February 28
Celebrating the literary legacy of Black writers in North Carolina
John Hope Franklin (1915-2009)
“John Hope Franklin was an American historian of the United States and former president of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Southern Historical Association. Franklin is best known for his work From Slavery to Freedom, first published in 1947, and continually updated. More than three million copies have been sold. In 1995, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.” - Wikipedia
Gerald William Barrax (1933-2019)
“Gerald William Barrax was an American poet and educator.
His poems appeared in numerous anthologies and journals. He was recognized by several awards, including the Raleigh Medal of Arts for "Extraordinary Achievement in the Arts" in 1993, the Sam Regan Award for contribution to the fine arts in North Carolina in 1991, and the 1983 Callaloo Creative Writing Award for Nonfiction Prose.
Barrax served as a Professor of English and creative writing at North Carolina State University.” - Wikipedia
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
“Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson; was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.” - Wikipedia
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
COMPLETE MAYA ANGELOU BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carole Boston Weatherford
“Carole Boston Weatherford (née Boston; born February 13, 1956) is an American author and critic. She has published over 50 children's books, primarily non-fiction and poetry. The music of poetry has fascinated Weatherford and motivated her literary career. She has won multiple awards for her books, including the 2022 Coretta Scott King Award for Author for her book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre. As a critic, she is best known for her controversial criticism of Pokémon character Jynx and Dragon Ball character Mr. Popo.” - Wikipedia
CAROLE BOSTON WEATHERFORD BIBLIOGRAPHY
Crystal Simone Smith
“Crystal Simone Smith is the author of three poetry chapbooks, Routes Home (Finishing Line Press, 2013) Running Music (Longleaf Press, 2014), and Down To Earth (Longleaf Press, 2020). She co-authored, One Window’s Light, A Collection of Haiku, edited by Lenard D. Moore (2017), which won the Haiku Society of America’s Merit Book Award for Best Haiku Anthology. In 2019, she won the North Carolina Poetry Society Bloodroot Haiku Award. Her work has appeared in numerous journals including Prairie Schooner, POETRY Magazine, Crab Orchard Review, Frogpond, and Modern Haiku. In 2020, she received a Duke University Humanities Unbounded Fellowship. She writes poetry about the human condition and social change.” - CrystalSimoneSmith.com
CRYSTAL SIMONE SMITH BIBLIOGRAPHY
Derrick Barnes
“Derrick Barnes is an American author. He is known for writing several popular series of children's books and is a former staff writer for Hallmark greeting cards. In 2018 Barnes received several awards that include the Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award for his 2017 book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut.
Barnes' books celebrate African American culture and feature positive images of black children in everyday life.” - Wikipedia
Kwame Mbalia
“Kwame is a husband, father, writer, a New York Times bestselling author, a publisher, and a former pharmaceutical metrologist (in that order). He is the author of the bestselling Tristan Strong series, the first of which was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor. Kwame is the co-author of Last Gate of The Emperor with Prince Joel Makonnen, from Scholastic Books, and the editor of the #1 New York Times bestselling anthology Black Boy Joy, published by Delacorte Press.” - KwameMbalia.com