AALBC Search
Monique Couvson
Monique Couvson NONE Monique Couvson, Ed.D. is a scholar and author with over 20 years of experience in education, civil rights, and social justice. She's known for her work on improving conditions f...
William A. Darity Jr., A. Kirsten Mullen, and Lucas Hubbard
William A. Darity Jr., A. Kirsten Mullen, and Lucas Hubbard MULTIPLE William A. Darity Jr. is a professor and director at Duke University, specializing in Public Policy, African and African American ...
Shane White
Shane White 0000000453091911 “…my main research interests are in African American history and in the history of New York City.” Shane White, a distinguished Professor of History at ...
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...
Robert Deane Pharr
Robert Deane Pharr 0000000063320993 “…I would let white people look at the black man as he lives when the white man is not looking or listening.” Robert Deane Pharr, born 1916, was ...
Ice–T and Douglas Century
Ice–T and Douglas Century MULTIPLE Ice-T and Douglas Century are prolific figures in the entertainment industry. Ice-T, a Grammy-winning rapper and actor, is best known for his role on “Law & Order: ...
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...
Ernest Morris
Ernest Morris 0000000071824075 EJ Morris, known as “The Urban Fiction Literary Guru,” debuted in the literary world in 2014 with his novel, Flippin Numbers. Raised on the tough streets of Pennsylvani...
Shafika Burke
Shafika Burke NONE Shafika Burke, a 4th year English major at Medgar Evers College, was raised in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Originally interested in accounting, her passion shifted to literatur...
Sarah E. Farro
Sarah E. Farro NONE Sarah E. Farro, a black author born in 1859, wrote 'True Love: A Story of English Domestic Life' in 1891, making her the second known African-American woman novelist of the 19th c...
St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton
St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton MULTIPLE John Gibbs St. Clair Drake (1911-1990) was a pioneering African-American sociologist and anthropologist, known for documenting 1960s social turmoil, esta...
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...
Matt Forté
Matt Forté NONE Matthew Garrett Forté, born in 1985, is a retired NFL player best known as a running back for the Chicago Bears. He was recognized for his versatility, amassing over 9,000 rushing an...
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...
Ice–T, Spike, and Douglas Century
Ice–T, Spike, and Douglas Century MULTIPLE Ice-T, Spike, and Douglas Century are renowned individuals known for their contributions in music, film, and literature respectively, each leaving a signifi...
Douglas Century
Douglas Century 0000000120268336 Douglas Century is a bestselling author and investigative journalist known for works such as Under and Alone, Hunting El Chapo, and Takedown. He was a 2003 Edgar Awar...
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...
Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington 0000000114628411 Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) was a pivotal African American educator, author, and advisor to presidents. Born into slavery, he rose to become a key leader fo...
Victor H. Green
Victor H. Green 0000000361280061 Victor Hugo Green was a postal worker and travel writer from Harlem, New York. Best known for creating “The Green Book,” a travel guide for African Americans navigati...
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...
Shannon Holmes
Shannon Holmes NONE Shannon Holmes, a Bronx native, turned his life around while serving a prison sentence by penning his first novel. Achieving success with his debut, “B-more Careful,” he secured a...
Lucy Terry
Lucy Terry NONE Lucy Terry Prince, born in West Africa (1730-1821), was a poet, storyteller, and activist known for being the first African American woman to compose a poem. Kidnapped and sold into s...
Edward E. Baptist
Edward E. Baptist 0000000039584833 Edward E. Baptist, born 1970, is a Professor of History at Cornell University. His expertise lies in the history of 19th-century USA, particularly the South and the...
Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson 0000000119000682 Dr. Sam Anderson, a veteran activist and educator, is a renowned mathematics professor and Senior Editor of NOBO. A founding member of the Network of Black Organizers an...
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...
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...
Melvin Patrick Ely
Melvin Patrick Ely 0000000030403653 Melvin Patrick Ely is an acclaimed author and historian specializing in African American and Southern history. His prize-winning book, 'Israel on the Appomattox', ...
Todd Steven Burroughs
Todd Steven Burroughs 0000000140773292 Todd Steven Burroughs is a journalist, historian, and author with a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Maryland. He has co-authored and contributed t...
Susie King Taylor
Susie King Taylor 0000000084839030 Susan Taylor Baker King, born into slavery in 1848, overcame adversity to become a teacher, nurse, and author. Despite education restrictions, she attended secret s...
Bobby Seale
Bobby Seale 0000000108724909 Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, is a key figure in the civil rights and Black Power movements. He helped establish the party's ideology and Ten-Point ...
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...
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...
Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad 0000000083721495 Elijah Muhammad, born Elijah Poole, was an influential African-American religious leader who led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975. He was a mento...
Winston James
Winston James 0000000042945281 Winston James, a renowned professor at the University of California, Irvine, specializes in Caribbean and African American history. His significant works include in-dep...
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...
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...
Linda Addison
Linda Addison 000000003555029X “Addison has enough invention for two writers, and enough heart for three.” —Terry Bisson, Nebula Award winning author Linda D. Addison, first African...
Yosef Ben-Jochannan
Yosef Ben-Jochannan 0000000084792068 Born in Gondar, Ethiopia, Dr. Yosef Alfredo Antonio ben-Jochannan (December 31, 1918 - March 19, 2015), or “Dr. Ben”, as he is affectionately known devoted th...
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...
Clarence Lusane
Clarence Lusane 0000000109374330 Dr. Clarence Lusane, a respected scholar and activist, specializes in human rights, global race relations, U.S. politics, and international relations. Born in Detroit...
Louise Meriwether
Louise Meriwether 0000000110768302 Louise Meriwether was a renowned novelist, essayist, journalist, and activist, best known for her children's biographies of significant African Americans. Born in N...
Eileen Southern
Eileen Southern 0000000108921347 Dr. Eileen Southern, born in 1920, was the first black female tenured professor at Harvard. Renowned for her seminal works on Black music, including “The Music of Bla...
Solomon Plaatje
Solomon Plaatje 000000010911853X Solomon 'Sol' Plaatje (1876-1932) was a pioneering South African intellectual, journalist, and writer, known for being the first General Secretary of the South Africa...
William C. Rhoden
William C. Rhoden NONE Author Rhoden delves into institutionalized racism in sports in his book, “Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete.” He traces African ...
Valjeanne Jeffers
Valjeanne Jeffers NONE Valjeanne Jeffers, a graduate of Spelman College and North Carolina Central University, is a member of the Carolina African American Writer’s Collective. She is a published poe...
Carol Mackey
Carol Mackey NONE Carol M. Mackey, former editor-in-chief of award-winning Black Expressions Book Club, is recognized as one of the 50 most powerful African Americans in publishing. With a career inc...
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 ...
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...
Kwame Dawes
Kwame Dawes 0000000073665848 Ghana-born Kwame Dawes, a poet significantly influenced by Jamaican rhythms and reggae music, is the author of numerous poetry collections, novels, and non-fiction works....
William Jelani Cobb
William Jelani Cobb 0000000034332610 William Jelani Cobb, Ph.D., is an accomplished author, educator, and journalist specializing in post-Civil War African American history and 20th-century American ...
Daniel Black
Daniel Black NONE Daniel Omotosho Black, a Kansas City native, is an accomplished scholar and author. Raised in Arkansas, he studied English at Clark College under a full scholarship, later attending...
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 ...
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...
Kyra D. Gaunt
Kyra D. Gaunt 0000000061596283 Kyra D. Gaunt is a college professor, jazz vocalist, author, and songwriter specializing in race, gender, and African American music. With a career in education startin...
Sheryl K. Carkhum-Lord
Sheryl K. Carkhum-Lord NONE Sheryl K. Carkhum-Lord's novel is inspired by the story of the model for Charles Cordier's 1851 sculpture, “The African Venus.” The book explores the history of slavery in...
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...
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...
Bettye Chitman Haysbert
Bettye Chitman Haysbert NONE Dr. Bettye Chitman Haysbert, a veteran in school reform, has championed the cause of improving education for African American students. A former SF Unified School Distric...
Frank J. Webb
Frank J. Webb 0000000047077954 Francis (Frank) J. Webb (1828-1894) was an African American journalist from Philadelphia. He contributed to Freedom's Journal, the first African American-published news...
Kehinde Andrews
Kehinde Andrews 0000000459713136 Kehinde Nkosi Andrews is a Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University, founder and director of the Centre for Critical Social Research, and co-founder o...
Lowell D. Thompson
Lowell D. Thompson NONE Lowell Thompson is an accomplished artist and writer with a rich history in advertising. A pioneer as one of the first African-Americans in advertising, he now channels his cr...
Sandra L. Manigault
Sandra L. Manigault NONE Sandra L. Manigault, formerly a high school math teacher and college professor, she fell in love with books by African American women and other 20th and 21st century writers,...
Martin R. Delany
Martin R. Delany 0000000080985970 Martin Delany (1812-1885) was a pioneering African American abolitionist and the first African American Field Officer in the U.S Army. Post-Reconstruction, he promot...
Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor
Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor NONE Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor is a Washington DC-based cultural communications specialist and author. She founded the National Black Cultural Information Trust, using...
Tanisha C. Ford
Tanisha C. Ford 0000000394524085 Tanisha C. Ford, a renowned writer, researcher, and cultural critic, specializes in Black style/fashion history and social movements. Recognized as one of The Root's ...
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...
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...
Angela S. Medearis
Angela S. Medearis NONE Angela Shelf Medearis combines a general love for children‘s literature with a particular attention to the reading needs of young African Americans. “I write the kinds ...
Wade Nobles
Wade Nobles 0000000082420463 Dr. Wade W. Nobles is a professor emeritus at San Francisco State University and founder of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Black Family, Life and Culture, Inc. A...
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...
Huey P. Newton
Huey P. Newton 000000010924806X Huey P. Newton, born February 17, 1942, was a key figure in the US civil rights and Black Power movements. A co-founder of the Black Panther Party, he championed self-...
Nathan Hare
Nathan Hare 0000000116200187 Dr. Nathan Hare, known as “the Father of Black Studies,” was the first coordinator of a black studies program in the US. Despite being fired for his role in a student-led...
David Walker
David Walker 0000000115650573 David Walker was a prominent African-American abolitionist who published an influential pamphlet in 1829 arguing against slavery and for racial equality using religious ...
Amina Gautier
Amina Gautier 0000000118109950 Dr. Amina Gautier, an award-winning author of three short story collections, is a scholar and professor specializing in African American literature. She teaches in the ...
Tricia Rose
Tricia Rose 0000000108726760 Tricia Rose, a professor of Africana Studies at Brown University, specializes in African-American culture, politics, and gender issues. She is the author of 'Black Noise'...
John Steptoe
John Steptoe 0000000083178664 John Lewis Steptoe (1950-1989) was a renowned children's book author and illustrator from Brooklyn, NY. Known for his rich illustrations depicting the African American e...
jkm Mbdw
jkm Mbdw NONE jkm Mbdw is not a professional writer, and he does not want to be. History of Creation: The Announcement is his first book, and there may not be a second. He has a master’s degree, ...
J. A. Rogers
J. A. Rogers NONE Joel Augustus Rogers was a self-taught Jamaican author, journalist, and historian who greatly contributed to African and African American history. His work challenged racial ideas, ...
Reginald F. Lewis
Reginald F. Lewis 0000000082053675 Reginald F. Lewis (1942-1993) was an influential American businessman, known as the richest African-American in the 1980s with an estimated net worth of $400 millio...
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar 0000000121024640 To possess the distinct writing voices of standard English of the classical poet and the evocative dialect of the turn-of-the-century black community in Am...
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...
Wade Hudson
Wade Hudson 0000000067647969 Why I Publish Children’s Books Wade Hudson, born in 1946, is an author, journalist, and civil rights activist. Known for his children's books promoting positive Afri...
Ed Bullins
Ed Bullins 0000000108602549 Ed Bullins (1935-2021) was a renowned figure in American theater, significantly contributing to African American drama during the Black Arts Movement. A playwright, poet, ...
Patrisse Khan-Cullors
Patrisse Khan-Cullors 0000000486461392 Patrisse Khan-Cullors, an LA-based artist and freedom fighter, is known for co-founding Black Lives Matter and Dignity and Power Now. A Fulbright scholar and NA...
Winthrop D. Jordan
Winthrop D. Jordan 0000000108632318 Winthrop Donaldson Jordan was a distinguished historian recognized for exploring slavery, race, and American history. His pioneering research into the roots and pe...
Alvin Poussaint
Alvin Poussaint NONE Alvin F. Poussaint, a renowned scholar, psychiatrist, and consultant, is known for his work with Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show and A Different World. He's a Harvard Medical School...
Rick Wallace
Rick Wallace NONE Rick Wallace, Ph.D., Psy.D., is a renowned author of 20 books and numerous scholarly articles, primarily focusing on issues affecting the black community. He's also an influential p...
Saint Solomon
Saint Solomon NONE Saint Solomon, born Randy Brown in Brooklyn, was raised between city and suburb, shaping his understanding of African-American life. After a stint in prison, he turned to writing, ...
Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley 0000000121244897 Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753-1784) was the first published African-American female poet, originally enslaved but later emancipated by the Wheatley family. Despite her d...
Robyn C. Spencer
Robyn C. Spencer 0000000117365645 Robyn C. Spencer is a historian and Associate Professor at Lehman College, CUNY. She specializes in post-WWII social protest, urban and working-class radicalism, and...
Shirley Neal
Shirley Neal NONE Shirley Neal is a renowned journalist, author, and documentarian specializing in Pop Culture, Africa, and Black Identity. Noted for her Forbes Africa cover story on Oprah Winfrey, s...
Stafford L. Battle
Stafford L. Battle NONE Stafford Levon Battle has been called one of the original “Black Geeks” and Black pioneers of the internet, utilizing online networks even before the dawn of the World Wide W...
RAWSISTAZ
RAWSISTAZ NONE The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers were a group of 13 women, including founder Tee C. Royal, who promoted books by and about African Americans. These avid readers, reviewers and members of the Re...
Kidada E. Williams
Kidada E. Williams NONE Kidada E. Williams is a distinguished historian and author, known for her detailed exploration of African American history, specifically during the Reconstruction era. Her wor...
Ric Murphy
Ric Murphy NONE Ric Murphy, an award-winning author and historian from Boston, specializes in genealogical research and African American history. With a family lineage dating back to early colonial A...
Akinyele Umoja, Karin L. Stanford, and Jasmin A. Young
Akinyele Umoja, Karin L. Stanford, and Jasmin A. Young MULTIPLE "Akinyele Umoja is a professor in African-American Studies at Georgia State University. Karin L. Stanford, PhD, teaches Africana studie...
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...
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...
Leontyne Price
Leontyne Price 0000000114499517 Mary Violet Leontyne Price, born in 1927, is a globally acclaimed soprano. Rising to fame in the 1950s and 1960s, she's among the first African Americans to lead at th...
Eric Fullilove
Eric Fullilove NONE Eric James Fullilove is an MIT graduate, a CPA, and a published author. His first novel, Circle of One, published by Bantam’s Spectra Science Fiction imprint, made him one of...