Richard Bruce Nugent (also Bruce Nugent), artist, writer, actor, dancer, dilettante, and bohemian of 1920s Harlem, was born to middle class Washington, D.C. socialites Richard Henry Nugent and Pauline Minerva Bruce Nugent. His father was a Pullman porter; his mother a pianist. Nugent attended Washington, … Read MoreRichard Bruce Nugent (1906-1987)
Beginning in the 1970s, Barbara Smith broke new ground as a black feminist, lesbian, activist, author, and book publisher of women of color. She and her twin sister, Beverly Smith, were born on December 16, 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio. Their mother, Hilda Smith, maternal grandmother, … Read MoreBarbara Smith (1946- )
Michele Wallace, a feminist scholar, writer and educator, was born on January 4, 1952 in New York City to Robert Earl Wallace, a musician, and Faith Ringgold, a well-known artist and author. In 1978, at age 26, she published her first book, Black Macho and … Read MoreMichele Faith Wallace (1952- )
Maxine Case is an accomplished novelist from Cape Town, South Africa. Her mother, Dianne Case, is an author of children’s books and her sister Bonita Case writes as well. Her debut novel, All We Have Left Unsaid, was published in 2006 by Kwela Books. In … Read MoreMaxine Case (n.d.)
The novelist Richard Moore Rive was born March 1, 1931 in Cape Town, South Africa. His mother was Nancy Rive, a black South African woman and his father was Richardson Moore, an African-American ship hand. Moore abandoned his newly born son, Richard, a few months … Read MoreRichard Moore Rive (1931-1989)
The poet, novelist, and screenwriter Sam Greenlee was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 13, 1930 after his family recently migrated from the South to the city. Greenlee attended inner city schools in Chicago and became politically active at a very young age. He participated … Read MoreSam Greenlee (1930-2014)
Peter Abrahams Image Ownership: Public Domain Twentieth century African novelist and journalist Peter Henry Abrahams was born in Vrededorp (near Johannesburg), South Africa, on March 19, 1919. Abrahams’ father, James Henry Abrahams Deras was the son of former Ethiopian landowners who had taken him across … Read MorePeter Abrahams (1919–2017)
Image Ownership: Simon Fraser University Public Affairs and Media Relations (CC BY-SA 2.0) Renowned African novelist Nuruddin Farah was born in Baidoa, Somalia in 1945, a time when Somalia was still an Italian colony. His father Hassan Farah was a translator for the colonial government … Read MoreNuruddin Farah (1945- )
African author Camara Laye was born on January 1, 1928 in the city of Kouroussa, Guinea, then a colonial possession of France. Laye (which is actually his first name, but is used as a preceding name, to keep in tradition with regional customs) was born … Read MoreCamara Laye (1928-1980)
Image Ownership: David Shankbone (CC BY-SA 3.0) Gloria Naylor, a major 20th century writer of African American literature, was born on January 25, 1950 in New York City, New York to Roosevelt and Alberta Naylor. She was born just six weeks after her parents … Read MoreGloria Naylor (1950-2016)
