Independent Historian

Helen K. Thomas is from Seattle by way of Lagos, Nigeria. She is a rom-com screenwriter, Y.A. fiction writer and academic researcher. She was part of the inaugural Tin House YA Fiction Workshop, a 2020 VONA/Voices YA Literature Workshop participant and a 2020 Jack Straw Writers Fellow. She holds a B.A. in English from Spelman College and an M.A. in Cultural Studies from University of Washington Bothell. Helen is currently conducting a Fulbright Fellowship in Lagos, Nigeria. For her research project, she is facilitating book clubs with teen girls in order to explore the efficacy of using young adult novels featuring black girl protagonists as an alternative, humanities-centered intervention toward empowering and increasing a sense of global citizenship.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918-2013) [Children’s Edition]

This entry is for juvenile audiences. To see the full version of this entry, click here. Who are they: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid advocate. He became the countries first Black president and first president of post-apartheid South Africa where he served from … Read MoreNelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918-2013) [Children’s Edition]