one of 'em will be up here on these steps one day trying to go to Congress." Medgar looked at Charles and said, "That's not a bad idea." In 1969, Charles Evers became the mayor of Fayette, Mississippi, making him the first black mayor of a biracial town since Reconstruction. He also became Mississippi's first black disc jockey at the white-owned WOKJ. In Philadelphia, Mississippi, he taught history and coached football, opened a hotel and cafe, operated a taxi business, sold insurance, worked in his uncle's funeral home, and worked with voter registration throughout the area. Because of his success in Philadelphia, white racists, who were still in control of the town, destroyed his business, home, and eventually his teaching job. After receiving numerous threats of murder, Evers was forced to use money from friends in order to leave town to preserve his own life. His major works are Have No Fear: The Charles Evers Story (1997) and Evers (1971).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi's Black History Makers

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2003

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Medgar Evers (1925-1963)

He attended Alcorn participating in extracurricular activities such as track, football, and newspaper editor for the Alcorn Herald. Evers was awarded Who's Who in American Colleges. His major work was Why I Live in Mississippi. Evers was the central figure of the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi. He was the field secretary for the NAACP. He led many boycotts that focused national attention on Mississippi. Many times Medgar was beaten while participating in sit-ins and protests. One time, Evers took a front row seat on a Trailways bus and refused to move until a policeman forcefully took him to the station. After his release, he returned to the same bus and took the same seat. When a white cab driver saw Evers, he entered the bus and punched Evers, who did not retaliate, in the face. After the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring segregation unconstitutional, Evers attempted to integrate the University of Mississippi Law School, being denied admittance. In 1962, Evers was successful in getting James Meredith into the University of Mississippi. Meredith indicated that it was Evers' "expert knowledge of human nature and his ability to deal with people" which led to his becoming the first Black to be enrolled at "Ole Miss." Medgar Evers constantly received threats from anonymous phone callers, people following him around, and police officers brutalizing him during protests. Evers trained his family to drop to the floor if they heard a strange noise, hide in the bath tub if there were shots being fired into the house, and avoid sitting in front of windows. He knew that he could die at any moment. In fact, he stated "I'm looking to be shot any time that I step out of the car." On June 11, 1963, Evers was assassinated in the driveway of his Jackson home.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi's Black History Makers

Mississippi Writers Reflections of Childhood and Youth (Nonfiction)

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James Forman (1929- )

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up with his grandmother in Marshall County, Mississippi. He received his B.A. at Roosevelt University, a M.A. at Cornell University and a Ph.D. from the Union of Experimenting College and University in cooperation with the Institute for Policy Studies. Forman collected clothes and raised money for Blacks who had been put off of their land resulting from attempts to register to vote. He was then given the position of executive director of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). He was also the chairperson of UPAC, the Unemployment and Poverty Action Council. Forman was responsible for the most widely publicized demand for reparations. While delivering his Black Manifesto speech, Forman surprisingly asked that white churches give 500 million dollars in reparations for slavery and other injustices against Blacks. On July 6, 1969, Forman, as a result of the National Black Economic Conference, received a check for $15,000 from the Washington Square United Methodist Church in New York City. The church was the first predominantly white organization to produce funds after Forman demanded reparations from American churches for helping to perpetuate slavery. Some of Forman's written works include The Making of Black Revolutionaries (1972), Sammy Younge, Junior (1968), Self Determination: An Examination of the Question and Its Application to the African-American People (1984), The Political Thoughts of James Forman (1970).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

African American Almanac

Mississippi Black History Makers

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth

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Asa Gordon (1898- ?)

Born in Monticello, Georgia, Gordon made contributions to the state of Mississippi in the area around Alcorn State University. He was the director of the Dept. of Social Science at Alcorn. He contributed journal articles to the Journal of Negro Education and wrote Sketches of Negro Life and History. He was awarded Who's Who in Colored America.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Roland Gordon (1944- ?)

He was born in Greenwood, Mississippi. He received his B.A. from Baldwin-Wallace College. Gordon was an actor, model, and producer, as well as a writer of poetry. His written works are A Message to the World and The Winds of Change.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selected Black American Authors

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Percy Greene (1898-19?)

Greene was from Jackson, Mississippi, and he graduated from Jackson State University. He was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at JSU for scoring nine touchdowns in one game. In 1946, he organized the Mississippi Democrat Assocation to give Blacks a political vehicle. Greene has received numerous awards for his contributions to democracy in the U.S. He created The Colored Veteran as an outlet for black veterans who were concerned about membership on the American Legion. He is also the founder of the black newspaper Jackson Advocate. He made significant contributions to civil rights through being an editor and publisher. He once stated, "When the final story of the civil rights movement is written, they are going to say it started in MS in 1927 and 1928 by Percy Greene, the editor and publisher of the Jackson Advocate."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Black History Makers

The Black Press in Mississippi

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Robert R. Greene (1863-?)

He was born in Okolona, Mississippi. Greene received his education at Rust College A.B., and A.M., and Central Tennessee College. He was awarded Valedictorian of the class at Central Tennessee College. He was the editor of The Enterprise, and he also wrote Recollections of the Black Belt.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1927 ed.)

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Booker T. Griffith (1902-?)

Born in Prentiss, Mississippi, Griffith received his B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. His Writings include Teaching of Freshman Biology (1928), , , Seasonal Variation in Gonads of Male English Sparrows (1929), and , and Spermatogenesis in the English Male Sparrow (1930).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Loyle Hairston (1926-)

He was born in Macon, Mississippi, spending the first fourteen years of his life there. Hairston was a seaman and a U.S. Naval Reservist who attended New York University, with the aid of the G.I. Bill, to study creative writing. He was a member of the NAACP, SCLC, CORE, and Malcolm X's Nationalist Forum. He was one of the founders of the Harlem Writers Guild, a workshop that promoted and influenced Black writing. Along with contributing to newspapers and journal articles, Hairston also wrote fiction. "The Winds of Change" was his first short story. He also wrote U.S.A. and the American Negro Short Stories (1966).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Living Black American Authors

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth

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Josie B. Hall (1867-?)

He was from Waxahachie, Texas, but he lived in Mississippi. He was a teacher and a writer of poetry and nonfiction. He wrote Moral and Mental Capsule for the Economic and Domestic Life of the Negro as a Solution of the Race Problem.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Southern Black Creative Writers 1829-1953

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Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977)

She was born in Sunflower County, Mississippi, being the youngest of twenty children and the granddaughter of a slave. After attending a meeting and hearing the Reverend James Bevel and James Forman speak, Hamer became involved in the Civil Rights movement, particularly voter-registration. Her activities caused her family the loss of their home. Hamer was arrested, threatened, and beaten on more than one occasion. She was beaten and jailed in 1963 in Winona, Mississippi, when some members of her group got off the bus to use a cafe restroom. The local police told them to leave and one of the members wrote down the license number of the police car which resulted in the arrest and beating of Hamer and four other people. While in prison, the officers offered to let them go free, but Hamer and her comrades knew that the officers would kill them, saying that they tried to escape. In response to this event Hamer said, ". . . I used to think the Justice Department was just what it said--justice. I asked one of those men, 'Have y'all got a Justice Department or a Injustice Department?' That's the way I feel now. They didn't investigate what happened to us--they investigated us. So I tell people I don't want no equal rights any more. I'm fightin' for human rights. I don't want to become equal to men like them that beat us. I don't want to become the kind of person that would kill you because of your color." That following year as the field secretary of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (a political party she help organize), she spoke on national television at the Democratic Convention. She established a Head Start program in Sunflower County and assisted in bringing factory jobs, with on-site day care centers, to the area. Her famous saying, which expressed her views on the social injustices facing Black Americans, was "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired." Her involvement in the struggle for human rights attracted the attention of many African governments. The government of Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea and other West African countries invited her to their nation. She received a much warmer welcome in Africa than in Washington D.C.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Black History Makers

The African American Encyclopedia

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth

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William Leo Hansberry (1894-1965)

He was born in Gloster, Mississippi. He received his B.A. and M.A. from Harvard University. He also attended Oxford University. Hansberry, according to the Negro Handbook, "was one of the early exponents of the idea of an African genesis." This was belief, based from scientific and historical evidence, that Africa was the cradle of civilization. He founded the African-American Institute. Professor Hansberry was unable to pursue a Ph.D. degree because no institution offered a doctoral program for the study of Africa. He received numerous awards. In 1951, 1959, and 1963, he received the Award of Honor African Student Association of the U.S. and Canada. He was awarded The Fulbright Research Scholar in 1953. He received the highest civilian award, the 1st African Research Award, the Haile Selassie I Prize Trust of $28,000 in 1964. Hansberry also received the Bronze citation "Forty Years of Service in the Cause of African Freedom" from the United Friends of Africa and the Achievement Award of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. in 1961. The Hansberry Institute of African Studies at the University of Nigeria was established in his name. He also received honorary degrees from Virginia State, Morgan State, and the University of Nigeria. His written works include Pillars in Ethiopian History: The William L. Hansberry African History Notebook (1974), and and and Africa and Africans as Seen by Classical Writers (1977).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selected Black Americans, Africans, and Caribbean Writers

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2003

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Juanita Harrison (1891-19?)

Born in Mississippi, her formal education ended when she was ten years old. In 1927, she took an eight-year journey through twenty-two countries. Her experiences during those eight years led to the development of her only written work, My Great Wide, Beautiful World (1937). The abridged version of the story was published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1935.. The abridged version of the story was published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1935.. The abridged version of the story was published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1935.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lives of Mississippi Authors

Mississippi State University Special Collections

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Robert Wesley Harrison Jr. (1917-?)

He was born in Natchez, Mississippi. He received degrees from Tougaloo College and Northwestern University. He was a member of the National Dental Association, Pelican State Dental Association, Arkansas Dental Association, and served as the Program Commissioner of the Mississippi Dental Society. He was the board director of the Yazoo County Negro Chamber of Commerce. Harrison was award Who's Who in Colored America. Harrison's name was listed after his father's name, who was also a dentist. Harrison wrote Dental Photography and How Long I Must Wait.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Julious Hill

He was born in Northeastern Mississippi. Hill was a singer, actor, poet, and playwright. He attended Tuskegee, Alcorn, Morehouse, and Langston University. He wrote The Up Reach (1923), A Sooner Song (1935), and and and A Song of Magnolia (1937). Some works that he co-authored include Modern American Poetry, American Voices, Who's Who in American Poetry, Modern Troubadours, Arkansas and Oklahoma Poets, and The Paehar Anthology of Verse. Some works that he co-authored include Modern American Poetry, American Voices, Who's Who in American Poetry, Modern Troubadours, Arkansas and Oklahoma Poets, and The Paehar Anthology of Verse. Some works that he co-authored include Modern American Poetry, American Voices, Who's Who in American Poetry, Modern Troubadours, Arkansas and Oklahoma Poets, and The Paehar Anthology of Verse.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Southern Black Creative Writers

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Matthew Holden Jr. (1931-?)

 

Born in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Mathew Holden, Jr. went to the University of Chicago, and hold degrees as follows: B.A., Roosevelt University, 1953; M.A., Northwestern University, 1956, Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1961. He worked as a research associate for the Ohio government. He worked as an associate professor teaching political science at Wayne State University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Vermont, and as professor at the University of Wisconsin. He worked on various projects including the Ford Foundation, social science analysis in urban conflict, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Employment, Manpower, and Poverty. Holden held membership in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAUP), American Political Association, the American Society for Public Administration, the Law and Society Association, Midwest Political Society Association, and Southwestern Social Science Association. He contributed to journals and wrote Pollution Control as a Bargaining Process (1966) and The Republican Crisis: Race and Politics in America (1970).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Living Black American Authors

Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2001

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Endesha Ida Mae Holland (1944-?)

Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, during the pre-Civil Rights era, her childhood was plagued with sexual molestation, discrimination, and prostitution. When the Civil Rights workers came to Greenwood, it was the first time that she saw women doing important jobs. As a result, she pledged that she would no longer steal or resort to prostitution for income. She devoted her energy to civil rights. By the age of 19, she had been jailed thirteen times for activities connected to civil rights. Holland received a B.A. in African American Studies from the University of Minnesota, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in American Studies. She was the founder and executive director of Women Helping Offenders and the founder and chairwoman of the National Association of Women Helping Offenders. She also founded and directed the Lorraine Hansberry Writers Workshop. She worked as a playwright, actress, activist, lecturer, and teacher. Some of her written works include Second Doctor Lady (1980), The Reconstruction of Dossie Ree Hemphill (1980), Requiem for a Snake (1980), Mrs. Ida B. Wells (1982), From Mississippi Delta (1984), Prairie Women (1984), Fanny Lou (1984), and (1984), and (1984), and The Autobiography of a Parader Without a Permit (1984). Holland received the First Annual Playwriting Award, the ACTF Student Playwriting Award of the University of Minnesota, and the Second Place Lorraine Hansberry Award. Holland received the First Annual Playwriting Award, the ACTF Student Playwriting Award of the University of Minnesota, and the Second Place Lorraine Hansberry Award. Holland received the First Annual Playwriting Award, the ACTF Student Playwriting Award of the University of Minnesota, and the Second Place Lorraine Hansberry Award.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their Plays

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M. Carl Holman (1919-?)

Holman's birthplace was Minter City, Mississippi. He attended Lincoln University, the University of Chicago, and Yale. Holman was the president of the National Urban Coalition. In 1968, Ebony listed him as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans. He wrote drama, poetry, and worked as an editor for The Atlanta Inquirer. His work The Baptizin (1971) won 1st prize in the National Community Theatre Festival. He received the John B. Fiske Poetry Prize, the Rosenwald Fellowship, the John Hay Whitney Fellowship, and the Blevins Davis Playwriting Prize. won 1st prize in the National Community Theatre Festival. He received the John B. Fiske Poetry Prize, the Rosenwald Fellowship, the John Hay Whitney Fellowship, and the Blevins Davis Playwriting Prize. won 1st prize in the National Community Theatre Festival. He received the John B. Fiske Poetry Prize, the Rosenwald Fellowship, the John Hay Whitney Fellowship, and the Blevins Davis Playwriting Prize.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Southern Black Creative Writers

Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their Plays

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William Henry Holtzclaw (1870-1943)

Holtzclaw was born in Roanoake, Alabama. He attended Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama, between 1890 and 1898. During his years at Tuskegee, Holtzclaw worked as a farm hand, office boy, and buggy driver for Booker T. Washington. After graduation Booker T. Washington and other friends encouraged Holtzclaw to buy a small farm in Mississippi. It was located one mile east of Utica, Mississippi. In 1903, Holtzclaw obtained a charter for Utica Normal and Industrial Institute for the Training of Colored Young Men and Women. It is presently referred to as Utica Junior College. He directed it for forty years. He wrote The Black Man's Burden (1915) and and and A Negro's Life Story (1908) . He received the Who's Who in Colored America Award.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lives of Mississippi Authors 1817-1967

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Moses Leon Howard (Musa Nagenda) (1928- )

He was born in 1928 in Copiah County, Mississippi. He received his B.S. degree from Alcorn, his Ph.D. from Union Institute and University, and did his graduate study at the University of Alaska, New York University, and Columbia University. He also wrote children's books. Some of the titles are Dogs of Fear (1972), The Human Mandolin (1974), and The Ostrich Chase (1974). In 1981, he received the Outstanding Educator of the Year in Washington State.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Black Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books

Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2001

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James A. Hulbert

He was born in 1906 in Greenville, Mississippi. He received his B.A. from Morehouse College, his B.S.L.S. from Hampton, his M.S.L.S. from Columbia University, and did graduate work at the Columbia School of Library Services. Along with contributing articles to professional journals, he wrote An Introduction to Library Service (1972)...

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Living Black American Authors

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Reverend H. H. Humes (1899-?)

He was born in Fayette, Mississippi. Humes was the founder and Editor of the Delta Leader. He was the president of the Baptist Convention in Mississippi. He was awarded Who's Who Among Colored Americans.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Black Press in the South 1865-1979

Who's Who Among Colored Americans 1950

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Thomas Leon Ingram (1902-?)

He was born in Corinth, Mississippi. He received his A.B. from Wiley College and his M.A. from Northwestern University. His written works include Selection and Induction of Teachers in High Schools (1927), A Course of Study for Negro Life and History (1937), A Syllabus for American History (1938).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America 1950 ed.

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Angela Jackson (1951-?)

She was born in Greenville, Mississippi. Jackson has written poetry, novels, fiction, and drama. Her writings include VooDoo/Love Magic (1974), All These Roads Be Luminous: Selected Poems (1991), The Greenville Club (1977), Solo in the Boxcar Third Floor E (1985), and and and The Man With the White Liver (1985). According to the August 1982 edition of Ebony magazine, Jackson was among the "Women to watch in the 1980's." Jackson received numerous awards for her literary talent. She was awarded the Edwin Schulman Fiction Prize, The Academy of American Poets Award, Conrad Kent Rivers Memorial Award, the Before Columbus Foundation Book Award, and the Hoyt Fuller Award for Literary Excellence. She was selected to represent the United States at the second World Festival of Black and African Art and Culture in 1977. In 1978, she received the National Endowment for the Arts in Creative Writing. The Illinois State Council also awarded Jackson with a Creative Writing Fellowship.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth (Drama)

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2003

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Ida Louise Jackson (1902-?)

Ida Jackson was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, receiving her A. B. from the University of California at Berkeley. She also attended Columbia University. She was the founder and director of the Sorority's Mississippi Health Project. She received the Who's Who Among Colored Americans award in 1950. Jackson's written works include Development of Negro Children in Reference to Education (1923) and and and Librarians' Role in Creating Racial Understanding (1944).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who Among Colored Americans (1950 ed.)

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Joseph Jackson

He was born in Rudyard, Mississippi. He received his A. B. degree from Jackson State University , an M.A. from Omaha's Creighton University, a B.D. from Colegate Rochester University, and a D.D. degree from Jackson State. In 1962, Joseph Jackson attended the and Vatican Council in Rome. He also helped write campaign literature for John F. Kennedy. Jackson was the president of the National Baptist Convention, the Vice President of the World Baptist Alliance, and a member of the Central Committee of World Council of Churches. Some of his written works are: Stars in the Night (1950), The Eternal Flame (1956), Many But One (1964), and and and The Ecumenic of Charity (1964).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Afro-American Encyclopedia

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Aurolyn C. Jacobs (1957-?)

She was born in Chicago, Illinois. After she was a few months old, Jacobs was brought to Jackson, Mississippi. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Jackson State University. Jacobs wrote poetry and fiction. Her works include I Want to Name My Children After Poems, Wilma, and and and It Ain't Hard Being a Woman Just Time Consuming. She reflects on her Mississippi writing experiences, saying, "Mississippi, among other things, has made me a writer for Mississippi is addictive and unique. Amid the cruelty of its history, is a gentle caring for its natives."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Black Press in Mississippi

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth (Poetry)

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Bertha LeBranche Johnson

She was born in Wesson, Mississippi, spending time in Prentiss, Mississippi. She received her education at Tuskegee Institute. Johnson was the co-founder of the Prentiss Nor. and Industrial Institute of Prentiss, Mississippi, and Oak Park Vocational School of Laurel, Mississippi. She was the ex-president of the Mississippi State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, the executive council of the Committee of Interracial Cooperation, the president of the Southeastern Federation, a member of the Mississippi Association of Teachers in Colored Schools, and a honorary lifetime member of the National Council of Colored Women. She wrote Lifting As We Climb (1940).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Jesse Johnson (1914-?)

Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Johnson received his education at Tougaloo College. He acquired his M.A. at Hampton Institute. Johnson served in the U.S. Army for twenty years and retired as Lieutenant Colonel. He wrote books mostly dealing with military. His written works include Ebony Brass: An Autobiography of Negro Frustration and Aspiration (1967), The Black Soldier Documented 1619-1815: Missing Pages From U.S. History (1969), A Pictorial History of Black Servicemen (1970), A Pictorial History of Black Soldiers in the U.S. 1619-1969 (1970), Black Armed Force Officers 1736-1971 (1971), and and and Roots of Two Black Marine Seargent Majors (1978).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selected Black American, African and Caribbean Authors

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Edward Allen Jones (1903-?)

Jones was born in Indianola, Mississippi. He received his B.A. from Morehouse, an M.A. from Middlebury College and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. Jones also received a certificate from the University of Grenoble in France and a graduate diploma from University of Paris. He worked as a French professor at Morehouse College, Atlanta University, and Edward Waters College. He was a member of the Modern Language Association of America, the American Association of Teachers of French, and the College Language Association. He was one of 85 American French professors that visited France as guests of the French Government. He twice received the Genl. Ed. fellowship for graduate study for romance language and literature. He received the department fellow at Cornell University and was the co-winner of the Corson French Prize. Some of his writings include A Critical Study of Traditionalism in the Works of Paul Bourget, Paul Bourget: Apologist for French Traditionalism, Diallo and Senghor as Interpreters of the New French Africa, and Aime Cesaire.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who Among Colored Americans (1950 ed.)

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Edward Smythe Jones (1881-?)

Jones was born in Natchez, Mississippi. He later moved to Kentucky. He was given the opportunity to study at Harvard. When he heard about Harvard University, he walked hundreds of miles from his home in the South. After camping out on the campus, he was arrested. When the story gained public attention, Jones was given a janitorial job with an opportunity to study during his off hours. He had some books of poetry published. Among these are The Rose That Bloometh in My Heart and Other Poems (1908), Souvenir Poems, Our Greater Louisville (1908), and and and The Sylvan Cabin, A Centenary Ode to the Birth of Lincoln and Other Poems (1911).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Southern Black Writers

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Laurence Clifton Jones (1889-1975)

He was originally from St. Joseph, Missouri. While in high school, he moved to Iowa and became the first black graduate of Marshalltown, Iowa, High School. In 1907, he graduated from the University of Iowa. Jones taught at Utica in Hinds County, Mississippi, and made it his goal to help poor, uneducated blacks. He traveled twenty miles a day on foot throughout Rankin County, promoting Booker T. Washington's idea for a practical black school. One day as Jones sat reading a book, a black child came up and told Jones about his desire to read. Jones agreed to teach the child, who returned the next day with two friends. As the days passed, the number of students increased and the weather grew colder. Jones acquired a sheep shelter, fifty dollars, and forty acres of land from an educated former slave. A white owner of a sawmill donated lumber, and local blacks helped build what is now known as Piney Woods. The Bottom Rail (1935), The Spirit of Piney Woods (1931), The Pine Torch (1911), and and and Piney Woods and Its Story (1922).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lives of Mississippi Authors

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Lewis Garnett Jordan (1858-?)

His birthplace was Meridian, Mississippi. He received his education from the Baptist Institute, Guadalupe College, and Natchez College. Jordan was a delegate to the World's Baptist Alliance, the World Missionary Conference, and the National Prohibition Committee. His written works include In Our Stead, Up the Ladder, The Price of Africa, and and and A Baptist History.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1927 ed.)

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William David Kellum (1903-?)

He was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and he spent two years at the Northwestern University School of Journalism. He received the Who's Who in Colored America Award in 1950. Kellum worked as a journalist and a member of the editorial staff for the Chicago Defender, a major Black newspaper.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Levander Kinds (1919-1974)

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Kinds spent a significant amount of time in the Jackson, Mississippi, area. He received his B.A. from Western Reserve University and an M.A. from Tougaloo College in Jackson. He also worked as a professor at Tougaloo and Alcorn. Kinds was the Pastor of Farish Street Baptist Church, the Director of School of Recreation in Jackson, and a visiting professor of the Black Juvenile Reformatory School in Oakley, Mississippi. In 1946, he wrote Reflections and constructed the Negro History Cross-Word Puzzles. From 1947-1951, Kinds served as the Dean of Men at Tougaloo. In Natchez, he published articles in the Natchez Times and became the President of Natchez Junior College. He also published articles and music in educational journals. Kinds directed a radio broadcast in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Helen H. King (1937-)

King, a native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, received her education at Wilson Junior College, DePaul University, and the University of Michigan. She has written children's literature and nonfiction and worked as a teacher, publisher and editor. Her writings include The Soul of Christmas (1972), Uncle Oscar, A Place for Hating, and and and Willy (1971). She was the associate editor for Ebony and Jet. She worked for The Chicago Courier as a free-lance writer and editor with her children's page "Wee Black World." She has been a guest speaker in many areas across the country, including Howard University and the Chicago Book Festival. King appeared as the guest moderator on the Merry Dee Show twice. She was the associate editor for Ebony and Jet. She worked for The Chicago Courier as a free-lance writer and editor with her children's page "Wee Black World." She has been a guest speaker in many areas across the country, including Howard University and the Chicago Book Festival. King appeared as the guest moderator on the Merry Dee Show twice. She was the associate editor for Ebony and Jet. She worked for The Chicago Courier as a free-lance writer and editor with her children's page "Wee Black World." She has been a guest speaker in many areas across the country, including Howard University and the Chicago Book Festival. King appeared as the guest moderator on the Merry Dee Show twice.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selected Black American Authors

Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2001

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Etheridge Knight (1931-1991)

He was a self-educated person who later became an instructor at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Hartford. Knight was born in Corinth, Mississippi. Knight, after overcoming bitterness of a twenty year prison sentence, wrote poetry, drawing influence from Gwendolyn Brooks, Walt Whitman, and Langston Hughes. He married Sonia Sanchez, the famous African American female poet. Knight received a $5000 grant from the NEA in 1971. In 1974, he received $12,000 from the Guggenheim Foundation Fellow. At several universities, Knight was named the writer-in-residence. His major works include Poems from Prison (1968), Black Voices in Prison (1970), Belly Songs and Other Poems (1973), and and and Born of A Woman: New and Selected Poems (1980).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth (Poetry)

Selected Black American Authors

Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2001

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Joyce A. Ladner (1943-)

Ladner was born in Waynesboro, Mississippi. She received her B.A. from Tougaloo College, an M.A. and Ph.D. from Washington University, and did post-doctoral work at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. She was awarded Who's Who Among Black Americans 1980-81. Ladner wrote nonfiction and edited the Black Scholar. Her major works include Tomorrow's Tomorrow: The Black Woman (1971), The Death of White Sociology (1977), and and and Mixed Families --- Adopting Across Racial Boundaries (1977).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selected Black Americans, African and Caribbean Authors

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Colia L. LaFayette

She was a poet, editor, historian, actress, teacher and activist. In 1978, LaFayette became the editor of the Jackson Advocate, a black-owned newspaper operating in Jackson, Mississippi. She broadened the scope of the Advocate, emphasizing a wider variety of interests, ranging from black prisoners to women's rights, black culture, black politics, Africa, and Native Americans.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Black Press in Mississippi

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George Washington Lee (1894-1976)

Born in Indianola, Mississippi, Lee received his post-secondary education at Alcorn State University. He served in the U.S. Army in France from 1917 to 1919. Lee was affiliated with the NAACP, the Urban League, the American Legion, and the National Insurance Association. He was the Vice-President for Mississippi Life Insurance Company. He received the Who's Who in Colored America Award in 1950. Lee's writings were mostly novels, fiction and history. In 1934, he wrote Beale Street: Where the Blues Began. Beale Street Sundown (1942) and and and River George (1937) were his other major works. were his other major works. were his other major works.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contemporary Authors (125) p.283

Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2000

Southern Black Writers

 

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George W. Lucas (1909-?)

He received an A.B. degree from Tougaloo and a D.D. from Natchez College. Lucas, a native of Collins, Mississippi, was the pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist Church. He was the secretary of the National Baptist Convention and the Inter-denominational Alliance. He was on the board of directors for the Urban League. Lucas was a member of the NAACP, the YMCA, the Protestant Scout Council, and the Fraternal Council of Churches. His writings were published in religious journals. In 1933, Lucas published "Ten Questions About Negro Baptists", which appeared in the National Baptist Voice. His work "Religious Education in American Democracy" appeared the SS Informer. In the 1949 National Baptist Voice, Lucas published "Ethical Goals for Ministers."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Ruby E. Lyells (1904-?)

Born in Anding, Mississippi, Lyells attended Alcorn, Hampton, and the University of Chicago. She was awarded the Julius Rosenwald Fellow while at Hampton. Lyells worked as an Instructor/Librarian at Alcorn and as a Librarian at Jackson State. She was a member of the NAACP, the American Library Association, the Mississippi Association of Teachers in Colored Schools, the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, and the Southern Regional Council. She published nonfiction articles; these include "The Special Negro Collection of the Cleveland Branch Library" in the 1943 Journal of Negro Education, "The New Emancipation Accent on Youth A Look Ahead: What the Negro Wants" in Vital Speeches, and "Experience in Black and White" in Common Ground (1946).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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James D. Lynch (1838-1872)

He was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, who came to Mississippi in 1868. Because of his oratory skills and his mulatto complexion, Lynch was received by blacks and liberal whites in Mississippi. A democratic newspaper labeled Lynch as the most effective orator of the Republican party in Mississippi. One democratic leader wrote, "He was a great orator; fluent and graceful, he stirred his great audiences as no other man did or could do. He was the idol of the Negroes, who would come from every point of the compass and for miles, on foot to hear him speak. He rarely spoke to less than a thousand, often two to five thousand. . . ." Lynch was the first black to hold a major political office in Mississippi. As Mississippi's Secretary of State, Lynch improved public education and contributed to the development of Shaw University in Holly Springs. He was the co-founder of the Colored Citizen, a former Black newspaper which operated out of Jackson, Mississippi, in 1870.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Black Press in the South

Mississippi Black History Makers

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John R. Lynch (1847-1939)

He was born on a plantation near Vidalia, Louisiana, as a result of an encounter between Lynch's mother and the slave master. After the master's death, the Lynch family was sold to a wealthy family in Natchez, Mississippi.

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Rose Parkman Marshall (1947-)

Rose was born in Lawrence County, Mississippi. She received her B.A. degree from Tougaloo College, M.S. from Illinois Institute of Technology, M.L.S. from the University of Alabama, and also studied at Brown University. Rose taught English Composition at Jackson State University and Tougaloo. Her first job as a librarian was at Mary Holmes College in West Point, MS. She worked in the MSU Library Reference Department and also worked at Dacus Library, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina, as Reference Librarian and Library Instruction Coordinator. She is a student of Audre Lorde and novelist Rosellen Brown. Rose is the youngest of nine children and is my "best friend." She enjoys writing nonfiction and poetry. Her recently published work, Zora Neale Hurston: An Annotated Bibliography and Reference Guide (Greenwood Press, 1997), is an excellent addition to any library reference department.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION COMPILED BY:

Rose Davis & Gail Peyton

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William Walter Matthews (1876-?)

He was born in Batesville, Mississippi. He received his education from New Orleans University and Branch North College. Matthews served as the General Corresponding Secretary of the Department of Foreign Missions. In 1927, he was named Who's Who in Colored America. Matthews worked as editor of The Missionary Seer.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1927 ed.)

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Clifton L. McAllister (1886-?)

Born in Aberdeen, Mississippi, McAllister received his education from Roger Williams University and Morehouse College. His works include Social Conditions in Atlanta, GA (1911) and Society in Atlanta (1912).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who of the Colored Race (1915 ed.)

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Jerry McGlown (1948-)

McGlown, a native of Oxford, Mississippi, received his B.A. at the University of Mississippi and an M.F.A. from Memphis State University. McGlown taught speech, social studies, and theatre in the Mississippi/Tennessee area, and he spent one year teaching at Tougaloo College. His works include King Uzziah (1975), The Lonely Christmas Tree (1976), Mansions in the Sky (1976), Lamentations (1977), The Great White Sea (1977), The Lamp by the Golden Door (1978), and and and The Quiet in the Land (1982).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their Plays

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William Edward Miller (1903-?)

He received an A.B. from Fisk, a B.S., M.S., and M.D. from the University of Illinois, and an M.P.H. from Harvard. Spending time in Mississippi, Miller wrote articles for different medical journals in the state. His major publishings include "Protect the Health of the Negro," Mississippi State Board of Health Education (1943), "The Role of General Practitioner in Public Health" Journal of Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association (1938), and Morbidity Studies in Three Selected Groups (1931).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Anne Moody (1940-)

She was born in Wilkerson County, Mississippi. She attended Tougaloo College. While at Tougaloo, she engaged in the Civil Rights movement. She worked with the NAACP, CORE, and SNCC on voter registration projects. She also assisted in the desegregation of a Woolworth Store in Jackson and the organization of the freedom schools. After her graduation from Tougaloo, she continued to work with civil rights. Moody was a public speaker and fund raiser for CORE and a civil rights project coordinator for Cornell University. She wrote fiction, nonfiction, and children's literature. She received the Gold medal Award and the Best Book of the Year Award. Moody's major works include Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968), Mr. Death (1975), and and and Farewell to Too Sweet.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Black History Makers

Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2001

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Mollie L. Moon

Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Moon received her education at the University of Berlin and Columbia University. She was one of the founders of the National Urban League. Her major work was I Have Lived Through A Revolution(1935). She received the Who's Who in Colored America award in 1950. She received the Who's Who in Colored America award in 1950. She received the Who's Who in Colored America award in 1950.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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John O'Neal (birth date unknown)

Originally from Cairo, Illinois, he spent a great deal of time in Jackson, Mississippi, around the Tougaloo area. He received a B.A. in English and Philosophy from Southern Illinois University. O'Neal was the field secretary for SNCC. At Tougaloo, O'Neal--along with a group of students--formed the Free Southern Theatre, which was created to integrate art with social change. The group wrote that "Black people must have their own theatre. Broadway and regional theatre are irrelevant to black lives." O'Neal's efforts didn't go unrewarded. He received the Louisiana Artist's fellowship and the Rockefeller Foundation's National Endowment for the Arts. His plays include Don't Start Me to Talking or I'll Tell You Everything I Know, You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover, and and and Ain't No Use in Goin' home, Jodie's Got Your Gal and Gone.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth (Drama)

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Jesse Rodgers Delbert Otis (1899-?)

He was born in Carson, Mississippi. He received a B.S. from Iowa State and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. He worked as an instructor at Piney Woods and served as the President of Alcorn State University. In 1950, he was recognized in Who's Who in Colored America. His works are Economic Aspects of the Farm Situation in Macon Co. (1932), A Study of 1000 A.A.A. Records in Macon, Co. (1937), and and and Labor Income Study of 206 Farms in Dallas Co., Ala. (1934).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Joe (Joseph) Overstreet (1934-?)

He was born in Conehatta, Mississippi. He wrote drama. Overstreet was also a painter who depicted the growing concerns of African Americans political and social struggles. He developed friendships with a number of Black musicians and writers. Under the influence of Amiri Baraka, Overstreet wrote several but only one was recovered. The title of the play was Snakeshiiiiit.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contemporary Black American Playwrights &Their Plays

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Thomas Desire Pawley III (1917-?)

He was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He received his education at Virginia State College and the University of Iowa. Pawley has worked as an educator, theatrical director, playwright, and author. He was a member of AETA, NADSA, and AAUP. Some of his written works include Jedgement Day (1938), Smokey (1938), Freedom in My Soul (1938), Son of Liberty (1938), Zebedee (1949), F.F.V. (1963), The Black Teacher in Dramatic Arts (1970), Messiah (1948), and and and The Eunuchs (1977). He has been guest lecturer at numerous colleges and universities throughout the South and Southwest. His articles on theatre have appeared in several periodicals including SADA Encore, Negro College Quarterly, Central States Speech Journal, and Quarterly Journal of Speech. For his works, Pawley received numerous awards. He received the National Theatre Conference Fellow, playwriting contest award, the NADSA outstanding service award, Shields-Howard Creative Writing Award, Outstanding Teacher Award, elected Outstanding Educators of America, first prize winner of the Jamestown (Virginia) corp. playwriting contest, and a list of other honors. He has been guest lecturer at numerous colleges and universities throughout the South and Southwest. His articles on theatre have appeared in several periodicals including SADA Encore, Negro College Quarterly, Central States Speech Journal, and Quarterly Journal of Speech. For his works, Pawley received numerous awards. He received the National Theatre Conference Fellow, playwriting contest award, the NADSA outstanding service award, Shields-Howard Creative Writing Award, Outstanding Teacher Award, elected Outstanding Educators of America, first prize winner of the Jamestown (Virginia) corp. playwriting contest, and a list of other honors. He has been guest lecturer at numerous colleges and universities throughout the South and Southwest. His articles on theatre have appeared in several periodicals including SADA Encore, Negro College Quarterly, Central States Speech Journal, and Quarterly Journal of Speech. For his works, Pawley received numerous awards. He received the National Theatre Conference Fellow, playwriting contest award, the NADSA outstanding service award, Shields-Howard Creative Writing Award, Outstanding Teacher Award, elected Outstanding Educators of America, first prize winner of the Jamestown (Virginia) corp. playwriting contest, and a list of other honors.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contemporary Black American Playwrights & Their Plays

Living Black American Authors

Southern Black Writers

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002

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William H. Pipes (1912-?)

Born in Inverness, Mississippi, Pipes received his B.S. from Tuskegee, an A.M. from Atlanta, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He worked as an English professor at Alcorn. His major work was Voices Crying in the Wilderness.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Richard Pitts (1910-?)

He was born in Mashuville, Mississippi. He received his education at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. His writings include a poetry book entitled Excelsior, Book of Poems (1944).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Southern Black Writers

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Sterling Plumpp (1940-)

Plumpp was born in Clinton, Mississippi. He attended St. Benedict's College for two years and received his B.A. from Roosevelt University. He served as the editor of Black Books Bulletin and Third World Press. He was the director of Young Writers' Workshop for Urban Gateways. Plumpp was an instructor for Black Studies at the University of Illinois and a counselor at North Park College. His major writings include Black Rituals (1972), The Mojo Hands Call (1982), Half Black, Half Blacker (1970), Portable Soul (1969), Muslim Men (1972), Steps to Break the Circle (1974), and and and Somehow We Survive (1981).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selected Black Americans, African and Caribbean Authors

Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2001

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William J. Raspberry (1935-)

Raspberry, a native of Okolona,MS received his B.S. from Indiana Central College. He works as a journalist for the Washington Post. He has taught journalism at Howard University and the University of Maryland. Raspberry received the Journalist of the Year award from the Capital Press Club in 1965 for his coverage of the Watts riot.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The African American Encyclopedia (6th edition)

Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2001

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Beah Richards (Beulah Richardson) (1926-2000)

She attended Dillard University and San Diego Community Theatre. She was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Richards worked on stage, screen, as a television actress, and a playwright. She is best known for her role as Sidney Poitier's mother in the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1967. As a result, she received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Richards won the Theatre World award for performing as Sister Margaret in James Baldwin's The Amen Corner. She has appeared in all of the following television shows: Take A Giant Step, A Raisin in the Sun, In the Heat of the Night, The Great White Hope, Mahogany, I Spy, Hawaii 5-0, Just an Old Sweet Song, Roots II--The Second Generation, and The Bill Cosby Show. She was elected to the Black Filmakers Hall of Fame in 1974. Her written works are A Black Woman Speaks (1950) and and and One in a Crowd (1951).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their Plays

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002

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Charlemae Hill Rollins (1897-1979)

She attended Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and Western University. She was born in Yazoo, Mississippi. Rollins worked in the Chicago Public Library. She was one of the first librarians to stress black pride. She made a life long effort to combat the negative portrayal of blacks in children's books through her library work and lecturing about children's literature at Roosevelt University. When Rollins retired from her position of librarian, she received a plaque from the Chicago Library, and Gwendolyn Brooks wrote a poem to her honor. Some of her other awards include National Council for Teachers of English, Children's Reading Roundtable (1962), American Brotherhood Award, Library Letter Award of American Library Association (1953), Grolier Society Award (1962), Woman of the Year (1970), and the Negro Centennial Award (1963). Her written works include "We Build Together" NCTE, Children's Literature Dealing With Negro Life (1944), Children's Books to Help Build a Better World (1947), Black Troubadour (1970), Famous American Negro Poets (1965), and Famous Negro Entertainers of Stage, Screen, and TV (1967).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Henry T. Sampson Jr. (1934-?)

Sampson, a native of Jackson, Mississippi, received his education from Purdue University (B.S.), UCLA (M.S.), and University of Illinois (Ph.D.). Sampson had a career as a chemical engineer for the U.S. Naval Ordinance Test Station. He directed Planning and Operations of Space Test Program for the Aerospace Corporation. He holds three scientific patents. In 1962, he received the Navy Education Fellow and the Atomic Energy Com. Fellow in 1963. Sampson's written works are Blacks in Black and White: a Source Book on Black Films (1977) and and and Blacks in Blackface: A Source Book on Early Black Musicals (1980).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selected Black Americans, African and Caribbean Authors

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Lucille M. Scott (1902-?)

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Scott attended Jackson State University and A.& I. State College in Nashville. She worked as a journalist and editor for Birmingham World and Atlanta Daily World. She was featured in Who's Who in Colored America in 1950.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1950 ed.)

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Beverly T. Shaw

Born in Abbeville, Mississippi, Shaw's early education was under the guidance of the widow of James Lynch, the Mississippi Secretary of State during the Reconstruction period. Shaw's works include Why I Remain in the South and Slavery and Reconstruction in MS. Shaw was the Vice President of the Classical Association of Middle West and South and General Deaconess of the Board of Episcopal and Methodist Church.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Who's Who in Colored America (1927 ed.)

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Naomi Sims (1949-)

Originally from Oxford, Mississippi, Sims attended New York University. She worked as a model from 1967 to 1973, founding the Naomi Sims Collection. In 1969 and 1970, she received the Model of the Year Award. In 1974, she received the Top Hat Award. Sims was awarded the Woman of Achievement Medal in 1972. She was a member of the NAACP and the Northside Center for Child Development. She won the NYC Board of Education award for teaching underprivileged children in Bedford Stuyvesant. She wrote All About Health and Beauty for the Black Women. Sims contributed articles to Redbook, Essence, Encore, , Essence, Encore, , Essence, Encore, and other periodicals.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contemporary Authors (69)

Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2001

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William Grant Still (1895-?)

He was born in Woodville, Mississippi. he attended Wilberforce University and Oberlin University. He was a composer. He received honorary degrees from both universities. According to the Negro Almanac, "In 1936, Still became the first Negro to conduct a major American orchestra when he gave a program of his own compositions at the Hollywood Bowl." Still received the Harmon Award in 1927. His symphonies include Afro-American Symphony, Africa and Symphony in G Minor. Blue Steel and Trouble Island are works by Still for the opera. His written work is William Grant Still and the Fusion of Cultures in American Music.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selected Black American Authors

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Arvarh Strickland (1930-?)

He was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He received a A.B. from Tougaloo College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Strickland worked as a journalist and critic, giving book reviews. He received numerous awards: Kappa delta Pi (1953); Woodrow Wilson Fellow History 1959-60; Phi Alpha Theta, History; distinguished Service Award; Kendrick C. Babcock Fellow; and University Fellow 1960-61. Strickland wrote The History of the Urban Chicago League.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Living Black Authors

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002

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Clifton L. Taulbert (1945-)

He was born February 19, 1945, in Glen Allan, Mississippi. Served in the U.S. Air Force from 1964-1968. In 1989 he received the National Management Association (Oklahoma chapter), Manager of the Year award. He is the author of One upon a Time We Were Colored and The Last Train North. He is a Board member of Tulsa United Way, Thomas Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa Goodwill Industry the Business Industrial Development Corp, 19, executive board member, and Tulsa Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. He is a Board member of Tulsa United Way, Thomas Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa Goodwill Industry the Business Industrial Development Corp, 19, executive board member, and Tulsa Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. He is a Board member of Tulsa United Way, Thomas Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa Goodwill Industry the Business Industrial Development Corp, 19, executive board member, and Tulsa Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.lexis-nexis.com/universe

Publishers Weekly, May 25, 1992, p.44

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2003

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Mildred Taylor (1943- )

Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi. She received a B.A. from the University of Toledo and an M.A. from the University of Colorado. Being the only black in many of her college courses, Taylor was embarrassed by the portrayal of blacks in history class. She said the class didn't mention the heroes of the African American struggle. In fact, Blacks were portrayed as people content with slavery status. Taylor said, "There was obviously a terrible contradiction between what the books said and what I had had learned from my family." Taylor wrote children's books. Her major works include Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976), Song of the Trees (1975), and and and Let the Circle Be Unbroken (1981). She received the Outstanding Book of the Year from the New York Times in 1975. She was also awarded the Newberry Medal and a nominee for the National Book Award in 1977. She received the Outstanding Book of the Year from the New York Times in 1975. She was also awarded the Newberry Medal and a nominee for the National Book Award in 1977. She received the Outstanding Book of the Year from the New York Times in 1975. She was also awarded the Newberry Medal and a nominee for the National Book Award in 1977.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Junior Authors and Illustrations

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2003

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Kimberly Marsha Thomas (1974-)

Kimberly was born January 9, 1974, in Crawford, Mississippi. Kim is the daughter of Eddie and Tomella Thomas. She has one brother: Eddie Thomas, Jr. She has appeared in the CBS hit series Touched By an Angel and Promised Land. Kimberly is a student at MSU with a major in Educational Psychology. She enjoys writing nonfiction and poetry. Her publications include Armed and Dangerous; Behind the Wall of Poetry; Da Poet; Dear Father; Follow God; Here Am I; I Wear the Skin; Poetry with an Attitude; Stop Disrespecting God; and The Foolish Things.

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Julius Eric Thompson (1946-)

Thompson, a native of Vicksburg, Mississippi, received his education from Alcorn State University (B.S.), Columbia University, Yale, and Princeton University. Thompson currently works as an assistant professor in the department of African and Afro-American Studies at SUNY at Albany. His essays and poetry have appeared in National Poetry Press, Negro Digest, Obsidian, HooDoo, Callaloo, Freedomways, and Jackson Advocate. He received the Danforth Fellow and the Princeton University Fellow in 1969. The Anthology of Black MS Poets, Hopes Tied Up in Promises, Blues Said: Walk On (1977), Hiram Revels, 1821-1901: A Biography, and and and The Black Press in MS.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Living Black Authors

Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth

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James Tyms (1905-?)

Born in Aberdeen, Mississippi, Tyms attended Lincoln University (B.A.), Howard University (B.D., M.A.), and Boston University (Ph.D.). He worked as a journalist. He was a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar. He received the General Ed. Fellowship. Tyms' major work is The Rise of Religious Education Among Negro Baptists.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Living Black Authors

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George Vashon (1824-1878)

He attended Oberlin College. Vashon spent time in Rodney, Mississippi, dying as a result of a yellow fever epidemic. He wrote poetry. He served as the Dean of Howard Law School.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Southern Black Writers

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Margarett Walker (1915-1998)        see  Margarett Walker Alexander                                                                                     

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Jerry Ward (July 31, 1943-)

Lawrence Durgin Professor of Literature at Tougaloo College. Born in Washington, D.C. However, he has lived in Moss Point, Mississippi, since 1949. He is a member of the editorial board of the Mississippi Quarterly, has worked as program office of NEH, and has been named Moss Professor of Excellence in English, University of Memphis, and also Program Director for the Commonwealth Center of Literacy and Cultural Change, University of Virginia. He has written poetry, literary criticism and essays. Books that he has written include Redefining American Literacy History, Black Southern Voices and his recent publication Trouble the Waters.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

National Faculty Directory

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Richard Nathaniel Wright (1908-1960)

Wright achieved the distinction of being the first black novelist to acquire fame and fortune in the United States. Born September 4, 1908, on a plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, he attended a Seventh Day Adventist school but was primarily self-educated. Wright began work in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 15, worked odd jobs in Chicago, and in 1935 worked on the Federal Writers Project. Wright received numerous award and honors. He received the Guggenheim fellow for Native Son (first book by an African American to become a Book-of-the-Month Club Selection). Wright's works have been translated and published into 50 different languages. His writings include Uncle Tom's Children: 12 Million Black Voices; Black Boy; Black Power; The Color Curtain; Pagan Spain; White Man, Listen; The Long Dream; Savage Holiday; Eight Men and Lawd Today . Wright died in Paris, France, on November 28, 1960.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mississippi Black History Makers

African American Encyclopedia

Selected Black Authors

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002

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