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Moody Holiday
Moody Holiday NONE Brooklyn-born author Moody Holiday, graduated from Montclair State University and Seton Hall University School of Law. A busy career mom and Zumba instructor, she excels in spinnin...
Anne Spencer
Anne Spencer 0000000458445176 Anne Bannister Spencer was a lauded American poet, civil rights activist, and librarian during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in 1882, she was the first African-American w...
Claude McKay
Claude McKay 0000000108625951 Festus Claudius McKay, a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, was born in Jamaica and authored influential works including the poem “If We Must Die” and novel “Home to ...
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...
Wallace Thurman
Wallace Thurman 0000000080916692 Wallace Henry Thurman, born in 1902, was an influential figure during the Harlem Renaissance. Known for his realistic portrayals of lower-class black American society...
Gwendolyn Bennett
Gwendolyn Bennett 0000000041133249 Gwendolyn B. Bennett was an influential American artist, writer, and journalist during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in 1902, she contributed to Opportunity, publish...
Carl Van Vechten
Carl Van Vechten 0000000115587789 Carl Van Vechten, the great popularizer of the Harlem Renaissance for white people. Carl Van Vechten was a renowned photographer and author, best known for his contri...
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston 0000000109083197 “One of the greatest writers of our time.”—Toni Morrison Zora Neale Hurston is considered one of the titans of twentieth-century African American ...
Dorothy West
Dorothy West 0000000117719538 Dorothy West (1907-1998) was an active participant in the Harlem Renaissance and the last surviving member. Known for her short stories, she debuted with her novel 'The ...
Alain Locke
Alain Locke 0000000108789294 Celebrate the Centennial of Survey Graphic on March 23, 2025, at 6 PM ET. Register Here Born in 1886, Alain LeRoy Locke was an influential educator, writer, and phil...
Arthur Herzog, Jr.
Arthur Herzog, Jr. MULTIPLE Arthur Herzog, Jr., a songwriter, has penned a number of songs performed and recorded by top jazz musicians including John Coltrane and Dinah Washington. His most notable ...
Mae V. Cowdery
Mae V. Cowdery 0000000068646714 Mae V. Cowdery (1909–1948) was a gifted poet of the Harlem Renaissance whose work explored racial pride, love, and sensuality with unusual candor for her era. Born in...
Countee Cullen
Countee Cullen 0000000081534450 Countée Porter Cullen (1903-1946) was a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance, known for his poetry books “Color” and “Copper Sun.” He taught and mentored James ...
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...
Rudolph Fisher
Rudolph Fisher 0000000081030148 Rudolph Fisher was a multifaceted talent associated with the Harlem Renaissance, known for his work as a physician, radiologist, novelist, and orator. Notably, he effe...
Regina Abraham
Regina Abraham NONE Regina Abraham, a Harlem-based Academic Intervention Coordinator, is an educational consultant and author of the Harlem-inspired children's book series, “The Harlem Legends.” She ...
Richard Bruce Nugent
Richard Bruce Nugent 0000000108136373 Richard Bruce Nugent, a notable figure in the Harlem Renaissance, was a pioneering openly gay writer and painter. Celebrated for his contributions to gay and bla...
Jeffrey C. Stewart
Jeffrey C. Stewart 0000000082117456 Dr. Jeffrey C. Stewart is a renowned professor and chair of Black Studies at UC Santa Barbara. With an academic background from UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, and Yale, he's...
Georgia Douglas Johnson
Georgia Douglas Johnson 0000000139704329 Georgia Douglas Johnson, born September 10, 1880, was an influential African-American poet, pioneering female playwright, and key participant in the Harlem Re...
Charles S. Johnson
Charles S. Johnson 0000000108707076 Charles Spurgeon Johnson was a prominent 20th-century black sociologist, key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and a Ph.D. graduate from the University of Chicago....
Jean Toomer
Jean Toomer 0000000120198120 Jean Toomer (1894-1967), born as Nathan Pinchback Toomer, was a leading African American poet and novelist of the Harlem Renaissance and Modernism. Born to wealthy parent...
Walter White
Walter White 0000000081462565 “I am a Negro. My skin is white, my eyes are blue, my hair is blond. The traits of my race are nowhere visible upon me.” Explore A.J. Baime's 2022 autobiograp...
Angelina Weld Grimké
Angelina Weld Grimké 0000000110713205 Angelina Weld Grimké (1880-1958) was an accomplished American journalist, teacher, playwright, and poet. Notably, she was one of the first Black American women ...
Maitefa Angaza
Maitefa Angaza NONE Maitefa Angaza, editor of African Voices and author of the #1 Amazon Holiday Book, Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day, has a distinguished editing background with renowned NYC pub...
Harmony Holiday
Harmony Holiday NONE Harmony Holiday is a writer, dancer, archivist, filmmaker, and the author of five collections of poetry including Hollywood Forever and Maafa. She curates a standing archive spa...
J.T. Smith
J.T. Smith 0000000117420835 J.T. Smith, a New Jersey-born author, developed a passion for reading and history at an early age. His interest in Black History and the Harlem Renaissance influenced his ...
Celeste Beatty
Celeste Beatty NONE Celeste Beatty is the first Black woman to own a brewery in the United States. Celeste Beatty (born 1964), entrepreneur and beer pioneer, founded the Harlem Brewing Company in 200...
James Van Der Zee
James Van Der Zee 0000000066571798 James Augustus Van Der Zee (June 29, 1886 – May 15, 1983) began working as a photographer in 1915, and by the following year had opened his photography studi...
Jessie Redmon Fauset
Jessie Redmon Fauset 0000000121319502 Jessie Redmon Fauset was a prominent literary editor for Crisis magazine (1919-1926) and The Brownie's Book (1920-1921). Her first novel, 'There is Confusion', w...
Patricia Mckinney
Patricia Mckinney NONE Patricia McKinney, a professional in Telecommunications with a Bachelor's degree in Photography from Ventura College. She's an avid reader of African American Literature, curre...
James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson 0000000120206864 James Weldon Johnson was a legendary civil rights activist, renowned author, and key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. His diverse career spans roles as a U.S. c...
Kevin McGruder
Kevin McGruder 0000000071766805 Kevin McGruder is an Assistant Professor of History at Antioch College with interests in African American institutions, urban history, and gay and lesbian history. He ...
Irene Smalls
Irene Smalls NONE Irene Smalls, a Harlem native and Cornell University graduate, is a renowned children's author, inspired by her personal experiences and heritage. Her diverse career spans modelling...
Arthur R. Flowers
Arthur R. Flowers NONE Arthur Flowers, a Vietnam veteran, blues singer, and Memphis native, is a co-founder of the New Renaissance Writer's Guild and a notable performance poet. He teaches at Syracus...
Taye Diggs
Taye Diggs 0000000040750720 Taye Diggs, an award-winning actor recognized by the NAACP and Screen Actors Guild, is known for his performances in film (The Best Man Holiday, Chicago), stage (Rent, Wic...
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...
Lois Brown
Lois Brown 0000000055214322 Lois Brown is an author known for her literary biography of Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins, a pioneering New England writer. Brown's work also extends to essays on American and...
Jerry Jordan
Jerry Jordan 0000000383125839 Jerry Jordan is a contemporary realist painter influenced by Harlem Renaissance artists. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, he's authored his first book for young readers. Con...
Arna Bontemps
Arna Bontemps 0000000108744969 Arna Bontemps (1902-1973) was a significant Harlem Renaissance figure and author of 25 diverse books. He served as the head librarian at Fisk University and curator of ...
Valerie Boyd
Valerie Boyd 000000011658992X Valerie Boyd was a notable American author, journalist, and educator, celebrated for her contributions to African American literature. She's best known for her acclaimed...
Melvin Tolson
Melvin Tolson NONE Melvin B. Tolson Sr. (1898-1966) was a Modernist poet, educator, and politician from Missouri, known for his work on the African American experience and the Harlem Renaissance. His...
Ousmane K. Power-Greene
Ousmane K. Power-Greene NONE Ousmane K. Power-Greene, Africana Studies Chair at Clark University, is the author of “Against Wind and Tide.” His work features in “The Harlem Renaissance Revisited” and...
May Miller
May Miller 0000000066423568 May Miller was born on January 26, 1899, in Washington, D.C. Her father, Kelly Miller, was a well-known scholar, professor, and sociologist at Howard University, and thei...
Tony Hillery
Tony Hillery NONE Tony Hillery, founder and executive director of Harlem Grown, began his journey in 2011, transforming a vacant lot in Harlem into a thriving urban farm. He is based in New York and ...
Judy Tyrus and Paul Novosel
Judy Tyrus and Paul Novosel MULTIPLE Judy Tyrus, a former principal ballerina with the Dance Theatre of Harlem and Oakland Ballet, now serves as a dance industry consultant and co-founder of ChromaDi...
Edward Roy
Edward Roy 0000000108894174 Edward Roy, born in 1945, grew up in Harlem, NY, mentored by influential figures including Malcolm X. He served in the US Army’s Medical Corps during the Cold War and Viet...
Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany
Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany MULTIPLE Sarah Delany, the last of the Delany sisters, passed away at 109. Born to a former slave, she was the first colored woman to teach home economics in w...
Carole Boston Weatherford
Carole Boston Weatherford 0000000042539806 Carole Boston Weatherford, a New York Times best-selling author, has written over 50 books, earning multiple awards including three Caldecott Honors and two...
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...
Betty J. Dopson
Betty J. Dopson NONE Betty J. Dopson is a cultural activist, administrator, and organizer with a degree in Communications Arts and Sciences. She served as the Director of Public Relations at Harlem H...
David Rivera
David Rivera 0000000119349964 David Rivera Jr., a writer inspired by contemporary black male authors, has been writing since high school. His debut book, Harlem's Dragon, received great acclaim. Draw...
Willis Nathaniel Huggins
Willis Nathaniel Huggins 0000000064958315 Willis Nathaniel Huggins, Ph.D. (1886-1940) was a renowned historian, activist, and mentor. He owned the Blyden Bookstore in Harlem and was a key member of t...
Eartha Watts-Hicks
Eartha Watts-Hicks NONE Eartha Watts-Hicks is a prolific writer for various online publications, including Harlem World's Magazine's blog and TheUrbanBookSource.com. She has been the director of publ...
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...
Jeffrey B. Perry
Jeffrey B. Perry 0000000110567703 Dr. Jeffrey B. Perry is a renowned scholar and authority on Harlem activist Hubert Henry Harrison. He authored “Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883...
Rosa Guy
Rosa Guy 0000000111564547 Rosa Guy, born in Trinidad in 1925, was an influential Harlem-based writer and activist. A co-founder of the Harlem Writer's Guild, she was also a member of the Black nation...
Relentless Aaron
Relentless Aaron NONE In 2006 Relentless Aaron, Signed a 14-Book Deal with St. Martin’s Press! Black literati had best take note right here and right now. There’s a new writer on the block ...
Brandy
Brandy 0000000114622220 Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979) is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, producer, and actress—the ultimate triple threat. She rose to fame as the star of the l...
Lisa Watson
Lisa Watson NONE Lisa Watson is a national bestselling author based in Washington D.C., known for her work in diverse romance genres. Her debut novel was nominated for Best Contemporary Fiction, and ...
Connie Schofield-Morrison
Connie Schofield-Morrison NONE Connie Schofield-Morrison, a mother, author, and entrepreneur co-runs Morrison Graphics, an art gallery in Atlanta, with her husband. She manages both her family and bu...
Sandra W. Headen
Sandra W. Headen NONE Dr. Sandra W. Headen is a Social and Community Psychologist turned children's historical fiction author. After an accomplished career in public health research and academia, she...
Robert G. O’Meally
Robert G. O’Meally 0000000108901063 Robert G. O'Meally is a distinguished scholar and the Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He is also the fou...
Renita Bryant
Renita Bryant NONE In 2012, Renita Bryant launched Mynd Matters Publishing, an author-centric hybrid publishing company dedicated to guiding and supporting new and aspiring authors through their boo...
Whit Frazier
Whit Frazier NONE Dr. Whit Frazier Peterson is a Lecturer and Research Associate at the University of Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany Dr. Whit Frazier Peterson is a Lecturer and Research Associate at...
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...
Angeli R. Rasbury
Angeli R. Rasbury NONE Angeli R. Rasbury is a versatile writer and attorney who has served as an editor for several major publications. She's a co-editor of a notable book, interviewed distinguished ...
C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis 0000000121235691 C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a renowned British novelist, poet, academic, and lay theologian. He taught English Literature at Oxford, later becoming the Chair of Medieval a...
Darrin DeWitt Henson
Darrin DeWitt Henson 0000000044888874 Darrin DeWitt Henson is a multi-talented actor, dancer, choreographer, and producer known for films like Stomp the Yard and Tekken. With roles in TV series like ...
Deborah Fletcher Mello
Deborah Fletcher Mello 0000000036839925 Deborah Fletcher Mello is a multi-faceted author and Renaissance woman with diverse career experience. Her debut novel earned her a Best New Author nomination,...
Abel Garcia
Abel Garcia NONE Dallas-based artist Abel Garcia, inspired by The Bible, hip-hop, graffiti, and the high renaissance, creates unique art using screen printing, acrylic and oil painting. Recognized as...
James Ward
James Ward 0000000003087499 James Theodore Ward was a pivotal figure in the Black Chicago Renaissance, known as the “dean of black dramatists.” He co-founded the Negro Playwrights Company and wrote o...
Michele Harper
Michele Harper NONE Michele Harper, an emergency room physician with over a decade of experience, has served as chief resident and worked at multiple institutions. She is an alumna of Harvard Univers...
Alix Delinois
Alix Delinois NONE Alix Delinois, a Harlem-based fine artist and art teacher, was born in Haiti. He has illustrated four children's books penned by award-winning authors like Walter Dean Myers, Edwid...
James Baldwin
James Baldwin 0000000121446704 “No white critic can judge my work. I’d be a fool if I depended upon that judgement.” James Arthur Baldwin (1924-1987), born in Harlem, NY, was a ren...
Eric Velasquez
Eric Velasquez 0000000424545187 Eric Velasquez, an Afro-Puerto Rican illustrator from Harlem, offers a unique cultural perspective in his work. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, Velasquez has ...
Claude Brown
Claude Brown 0000000116506653 Claude Brown, born 1937, was a former juvenile delinquent who turned his life around after being shot during a burglary at age 13. He attended Howard University, where h...
Gabourey Sidibe
Gabourey Sidibe 0000000120325062 Gabourey Sidibe is an award-winning actress known for roles in 'Precious', 'American Horror Story' and 'Empire'. She also made her directorial debut with 'The Tale of...
Max Rodriguez
Max Rodriguez NONE Max Rodriguez is the founder and publisher of QBR/The Black Book Review, one of the nation’s premier publications dedicated to books by and about people of African descent. ...
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...
Jacki Simmons
Jacki Simmons NONE Bronx-born, Harlem-raised author Jacki Simmons found inspiration in her surroundings from a young age. She completed her first short story at 11 and her first novel at 16. After wi...
Angela Dews
Angela Dews NONE Angela M. Dews, a former journalist and public servant, now writes and teaches in New York City. She has authored a series of murder mysteries set in Harlem and a 2018 book on urban ...
Bevy Smith
Bevy Smith 0000000496656249 Beverly “Bevy” Smith, born in 1966, is a renowned TV personality, motivational speaker, and businesswoman. She hosts SiriusXM's “Bevelations” and is known for her work on ...
Itah Sadu
Itah Sadu NONE Itah Sadu, an award-winning author and bookstore owner, is known for sharing diverse oral traditions and creating youth programs. She's a founder of several initiatives like the Emanci...
Evelyn Collins
Evelyn Collins NONE Dr. Evelyn Collins is a renowned luminary in theater, African American history, and arts education with over 35 years of experience. As CEO of Onyx Production Company and the forc...
Gary Golio
Gary Golio NONE Gary Golio is a multi-talented visual artist, musician, psychotherapist, and author, known for his New York Times-bestselling book about young Jimi Hendrix. His works focus on artists...
Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten
Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten MULTIPLE Langston Hughes, a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance, and Carl Van Vechten, a notable American writer and photographer, have significantly influ...
Langston Hughes and Milton Meltzer
Langston Hughes and Milton Meltzer MULTIPLE Langston Hughes and Milton Meltzer are renowned authors. Hughes, a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, excelled in poetry, novels, and plays. Meltzer, a ...
Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston
Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston MULTIPLE Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston are prominent figures in American literature, renowned for their contributions to the Harlem Renaissance and Afr...
Alain Locke and Introduction by Troy Johnson
Alain Locke and Introduction by Troy Johnson MULTIPLE Explore the lives and contributions of Alain Locke, a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance, and Troy Johnson, a prominent voice in African Am...
Zora Neale Hurston and M. Genevieve West
Zora Neale Hurston and M. Genevieve West MULTIPLE "Zora Neale Hurston and M. Genevieve West are acclaimed authors renowned for their contributions to literature, with Hurston known for her work durin...
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg 0000000111353723 Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, born in Puerto Rico, was an Afro-Puerto Rican author, researcher, and activist who made significant contributions to the Harlem Ren...
James Smethurst
James Smethurst NONE James E. Smethurst, a Professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is an expert in African American literature and culture. An accomplished auth...
Norwood Holland
Norwood Holland NONE Norwood Holland, a freelance writer and attorney, is the author of the Drew Smith legal thriller series. A graduate of Howard University School of Law and Fisk University, Hollan...
M. Genevieve West
M. Genevieve West NONE M. Genevieve West is an English Professor at Texas Woman’s University, renowned for her scholarly work on Zora Neale Hurston. She has contributed to esteemed academic journals ...
Rashidah Ismaili
Rashidah Ismaili 0000000031556002 Dr. Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr is a writer of short stories, plays, and poetry. Originally from West Africa, Dr. AbuBakr has taught French and English Speaking ...
Silk White
Silk White NONE Silk White, a best-selling urban fiction author from Harlem, New York, is also a co-owner of Good2Go Publishing and Films. He has credit for films like No Way Out & Black Barbie, and ...
Bryan Collier
Bryan Collier 0000000046262867 "Bryan Collier is a renowned author and illustrator, acclaimed for his 'breathtakingly beautiful' art by The Chicago Sun-Times. He resides in Harlem, New York City with...
Michael Henry Adams
Michael Henry Adams NONE Michael Henry Adams is a renowned authority on Harlem's architectural history, frequently cited in related publications. He resides in New York City. Michael Henry Adams is t...
Jeannette Caines
Jeannette Caines 0000000084545104 Jeannette Franklin Caines, a celebrated author of children's picture books, is recognized by the National Black Child Development Institute. She hails from Harlem an...