AALBC Search
Annette Gordon-Reed
Annette Gordon-Reed 0000000035723517 Annette Gordon-Reed, a professor of law and history, authored “Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy.” She delves into the complex and intim...
Howard Dodson, Amiri Baraka, Gail Lumet Buckley, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Annette Gordon-Reed
Howard Dodson, Amiri Baraka, Gail Lumet Buckley, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Annette Gordon-Reed MULTIPLE Prominent authors Howard Dodson, Amiri Baraka, Gail Lumet Buckley, Henry Louis Gates Jr., an...
Annette Vendryes Leach
Annette Vendryes Leach NONE Annette Vendryes Leach, a Brooklyn author and entrepreneur, transitioned from a successful advertising career to pursue her passion for fiction writing. She founded the Bl...
Eli Reed
Eli Reed 0000000084169217 Eli Reed, renowned Magnum photographer since 1988, studied illustration and political science, and became famous for his work in Central America. The author of acclaimed boo...
Margo Jefferson
Margo Jefferson 0000000055228599 Margo Jefferson, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, has written for Vogue, New York magazine, and The New Republic. She has served as a critic for Newsweek and The New Yo...
Pinkie Gordon Lane
Pinkie Gordon Lane 0000000025290746 Pinkie Gordon Lane (1923-2008) was an influential poet, editor, and educator. Born in Philadelphia, she overcame hardships to earn degrees from Spelman College and...
Karla Renee Floyd, Elona Washington, Shennetta Smith, Joy Blakeney, Annette Smiley, Cheryl Peavy, Sharon Blake, Sahsha Campbell-Garbutt, Kim Bjanes, and Stephanie L. Ghoston
Karla Renee Floyd, Elona Washington, Shennetta Smith, Joy Blakeney, Annette Smiley, Cheryl Peavy, Sharon Blake, Sahsha Campbell-Garbutt, Kim Bjanes, and Stephanie L. Ghoston MULTIPLE "Karla Renee Flo...
Lewis R. Gordon
Lewis R. Gordon 000000010879961X Lewis R. Gordon is an Afro-Jewish philosopher, musician, and public intellectual, known for his work on social justice and human relationships to reality. An award-wi...
Ishmael Reed
Ishmael Reed 0000000121258332 “A great writer.” —James Baldwin Ishmael Reed, born 1933, is a prominent black American writer known for his engaging novels, poetry, plays, and es...
Ed Gordon
Ed Gordon 0000000045843168 Ed Gordon is an esteemed journalist with a career spanning various TV networks like BET, NBC, MSNBC, and CBS. Known for hosting shows like Conversation with Ed Gordon, BET ...
Natasha Gordon-Chipembere
Natasha Gordon-Chipembere 0000000118605620 Natasha Gordon-Chipembere, a renowned writer and academic, holds a PhD in English from the University of South Africa. Born in New York to Central American ...
Saidiya Hartman
Saidiya Hartman 0000000031682180 Saidiya Hartman, MacArthur “Genius” Fellow and Columbia University professor, is celebrated for works like “Wayward Lives” and “Lose Your Mother.” Her accolades inclu...
Edmund W. Gordon
Edmund W. Gordon 0000000080872108 Edmund W. Gordon is a renowned Psychology and Education professor emeritus at Teachers College, Columbia University and Yale University. He's a former director at th...
Charles J. Ogletree, Jr.
Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. MULTIPLE Charles J. Ogletree Jr. is a renowned American attorney, legal scholar, and civil rights advocate. Renowned for his work in criminal law and civil rights law, he's h...
Etan Thomas
Etan Thomas 0000000044387420 Etan Thomas, born 1978, is more than an athlete. Known as “The Activist Athlete”, this former NBA player has turned his focus to a successful literary career, mentoring, ...
Piri Thomas
Piri Thomas 0000000362962312 Piri Thomas, born in 1928 to Puerto Rican and Cuban parents, overcame racial discrimination and a troubled past in New York to become an influential figure in the Nuyoric...
Douglas S. Reed
Douglas S. Reed NONE Douglas S. Reed wins the 2020 BookLife Fiction Prize Douglas S. Reed, a Brooklyn-based screenwriter/novelist, has vast experience in the motion picture industry, including working...
Steven L. Reed
Steven L. Reed NONE Steven L. Reed, the first Black Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, was also the youngest and first Black probate judge. He holds a BA from Morehouse College and an MBA from Vanderbilt ...
Mark Doty, Martin Espada, Joy Harjo, Marilyn Nelson, Ishmael Reed, Sonia Sanchez, Yusef Komunyakaa, Afaa Michael Weaver, and Rita Dove
Mark Doty, Martin Espada, Joy Harjo, Marilyn Nelson, Ishmael Reed, Sonia Sanchez, Yusef Komunyakaa, Afaa Michael Weaver, and Rita Dove MULTIPLE Prominent authors Mark Doty, Martin Espada, Joy Harjo, ...
Sheree Renée Thomas
Sheree Renée Thomas 0000000019174343 Sheree R. Thomas is a multi-talented writer, editor, publisher, educator, and visual artist. She co-publishes the literary journal Anansi and founded Wanganegress...
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Reginald Dwayne Betts 000000007591721X Reginald Dwayne Betts, a poet and legal scholar, transformed his life after a nine-year prison sentence for carjacking at 16. His poetry is published in various...
Roland S. Jefferson
Roland S. Jefferson NONE Roland S. Jefferson, originally from Washington, D.C., is a celebrated author known for his rich, multi-layered characters and contemporary themes. After receiving his medica...
Jennifer L. Morgan
Jennifer L. Morgan 0000000116288983 Jennifer L. Morgan is a 2024 MacArthur Foundation’s “Genius” Grant Winner Morgan is a 2024 MacArthur Foundation's "Genius" Grant Winner, for "Deep...
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas 0000000121205943 Clarence Thomas, born in 1948, is an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, nominated by President G. H. W. Bush. He succeeded Thurgood Marshall in 1991, becomi...
Michael Gordon Bennett
Michael Gordon Bennett NONE Author, actor, and entrepreneur Michael Gordon Bennett, born in 1958, is known for his book “7-10 Split: My Journey As America’s Whitest Black Kid.” He's also the CEO of B...
Parker-Nia Gordon
Parker-Nia Gordon NONE Parker-Nia Gordon grew up in the musical city of Memphis, Tennessee, home of rhythm and blues. She earned her BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design before returning to M...
Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks 0000000122842071 Gordon Parks (1912-2006) was a self-taught photographer who rose from poverty to become a pioneering African American film director, writer, and composer. Notably, he di...
Maya Cameron-Gordon
Maya Cameron-Gordon NONE Maya Cameron-Gordon is an author, mother, and former teacher with an MFA in filmmaking. She aims to diversify children's fantasy through her books and films, promoting repres...
Xia Gordon
Xia Gordon NONE Xia Gordon is a School of Visual Arts graduate specializing in Cartooning & Illustration. Known for her comic, Kindling, published by 2dcloud, she has worked with The New York Times, ...
Ameca Reali and Marbré Stahly-Butts
Ameca Reali and Marbré Stahly-Butts MULTIPLE Ameca Reali and Marbré Stahly-Butts are prominent legal advocates and leaders in the movement lawyering space, specifically through their work with L...
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell 0000000121208618 Thomas Sowell is an esteemed economist, author, and political philosopher, with education from Harvard, Columbia, and Chicago Universities. He's taught at several unive...
Terrance Hayes
Terrance Hayes 0000000052553847 Terrance Hayes is a renowned poet, author of four collections and winner of the 2010 National Book Award for Poetry. A MacArthur fellow, Hayes has received numerous ac...
Salome Thomas-El
Salome Thomas-El NONE Salome Thomas-EL, born in Philadelphia, has been a transformative teacher and chess coach since 1987, leading his students to become Eight-Time National Chess Champions. He hold...
Louise Story and Ebony Reed
Louise Story and Ebony Reed MULTIPLE Louise Story is a renowned investigative journalist and Yale professor, known for her work at The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and for her investig...
Justin Phillip Reed
Justin Phillip Reed 0000000497688533 Justin Phillip Reed is a South Carolina-born author, known for his work in various publications and his MFA in poetry from Washington University. Recognized for h...
Dwayne Reed
Dwayne Reed NONE Dwayne Reed, a renowned rapping teacher from Chicago, is the author of the Simon B. Rhymin' series. Known for viral songs like “Welcome to the 4th Grade”, he also presents at educato...
Christina Hammonds Reed
Christina Hammonds Reed NONE Christina Hammonds Reed, an MFA holder from the University of South Carolina's School of Cinematic Arts, is a LA native and published author. 'The Black Kids' is her debu...
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...
Wanda Thomas
Wanda Thomas 0000000074200639 Wanda L. Thomas, a New York-born author and CEO of a Medical Transcribing business, holds a BA in Biology and Pre-Medical Studies. She founded JCW Enterprises, a childre...
Frank A. Thomas
Frank A. Thomas NONE Frank A. Thomas is a professor at Christian Theological Seminary and CEO of Hope For Life International. He served as senior pastor in Illinois and Tennessee. Thomas holds multip...
Lynn Nottage
Lynn Nottage 0000000080050112 Congrats to Lynn Nottage: Winner 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Lynn Nottage, a distinguished playwright and lecturer, is celebrated for her outstanding plays and awarded ...
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 ...
Ashley Jefferson and Dolisha Mitchell
Ashley Jefferson and Dolisha Mitchell MULTIPLE Ashley Jefferson is an accomplished early childhood educator and well-known play enthusiast who hails from Boston and currently lives near Atlanta. As ...
Tara Pringle Jefferson
Tara Pringle Jefferson NONE Tara Pringle Jefferson is the founder of The Self Care Suite, a digital wellness community for Black women. A certified breathwork facilitator and wellness advocate, her ...
Andrew P. Jackson, Jefferson C. Julius, Jr., and Akilah S. Nosakhere
Andrew P. Jackson, Jefferson C. Julius, Jr., and Akilah S. Nosakhere MULTIPLE Andrew P. Jackson, Jefferson C. Julius, Jr., and Akilah S. Nosakhere
Bebe Moore Campbell
Bebe Moore Campbell 0000000121422163 Elizabeth Bebe Moore Campbell Gordon was an accomplished author with three New York Times bestsellers and a NAACP Image Award for literature. She was a commentato...
Gayle Jessup White
Gayle Jessup White NONE Gayle Jessup White, former award-winning TV reporter and PR & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, is a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and two families enslaved ...
Lani Guinier
Lani Guinier 0000000114878162 Carol Lani Guinier (1950-2022) was a renowned legal scholar, civil rights activist, and author celebrated for her pioneering work on voting rights and racial justice. No...
Grace Aneiza Ali
Grace Aneiza Ali NONE Grace Aneiza Ali is a Curator, Assistant Professor, and Provost Fellow at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She specializes in socially engaged art, global contemporary art, and C...
Elie Mystal
Elie Mystal NONE Elie Mystal, born in Haiti, is The Nation's legal analyst, justice correspondent, and More Perfect podcast's legal editor. A Harvard graduate, he's an Alfred Knobler Fellow, former e...
Dorothy Roberts
Dorothy Roberts 0000000109854027 Dorothy Roberts is a 2024 MacArthur Foundation’s “Genius” Grant Winner Dorothy Roberts is a distinguished professor of Law and Sociology at the Unive...
Shaniqka Thomas
Shaniqka Thomas NONE Shaniqka Thomas is a trustworthy individual known for keeping secrets and offering non-judgmental advice. Her animated personality and genuine approachability have fueled her pas...
Greg Thomas
Greg Thomas 0000000055234489 Greg Thomas is an esteemed jazz writer, editor, educator, and broadcaster. With works published in numerous publications, he was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Harlem Wo...
Steve Cannon
Steve Cannon 0000000363821597 Steve Cannon (1935-2019) was a key figure in the Black Arts Movement and a prominent Black writer from New Orleans. He moved to NYC in 1962, where he engaged in literary...
Suzan-Lori Parks
Suzan-Lori Parks 0000000115844503 Suzan-Lori Parks, born 1963, is a Pulitzer-winning playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Notable for her work on Spike Lee’s ‘Girl 6’ and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo P...
Rhiannon Giddens
Rhiannon Giddens 0000000051532155 Rhiannon Giddens, a multi-award-winning musician, author, MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize winner, is known for her mission to highlight overlooked contributions ...
Jon Meacham
Jon Meacham 0000000108603277 Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of bestsellers such as “American Lion”, is a distinguished professor at Vanderbilt University and trustee at the Thomas Jeffers...
Thomas Glave
Thomas Glave NONE Bronx-born author Thomas Glave, educated at Bowdoin College and Brown University, is recognized for his contribution to LGBT literature. A Fulbright Scholar, he co-founded Jamaica's...
Velma Maia Thomas
Velma Maia Thomas NONE Velma Maia Thomas is an award-winning author known for her nonfiction books on African American history. She is also the creator of the Black Holocaust Exhibit. With degrees fr...
E. C. Osondu
E. C. Osondu NONE E.C. Osondu is a renowned Nigerian author and English professor at Providence College. Known for his short stories, he won the 2009 Caine Prize for African Writing. His debut collec...
Rasheedah Phillips
Rasheedah Phillips NONE Rasheedah Phillips, Esq. is the Managing Attorney of the Landlord-Tenant Housing Unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. A graduate of Temple University, she is also...
Dinaw Mengestu
Dinaw Mengestu 0000000114920471 Born in Ethiopia, Dinaw Mengestu immigrated to the US in 1980. He's a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and the Guardian First Book Award. His first novel earned mul...
Tiphanie Yanique
Tiphanie Yanique 0000000071326295 Tiphanie Yanique, a novelist, poet, and professor from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, is renowned for her numerous awards including the Mary Grant Charles Award ...
Allison Matulli
Allison Matulli NONE Allison Matulli is a Fulbright Global Scholar, Fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, Award-Winning Florida International University Faculty Excellence 2025, legal...
Robin Coste Lewis
Robin Coste Lewis NONE Robin Coste Lewis, a Provost's Fellow at USC, Cave Canem fellow and LA Institute for Humanities fellow, is known for her wide-ranging poetry. With an MFA from NYU and MTS from ...
Lillian McEwen
Lillian McEwen NONE Lillian McEwen, a retired Justice, served in multiple legal roles in Washington, D.C. Her memoir, “D.C. Unmasked & Undressed,” offers a candid look into her personal life, includi...
Elizabeth Dowling Taylor
Elizabeth Dowling Taylor 0000000120815969 Elizabeth Dowling Taylor is a PhD holder from UC Berkeley with a 22-year career in museum education and historical research. She directed interpretation at M...
Wes Moore
Wes Moore 0000000071753983 Wes Moore is an author, TV producer, and political analyst born in 1978. He's the CEO of BridgeEdU and Robin Hood Foundation, focusing on education and poverty relief. A mi...
Thomas Sayers Ellis
Thomas Sayers Ellis 0000000052292843 AALBC Mourns Thomas Sayers Ellis Passing July 17, 2025 Thomas Sayers Ellis is a poet, photographer, and educator. He co-founded the Dark Room Collective, promoting...
Etan Thomas and Nick Chiles
Etan Thomas and Nick Chiles MULTIPLE Etan Thomas and Nick Chiles are co-authors with diverse backgrounds. Thomas is a former NBA player and activist, while Chiles is an award-winning journalist and b...
Thomas Long
Thomas Long 0000000376122955 Thomas Long, a self-published poet from Baltimore, transitioned to urban fiction, reflecting his experiences growing up in the inner city. His debut novel, Dayvon’s Story...
Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas 0000000486125057 Angie Thomas, a Mississippi-based author, gained fame with her debut novel 'The Hate U Give'. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, the novel was a #1 New York Ti...
Pamela Thomas-Graham
Pamela Thomas-Graham 0000000120062776 Pamela Thomas-Graham, a Harvard graduate, is currently the president and CEO of CNBC Television, and founder of luxury blog Dandelion Chandelier. She has extensi...
Joseph Earl Thomas
Joseph Earl Thomas NONE Joseph Earl Thomas is an author known for his unique and poignant storytelling. His first major work, Sink: A Memoir, published in 2022, explores his challenging upbringing i...
Thomas A. Stockett
Thomas A. Stockett NONE Thomas A. Stockett was a renowned illustrator and political cartoonist at the Afro-American newspaper for over 50 years, creating impactful art pieces like his 1960 cartoon on...
Ruha Benjamin
Ruha Benjamin 0000000401943238 Ruha Benjamin is a 2024 MacArthur Foundation’s “Genius” Grant Winner Ruha Benjamin is a renowned sociologist, professor, and author specializing in tec...
Francis Ray
Francis Ray 0000000110715606 Francis Ray (1944-2013) was a celebrated Texas-based author and school nurse practitioner. Known for her bestsellers in Blackboard and Essence Magazine, her work includes...
T.R. Simon
T.R. Simon NONE T.R. Simon is an acclaimed author renowned for “Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground” and co-author of award-winning “Zora and Me” with Victoria Bond. Also co-authored “Oskar and the Eight ...
Safiya Umoja Noble
Safiya Umoja Noble 0000000452149763 Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble is an associate professor at UCLA with degrees from California State University and University of Illinois. Recognized as a 2021 MacArthur F...
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates 0000000036544350 “I’ve been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died…clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates.” —To...
Arnold Rampersad
Arnold Rampersad 0000000110823009 Arnold Rampersad, a renowned professor emeritus at Stanford University, is a respected author of biographies including those of Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du Bois, an...
Paule Marshall
Paule Marshall 0000000110812465 Watch a Powerful Tribute to Paule Marshall and John A. Williams Paule Marshall, born Valenza Pauline Burke, was a renowned author and educator. She was selected by Lang...
Richard Rothstein
Richard Rothstein 0000000078408832 Richard Rothstein is a renowned researcher at the Economic Policy Institute and a Fellow at both the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and...
Sarah Gordon Weathersby
Sarah Gordon Weathersby NONE Born in a Virginia rectory, Sarah Weathersby attended segregated schools before moving to DC, graduating from Drew University, and raising two sons in North Carolina. Aft...
Gordon C. James
Gordon C. James 0000000483093360 Charly “Carlos” Palmer, born in 1960, is a fine artist known for his work in children's books. He currently resides in Atlanta, GA. Charly “Carlos” Palmer was born in...
Jericho Brown
Jericho Brown 0000000055016908 Jericho Brown is a 2024 MacArthur Foundation’s “Genius” Grant Winner Jericho Brown, born 1976, is a renowned, award-winning poet recognized for his inf...
Desiree Cooper
Desiree Cooper NONE Desiree Cooper is a 2015 Kresge Artist Fellow, ex-attorney, Pulitzer-nominated journalist, and Detroit activist. She has contributed fiction and poetry to numerous publications an...
Pamela Samuels Young
Pamela Samuels Young NONE Pamela Samuels Young is an award-winning author, attorney, and motivational speaker from Compton, California. Notably, she served as Toyota's Managing Counsel for 15 years a...
Laurie Robinson Haden
Laurie Robinson Haden NONE Laurie Robinson Haden, CEO of Corporate Counsel Women of Color, has significantly advanced diversity in the legal profession since 2004. With a distinguished career at CBS ...
David Dante Troutt
David Dante Troutt NONE David Dante Troutt is a law professor and founding director of the Rutgers Center on Law in Metropolitan Equity. He specializes in race, class, legal structure, intellectual p...
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...
Brian Buckmire
Brian Buckmire NONE Brian Buckmire is a legal analyst for ABC News and a passionate advocate for legal aid. Brian Buckmire is an ABC News legal analyst and legal aid advocate.
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...
Michael Thomas
Michael Thomas 0000000459097580 Michael Thomas, a Boston native, has diverse experiences as a cab driver, carpenter, restaurateur, and filmmaker. An alumnus of Hunter and Warren Wilson College, he is...
Joyce Carol Thomas
Joyce Carol Thomas 0000000377888506 Joyce Carol Thomas is an award-winning author known globally for her novels and picture books. She received the National Book Award for 'Marked By Fire' and multip...