AALBC Search
Tony Rose and Yvonne Rose
Tony Rose and Yvonne Rose MULTIPLE Tony and Yvonne Rose are the producers of the 2006 African American Pavilion and run Amber Communications Group, Inc. together. Tony Rose and Yvonne Rose P...
Tony Rose
Tony Rose 000000005879297X AALBC Mourns the Passing of Tony Rose Tony Rose (October 11, 1950 – May 27, 2025) was the Publisher and CEO of Amber Communications Group, Inc. the nation’s large...
August Wilson
August Wilson 0000000368634467 August Wilson (1945-2005), two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning African American playwright, is renowned for his Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of 10 plays each set in a unique ...
Tyehimba Jess
Tyehimba Jess 0000000044353175 Congrats to Tyehimba Jess: Winner 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry Tyehimba Jess, a Detroit native, is an award-winning poet and professor. His first book, Leadbelly, won ...
Tiya Miles
Tiya Miles 0000000114701869 Tiya Alicia Miles is a historian and professor at the University of Michigan. Specializing in African American and Native American histories, she's the author of award-win...
James Haskins
James Haskins 0000000109303938 James Haskins (1941-2005) was a celebrated author of over 100 books for adults and children, focusing on African American achievements, African history, and culture. Hi...
Lori Nelson Lee
Lori Nelson Lee NONE Lori Nelson Lee, author of children's books like 'Hillary’s Big Business Adventure' and 'Danica Dramatica - Queen Me', introduces entrepreneurship to young readers. Her works are...
Harold Cruse
Harold Cruse 0000000385541959 Harold Wright Cruse (1916-2005) was a notable American academic and social critic. He taught African American studies at the University of Michigan. His most famous work...
Bill Murray
Bill Murray 0000000117750359 Bill Murray, a renowned comic artist and illustrator, started at Johnson Publishing Company before founding BAM Productions in 1985. He works with Real Times Media and ha...
Brenda Marie Osbey
Brenda Marie Osbey 000000002513556X Brenda Marie Osbey, born in 1957, is a distinguished poet from New Orleans who served as Louisiana's Poet Laureate from 2005-2007. She specializes in Afro-Francoph...
Elizabeth Alexander
Elizabeth Alexander 0000000114909360 Elizabeth Alexander, a renowned poet, essayist, playwright, and teacher, has authored multiple books, including 'American Sublime', a Pulitzer finalist. A scholar...
Halima Taha
Halima Taha NONE Halima Taha is a renowned advocate for African and African-American art, known for her educational initiatives and influential writings. Her contributions have spearheaded recognitio...
Quintard Taylor
Quintard Taylor 0000000114391610 AALBC Truly Mourns the Lost of Quintard Taylor Quintard Taylor, a Professor of American History, specializes in African American history with over three decades of exp...
K. Sello Duiker
K. Sello Duiker NONE South African novelist, Kabelo “Sello” Duiker, known for award-winning novels Thirteen Cents & The Quiet Violence of Dreams, also worked in advertising and screenwriting. Raised...
Véronique Tadjo
Véronique Tadjo 0000000081825936 Véronique Tadjo, an Ivorian poet, novelist, academic, and artist, holds a doctorate in Black American Literature and Civilization. She served as the head of the Fren...
Terrence L. Johnson
Terrence L. Johnson NONE Terrence L. Johnson is the Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies, Professor of African and African American Studies (FAS), Director of Religion and...
Kadija Sesay
Kadija Sesay NONE Kadija George is a renowned literary activist, poet, and publisher of Sierra Leonean descent. She's known for her debut poetry collection, Irki, and has edited numerous anthologies....
Taiye Selasi
Taiye Selasi 0000000384492964 Taiye Selasi, born in 1979, is an accomplished writer and photographer. Raised in Massachusetts by Nigerian and Ghanaian physicians, she earned degrees from Yale and Oxf...
Olympia Vernon
Olympia Vernon 0000000034189981 Olympia Vernon, born 1973 in Louisiana, is a critically-acclaimed novelist known for her unique voice. With three books under her belt, including a Pulitzer Prize nomi...
Gil Robertson
Gil Robertson NONE Gil L. Robertson IV is a renowned authority on African-American pop culture. A journalist, author, lecturer, and media consultant, he provides platforms for social change through h...
Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith 000000012276857X Zadie Smith, born Sadie Smith in 1975, is a renowned British author of Jamaican-English heritage. Her debut novel, “White Teeth,” won numerous awards, and subsequent nove...
N.A. Cash
N.A. Cash NONE N.A. Cash, a Bahamian author and Miss Earth Bahamas 2005, is a psychologist who combines her vivid imagination with her professional insights to create suspenseful, supernatural fictio...
Craig Robinson
Craig Robinson 0000000078127942 Craig Phillip Robinson, born October 25, 1971, is a renowned actor, comedian, and singer, most recognized for his nine-year role as Darryl Philbin on The Office (2005-...
Karen English
Karen English NONE Karen English, renowned for her children's books, is a multiple award-winning author recognized for addressing racial injustice. Raised in 1960s Los Angeles, she began writing at a...
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice 000000011071227X Dr. Condoleezza Rice is the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and a Senior Fellow on Public Policy. She is the Denning Professor in Global Bu...
Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys 0000000110657805 Alicia Keys, born Alicia Augello Cook in 1981, is a renowned artist. Discover more in our 2005 interview with her. Alicia Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook born on Januar...
Buchi Emecheta
Buchi Emecheta 0000000109363682 “I work toward the liberation of women, but I’m not a feminist I’m just a woman.” Nigerian novelist Buchi Emecheta, born in 1944, is renowned f...
Michelle Alexander
Michelle Alexander 0000000118793131 Michelle Alexander, born October 7, 1967, is a renowned civil rights advocate and litigator. She held a Soros Justice Fellowship in 2005 and has a joint appointmen...
Leah Mullen
Leah Mullen NONE Leah Mullen, a Brooklyn-based author with a BA in Print Journalism from Pennsylvania State University, published her first novel, “Again and Again” in 2005. She has contributed essay...
Sefi Atta
Sefi Atta 0000000078515961 Sefi Atta, a Nigerian-born author, educated in Nigeria, England, and the U.S., is a former accountant turned award-winning writer. Her works have appeared in multiple journ...
Naseed Gifted
Naseed Gifted NONE Naseed Gifted, an engineer, educator, and writer from Newark is the Creative Director of PBS Media. Gifted uses his passion for comics to innovate projects that engage all audience...
Richard Jackson
Richard Jackson 0000000081206385 Richard Jackson, acclaimed author of children's books like “Have A Look, Says Book” and “All Ears, All Eyes,” and long-time editor at Atheneum Books for Young Readers...
Amaud Jamaul Johnson
Amaud Jamaul Johnson NONE Amaud Jamaul Johnson, born in Compton, is an award-winning poet and English professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Educated at Howard and Cornell, he's won the 20...
Marley Dias
Marley Dias NONE “Diversity is more than just having one book where a black character is a slave.” Marley Dias, born in 2005, is a young author and literary activist known for launching th...
Patricia A. Bridewell
Patricia A. Bridewell NONE Patricia A. Bridewell is an award-winning author, nurse practitioner, and educator who began her writing career in 2005. She has published four novels and contributed to se...
Jonathan Anthony Burkett
Jonathan Anthony Burkett NONE Jonathan Anthony Burkett, born in 1987, is an inspirational writer who persevered through life's trials and a life-changing surgery in 2005. Despite lack of formal educa...
Katori Hall
Katori Hall 0000000071268953 Katori Hall, a renowned playwright from Memphis, is best known for her Olivier Award-winning play, The Mountaintop. Other works include Hurt Village, Hoodoo Love, and The...
Theodore W. Allen
Theodore W. Allen 000000003475678X Theodore W. Allen (1919-2005) was an activist and intellectual who pioneered work on white privilege. He co-authored 'White Blindspot', authored 'Can White Workers ...
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony 0000000036943407 Carmelo Anthony, ten-time NBA All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist, overcame adversity to excel in basketball and business. Known for his philanthropy, Antho...
Boris I. Bittker
Boris I. Bittker 0000000116400103 Boris Irving Bittker (1916-2005) was a renowned US legal academic and Yale Law School professor. Known for his extensive contributions to tax law, he authored numero...
Hugh Pearson
Hugh Pearson 0000000357070096 Hugh Pearson (1957-2005) was a respected journalist for The Wall Street Journal and other publications. An alumnus of Brown University, he resided in New York City. Pear...
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. MULTIPLE Dr. Henry “Skip” Louis Gates Jr., a distinguished Harvard professor, is widely recognized for his contribution to African and African American research. As editor in c...
Daphne A. Brooks
Daphne A. Brooks 0000000036317932 Daphne A. Brooks is a Yale University professor and co-founder of the Black Sound & the Archive Working Group. She is an award-winning author known for her works on ...
Richard B. Moore
Richard B. Moore 0000000082432341 Moore was an early advocate for the use of “African American” as opposed to “Negro” or “Black.” Richard Benjamin Moore was an infl...
Heather Andrea Williams
Heather Andrea Williams 0000000036912707 Heather Andrea Williams, a professor of Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania, is an award-winning author recognized for her works on African Ame...
Charles S. Finch III
Charles S. Finch III NONE AALBC Mourns the passing of Dr. Finch January 17, 2026 Dr. Charles S. Finch III is a renowned African-American physician, author, and cultural historian. Known for his health...
Ivan Van Sertima
Ivan Van Sertima 0000000063040713 Born in Guyana, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima was a literary critic, linguist, anthropologist, and writer who won the Clarence L. Holte Prize for his work, They Came Before C...
Clyde R. Taylor
Clyde R. Taylor NONE Clyde Russell Taylor was a vital figure in African American studies, known for his influential work in film and cultural criticism. He focused on the portrayal of Black people in...
Waldo E. Martin Jr.
Waldo E. Martin Jr. 0000000084102442 Waldo E. Martin Jr. is the Alexander F. and May T. Morrison Professor of American History and Citizenship at the University of California, Berkeley. Waldo E. Mart...
Fenton Johnson
Fenton Johnson 0000000038623095 Fenton Johnson (1888-1958) was an African American poet, essayist, and editor who significantly contributed to the Harlem Renaissance. His work, including his well-kno...
Robin Roberts
Robin Roberts 0000000081478575 Robin Roberts, anchor of ABC's “Good Morning America,” is a three-time Emmy Award winner. A cum laude graduate in communications and standout basketball player from Sou...
Mark Allen Boone
Mark Allen Boone NONE Mark Allen Boone, born in 1951, is a former teacher and accomplished editor with over 30 years of experience. He authored two novels and served as the fiction editor of AIM Quar...
Randy Weston
Randy Weston 0000000081037964 Randy Weston, born April 6, 1926, was a renowned jazz musician whose career spanned over six decades. Known for his unique fusion of African rhythms and jazz improvisati...
National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Museum of African American History and Culture MULTIPLE The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), established by Congress in 2003, is devoted to documenting Afric...
Tavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley 0000000110310916 Tavis Smiley, a prominent African-American voice, is a renowned host and political commentator. Known for his work on BET Tonight and The Tom Joyner Morning Show, he is ...
Sidi
Sidi NONE Sidibe Ibrahima, known as Sidi, is a multilingual entrepreneur from Ivory Coast who started as a book vendor in Harlem. Now a well-known figure in New York's African American literary scene...
Jim Neighbors, Brenda Lee Pryce, and Betsy Wakefield Teter
Jim Neighbors, Brenda Lee Pryce, and Betsy Wakefield Teter MULTIPLE Learn about the writers, Jim Neighbors, Brenda Lee Pryce, and Betsy Wakefield Teter and their book. Dr. Jim Neighbors teaches ethni...
James Earl Hardy
James Earl Hardy 0000000042416478 James Earl Hardy is the author of the bestselling B-Boy Blues series, including B-Boy Blues, which has been praised as the first gay hip hop love story and is celeb...
Molefi Kete Asante
Molefi Kete Asante 0000000108973825 Dr. Molefi Kete Asante is Professor and Chair, Department of African American Studies at Temple University. Considered by his peers to be one of the most distingu...
Lenard D. Moore
Lenard D. Moore 0000000079037447 Lenard D. Moore is a celebrated poet, anthologist, and U.S. Army Veteran, known globally for his works published in 15+ countries and translated into multiple languag...
Sterling Brown
Sterling Brown 0000000467837526 Sterling A. Brown (1901-1989) was a renowned African American professor, poet, and literary critic. Born and educated in prestigious institutions, he devoted 40 years ...
Kellie Jones
Kellie Jones 0000000076890717 Kellie Jones is an Associate Professor at Columbia University specializing in African American and African Diaspora artists, Latinx and Latin American Artists, and conte...
Olympia Scott
Olympia Scott NONE Olympia Scott, a Brooklyn native and English major at Medgar Evers College, is a creative writer and intern at AALBC. She contributes useful content and aims to help other writers ...
Everett Hoagland
Everett Hoagland NONE Everett Hoagland, a Philadelphia-born poet, professor, and activist, is renowned for his contributions to African American literature. A significant literary figure, he has nume...
Kelvin Bodley
Kelvin Bodley NONE Kelvin D. Bodley, a Chicago native and now Florida resident, is a social change advocate, author, and Minister of the Gospel. He served as the Special Assistant to Mayor Anthony Gr...
Eloise Greenfield
Eloise Greenfield 000000006319793X Eloise Greenfield, renowned for her rhythmic style, positively portrayed the black experience in her award-winning children's literature. With works like The Friend...
Johnnie Cochran
Johnnie Cochran 0000000035524710 Johnnie L Cochran, Jr. was a renowned American trial lawyer, celebrated for his victories against legal system misconduct and his representation of high-profile clien...
Lolita Files
Lolita Files 0000000067722180 Lolita Files, an accomplished African-American author, screenwriter, and producer, is known for her bestselling novels like 'Scenes from a Sistah' and 'Child of God'. Wi...
Lyah Beth LeFlore
Lyah Beth LeFlore NONE Lyah Beth LeFlore is a seasoned television producer and entertainment executive with ties to prominent entertainers like Sean Combs and Mary J. Blige. She produced hit series l...
Matthew Shenoda
Matthew Shenoda 0000000045678350 Matthew Shenoda is a writer, professor, and author and editor of several books. His poems and essays have appeared in a variety of newspapers, journals, radio progra...
E. Franklin Frazier
E. Franklin Frazier 0000000110444690 Edward F. Frazier (1894-1962) was a renowned American sociologist and author. His influential work, “The Negro Family in the United States,” won the 1940 Anisfiel...
Keith Gilyard
Keith Gilyard 0000000084094091 Raymond Keith Gilyard is a renowned American professor and writer specializing in rhetoric, composition, literacy studies, sociolinguistics, and African American litera...
Timothy George
Timothy George 0000000083235956 Detroit-born author Timothy George, renowned for his deep fascination with African-American history, adeptly combines education with entertainment in his novels. His e...
Tamkara Adun
Tamkara Adun NONE Tamkara Adun is a Nigerian author, researcher, and historian specializing in indigenous African history. She founded ỌdúnìfẹÌ, a platform for teaching African history and lan...
Ivor W. Hartmann
Ivor W. Hartmann NONE Ivor W. Hartmann is a Zimbabwean writer, editor, and publisher, known for editing the groundbreaking anthology AfroSF: Science Fiction by African Writers. His work has promoted ...
William Gardner Smith
William Gardner Smith 0000000063221434 Influential writer and journalist William Gardner Smith (1927–1974) used his work to highlight racial inequality in America. His novels, such as The Stone Fac...
Jay Wright
Jay Wright 000000007830315X “A Poet’s Poet” Jay Wright, born in 1934, is a prolific author of 15 books of poetry, 40+ plays, and essays. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and ...
Runoko Rashidi
Runoko Rashidi 0000000067534868 “Africans came to America before, during, and after enslavement. Don’t start our history at the end; start it at the beginning.” Dr. Runoko Rashidi wa...
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai 0000000121279889 “You cannot enslave a mind that knows itself, that values itself, that understands itself.” Dr. Wangari Maathai was a renowned Kenyan environmental, politi...
Robin Walker
Robin Walker 000000006356551X Robin Walker is a London-born author and editor known for his work on Black history and culture. He co-edited the influential Black Community Reports and authored books ...
Beauty Bragg
Beauty Bragg 0000000125620829 Beauty Bragg is a Professor of African American Literature at Georgia College with a BA from USC and a MA and Ph.D from UT Austin. She authored a book exploring black wo...
John Hope Franklin
John Hope Franklin 0000000114547638 John Hope Franklin (January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009) was an educator and historian. Franklin lived through America’s most defining twentieth-century transf...
Ellis Cose
Ellis Cose NONE Ellis Cose, a renowned journalist and author, is known for his work with Newsweek and notable books like “The Rage of a Privileged Class.” Starting his career at 19, Cose has received...
Lawrence Hill
Lawrence Hill 0000000073673418 Lawrence Hill is a renowned Canadian author and professor of creative writing at the University of Guelph. Known for his award-winning novel, “The Book of Negroes”, whi...
Jerome Lagarrigue
Jerome Lagarrigue 0000000403502938 Jerome Lagarrigue, a Paris-raised artist, moved to the US in 1992 and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design. He has won prestigious awards including the Core...
Maulana Karenga
Maulana Karenga 0000000116973657 Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana Studies and influential figure in the Black Power movement, created the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa. A graduate of UC...
Bettye Collier-Thomas
Bettye Collier-Thomas 0000000122788183 Dr. Bettye Collier-Thomas is professor of American history at Temple University. Her scholarship includes American social and cultural history, African American...
Joe L. Dudley, Sr.
Joe L. Dudley, Sr. MULTIPLE Dr. Joe Louis Dudley, Sr. was a pioneering entrepreneur and founder of Dudley Products Inc., a major Black haircare brand. With his business acumen, he filled a market gap...
Marta Moreno-Vega
Marta Moreno-Vega 0000000032859822 Dr. Marta Moreno-Vega, born in 1952, is a renowned scholar and advocate for cultural equity. She holds degrees from New York University and Temple University. She f...
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa L. Williams 000000011462842X Vanessa Lynn Williams, born March 18, 1963, is a multi-talented actor, singer, fashion designer and author. She made history as the first African-American Miss Am...
Herb Boyd
Herb Boyd 0000000110710186 Herb Boyd Receives Social Justice Award Herb Boyd, born in 1938, is an award-winning author and journalist. He's written over 20 books and numerous articles, with notable wo...
Helon Habila
Helon Habila 0000000109652265 Helon Habila Ngalabak, born in 1967, is a renowned Nigerian novelist and poet. After working as a lecturer and journalist, he moved to England and became an African Writ...
Binyavanga Wainaina
Binyavanga Wainaina 0000000119708103 Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina (1971-2019) was a renowned Kenyan author and journalist, recognized as a TIME 100 influential person. Best known for his influential e...
George S. Schuyler
George S. Schuyler 0000000114970428 George Samuel Schuyler was a prolific journalist and cultural critic, known for his controversial shift from liberal views to conservative ones throughout the 20th...
Barbara Brandon
Barbara Brandon 0000000031564723 Barbara Brandon is the first nationally syndicated African-American female cartoonist. Barbara Brandon-Croft, creator of the comic strip 'Where I’m Coming From', is ce...
Paul Von Blum
Paul Von Blum NONE Paul Von Blum is a Senior Lecturer at UCLA with a rich history in African American Studies and Communication Studies. Since 1968, he has taught at UC Berkeley and UCLA. An esteemed...
Beverly Jenkins
Beverly Jenkins 000000011691928X Beverly Jenkins, a USA TODAY bestselling author, is renowned for her African-American historical romance fiction, mainly set in the 19th century. With over thirty nov...
Neal Hall
Neal Hall 0000000050176742 Dr. Neal Hall, a poet and experienced ophthalmologist, challenges racial inequality in America despite his extensive education and career. His experiences, from studying at...
Hisani P. Dubose
Hisani P. Dubose NONE “The Best Black Director of 2005” —Kam Williams Hisani DuBose is a Seton Hall University graduate, former dancer and singer turned screenwriter. She's directed ...
Geri Spencer Hunter
Geri Spencer Hunter NONE Geri Spencer Hunter is an award-winning writer and co-founder of The Sacramento Black Nurses Association. A retired nurse from Iowa, she has authored two novels and contribut...