Emily Thorton Charles, who published under the pseudonym Emily Hawthorn, is the author of two books of poems: Hawthorn Blossoms (1876) and Lyrical Poems (1886). She worked as a journalist; her professional positions included managing editor of Washington World and editor of The National Veteran. She was also a professional elocutionist, giving speeches on women’s suffrage. […]
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Margaret Louisa Sullivan Burke
Originally from Evansville, Indiana, Margaret Sullivan Burke graduated from Butler University, married twice and had four children. Burke was a co-founder and first president of the League of American Pen Women in 1897. Working as a stringer for the Philadelphia Item, in 1890, she became the first woman to qualify for entry into the Press […]
John Willis Menard
John Willis Menard was a journalist and editor for several Republican newspapers, including The Radical Standard (LA), Florida News and The Southern Leader. He published a book of nonfiction, An Address to the Free Colored People of Illinois (1860), and a book of poems called Lays in Summer Lands (1879). Born in Illinois to free […]
Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron is the author of two novels, three books of poems, and a memoir. But he is perhaps best remembered as “the grandfather of rap,” the spoken word performer whose recordings in the 1970s influenced later generations of hip hop and soul artists. His memoir is The Last Holiday (2012); his novels are The […]
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., ordained a Baptist minister, is best known as the first person of African American descent elected to U.S. Congress. He served in the House of Representatives (D-NY) from 1945 to 1971, becoming a nationally-known advocate of civil rights and social justice. Although dogged by controversy, he rose to chair the Education […]
Mary E. Nealy
Mary E. Nealy was raised in Louisville, KY and married at age 17 to Hugh Nealy. Early in their marriage, her husband was disabled in a railroad accident, and Nealy had to support the family. She began publishing poetry and commentary of visual art in such journals as The Southern Literary Messenger, Godey’s Lady’s Book, […]
John Hays Hammond
John Hays Hammond made a fortune in mining, first in South Africa, and subsequently in Mexico and California. He also drilled for oil in the Southwest. He is the author of such nonfiction books as The Milling of Gold Ores in California (1887), A Woman’s Part in a Revolution (1897), and Great American Issues: Political, […]
Carter G. Woodson
Considered the father of black history, Carter Woodson is best remembered for creating African American History Month and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The organization had its offices in his home. The influential publications, Negro History Bulletin and the Journal of Negro History were also published on site. The authors Victor Daly and Langston Hughes worked for the Association. […]
Edward Christopher Williams
The first African American professional librarian in the nation, Edward Christopher Williams was head librarian at Western Reserve University, Principal of M Street High School (from 1909 to 1916), and University Librarian of Howard University (from 1916 to 1929). Williams is the author of three plays, all written in the 1920s, The Exile, Sheriff’s Children, and The Chasm. […]
Laurence Stallings
Laurence Stallings was a playwright, screenwriter, lyricist, literary critic, journalist, novelist, and photographer. Best known for his collaboration with Maxwell Anderson on the 1924 play What Price Glory, Stallings also produced a groundbreaking autobiographical novel, Plumes, about his service in World War I, and published an award-winning book of photographs, The First World War: A Photographic History. He was awarded the […]