AALBC Search
Kelvin Boston
Kelvin Boston NONE Kelvin E. Boston is a Financial journalist, author, and entrepreneur. Kelvin Boston believes that financial education is the key that unlocks the doors to financial success. Bo...
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...
Kelvin Christopher James
Kelvin Christopher James NONE Trinidadian author Kelvin Christopher James, a former high school science teacher and lab technician, holds a Ph.D. in science education. He started writing in 1980, pro...
Sam Cornish
Sam Cornish 0000000383831039 Sam Cornish (1935-2018) was the Poet Laureate of Boston from 2008 and authored seven poetry books. He taught poetry workshops at the Boston Public Library and was a promi...
Dick Lehr
Dick Lehr 0000000122793759 Dick Lehr, a Boston University journalism professor and former Boston Globe reporter, is a Pulitzer Prize finalist known for his investigative reporting. Lehr, who also pra...
Jeffery Boston Weatherford
Jeffery Boston Weatherford NONE Jeffery Boston Weatherford, an illustrator and poet, founded Triiibe Worldwide. His debut book, You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen, acclaimed by several organizations, e...
Mavis Staples and Carole Boston Weatherford
Mavis Staples and Carole Boston Weatherford MULTIPLE Mavis Staples is a renowned R&B singer and civil rights activist. Carole Boston Weatherford is an award-winning children's book author and poet. B...
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...
Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders
Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders MULTIPLE Acclaimed writer and teacher, Rob Sanders, is known for works like Cowboy Christmas, Outer Space Bedtime Race, and Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk a...
Jonathan Todd
Jonathan Todd 0000000028238169 Jonathan Todd, co-founder of Boston Kids Comics Fest and former teacher, is a distinguished comics author and illustrator. A Jacqueline Woodson Fellow, he studied writi...
Bessel van der Kolk
Bessel van der Kolk 0000000110059709 Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., is the founder of the Trauma Center in Brookline, MA, a psychiatry professor at Boston University, and director of the National Complex...
Danielle Legros Georges
Danielle Legros Georges NONE Danielle Legros Georges, a professor at Lesley University, is a renowned writer and poet with interests in arts, education, American and African-American poetry, Caribbea...
Jamarhl Crawford
Jamarhl Crawford NONE Jamarhl Crawford, also known as UNO The Prophet, is a Boston-based artist and poet deeply rooted in the city's Black communities. Coming from a family rich in artistic history, ...
Ronald Ancrum
Ronald Ancrum NONE Ron Ancrum, a nonprofit management and organizational development expert, has a diverse career as a professor, consultant, executive, and musician. A graduate of University of Conn...
Larry Tye
Larry Tye 0000000054373081 Larry Tye, a New York Times bestselling author known for works like 'Bobby Kennedy' and 'Satchel', was previously an award-winning reporter at Boston Globe. A Nieman fellow...
T. Styles, J.M. Benjamin, Boston George, Danielle Santiago, and Caroline Mcgill
T. Styles, J.M. Benjamin, Boston George, Danielle Santiago, and Caroline Mcgill MULTIPLE
Folami Abiade, Dinah Johnson, Carole Boston Weatherford, Dakari Hru, Michael Burgess, E. Ethelbert Miller, Lenard D. Moore, David Anderson, Angela Johnson, Sonia Sanchez, and Davida Adedjouma
Folami Abiade, Dinah Johnson, Carole Boston Weatherford, Dakari Hru, Michael Burgess, E. Ethelbert Miller, Lenard D. Moore, David Anderson, Angela Johnson, Sonia Sanchez, and Davida Adedjouma MULTIPLE...
Richard Kigel
Richard Kigel NONE Richard Kigel is an experienced literacy professional and veteran teacher with a focus on inspiring students in reading and writing. He is notable for his revealing article on Phil...
Maria Smilios
Maria Smilios NONE Maria Smilios is a New York-based author and educator with a Masters of Arts from Boston University. She's a former university writing instructor and high school teacher with exten...
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn 0000000123214931 Howard Zinn, a renowned historian, playwright, and social activist, was a professor at Boston University. Known for his political activism and award-winning nonfiction wo...
JR Ford and Vanessa Ford
JR Ford and Vanessa Ford MULTIPLE JR and Vanessa Ford are renowned advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, particularly for transgender youth. Featured in major publications and part of the Human Rights Campaig...
Liz Walker
Liz Walker NONE Liz Walker is an Emmy-winning journalist, activist, and minister, known for her work in post-traumatic healing. A Harvard graduate, she served as Boston's first Black evening news anc...
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...
Julia Hare
Julia Hare NONE Dr. Julia Hare (1939-2019) was a renowned motivational speaker and influential figure in black communities both in America and abroad. Known for her powerful speeches about black lead...
Julian Mayfield
Julian Mayfield 0000000114504355 Julian Mayfield (1928-1984) was a renowned writer, civil rights activist, and cultural icon. His works explored themes of race and identity, significantly impacting t...
Joanne Chang
Joanne Chang NONE Joanne Chang, Harvard graduate in applied mathematics and economics, is the chef-owner of Flour Bakery in Boston. She was previously a pastry chef at Payard Patisserie and Mistral. ...
Veronica Freeman Ellis
Veronica Freeman Ellis NONE Veronica Freeman Ellis is a renowned author known for “Land of the Four Winds” and “AFRO-BETS First Book about Africa.” She has contributed to “Book of Black Heroes: Great...
Atinuke
Atinuke 000000046414875X Atinuke, a Nigerian-born author of numerous children's books including 'Baby Goes to Market', is a traditional storyteller and recipient of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. ...
Jestenia Southerland
Jestenia Southerland NONE Jestenia Southerland, a Delaware-based illustrator, holds an MFA in Illustration from Syracuse University and a BFA from Boston University. Her art, characterized by bright ...
Patrick Diamond
Patrick Diamond 0000000109595758 Patrick Diamond, born in Frog Town, South Carolina, holds degrees from Boston University. He has managed at NCNB (now Bank of America), Duke Energy, and the City of C...
M. Shawn Copeland
M. Shawn Copeland 0000000067799647 M. Shawn Copeland is a renowned American womanist and Black Catholic theologian, retired professor of systematic theology at Boston College. She has made significan...
Shane W. Evans
Shane W. Evans 0000000038504360 Shane Evans is a renowned illustrator, artist and designer whose work has been recognized by The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and The Orbis Pictus Award. His illustrat...
Paul Beatty
Paul Beatty 0000000084014450 Paul Beatty, born 1962, the first American to win the Man Booker Prize in 2016 for his novel “The Sellout.” An LA native and graduate of Brooklyn College and Boston Unive...
Courtney Faye Taylor
Courtney Faye Taylor NONE Courtney Faye Taylor is a celebrated writer and visual artist, known for winning the Discovery/Boston Review Poetry Prize and the Academy of American Poets Prize. Her work i...
Leslie Kwan
Leslie Kwan NONE Leslie Kwan, a Guyanese-American harpsichordist and arts executive, has worked at CHANEL and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She founded ArtsWell, a media production company, and is b...
Porsha Olayiwola
Porsha Olayiwola NONE Porsha Olayiwola, is the City of Boston’s poet laureate and the co-owner of Just Bookish a literary gathering space in Fields Corner in Dorchester. Porsha Olayiwola is the City ...
Askia M. Toure
Askia M. Toure 0000000043979889 Askia Muhammad Touré, born Rolland Snellings in 1938, is a renowned poet, essayist, and political editor associated with the Black Arts Movement. He has served as edi...
Kam Williams
Kam Williams NONE Lloyd “Kam” Williams was a renowned film and book critic, contributing to AALBC.com and numerous other publications. A member of several critics associations, he was known for his a...
Peter Gomes
Peter Gomes 0000000067005579 Peter John Gomes (1942-2011) was a renowned African American preacher and theologian at Harvard University's Divinity School, born in Boston, MA. Peter John Gomes (May 22...
Bernard Alexander McNealy
Bernard Alexander McNealy NONE Bernard Alexander McNealy, born in Georgia, is a former semi-pro baseball player turned legal advocate and writer. Raised in Boston, he learned mental discipline from m...
Carl Phillips
Carl Phillips 0000000034354617 Carl Phillips, born 1959, is a renowned author and professor, best known for his dozen books of poetry and two works of criticism. With an educational background from H...
Charles Euchner
Charles Euchner NONE Euchner, a renowned author and speaker, explores the Civil Rights Revolution in his work, drawing lessons for today's world from the movement's “everyday heroism.” A Vanderbilt a...
Howard Thurman
Howard Thurman 0000000083893625 “The Godfather of the Civil Rights Movement” Howard Thurman was a significant African American author, theologian, civil rights leader, and Dean of Chapel a...
Onaje X. O. Woodbine
Onaje X. O. Woodbine NONE Onaje X.O. Woodbine, Ph.D. holder from Boston University, is a philosophy and religious studies teacher at Phillips Academy. Author of 'Black Gods of the Asphalt', he is als...
Dan Smith
Dan Smith 0000000120314603 Dan Smith is a Boston University graduate with a diverse background including teaching and construction. Fluent in several languages, he enjoys various hobbies and lives in...
Rachel Isadora
Rachel Isadora 0000000083710059 Former professional dancer Rachel Isadora transitioned into visual arts after an injury. She's since created over 200 children's books and focuses on painting, often d...
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 ...
Eleanor Taylor Bland
Eleanor Taylor Bland 000000006389177X Eleanor Taylor Bland (1944-2010) was a renowned crime fiction author, known for creating detective Marti McAllister. Born in Boston, she married young and reloca...
Wesley Lowery
Wesley Lowery 0000000497725736 Wesley Lowery is a Pulitzer Prize-winning national reporter for the Washington Post, specializing in law enforcement and justice. Known for his coverage of the Black Li...
Mary Helen Washington
Mary Helen Washington 0000000076894080 Mary Helen Washington is an English Professor at the University of Maryland. She's a former Bunting Fellow at Harvard and has taught at the University of Massac...
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...
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...
Wendy Williams
Wendy Williams 0000000114422456 Wendy Williams, a New Jersey native and Northeastern University graduate, is a renowned radio personality and author. She has worked at notable stations like WQHT-FM a...
Brittney Morris
Brittney Morris NONE Brittney Morris, author of 'Slay', is the founder of Boston University Creative Writing Club with a BA in Economics. She enjoys video games and the Seattle rain, living with her ...
Keisha Bush
Keisha Bush NONE Keisha Bush, a Boston native, earned her MFA in creative writing from The New School. With a background in corporate finance and international development, she now dedicates her time...
Raúl the Third
Raúl the Third NONE Raúl the Third, a three-time Pura Belpré Award winner, is known for illustrating the bestselling Stuntboy and writing the popular Lowrider series. His work, including contributi...
Keith Knight
Keith Knight 0000000036407698 “Well, you know… cats have better representation in the comics than Black people.” Keith Knight, a Boston-born cartoonist, is recognized for his unique...
Kim McLarin
Kim McLarin 0000000082097846 Kim McLarin, an accomplished novelist and ex-staff writer for The New York Times and Associated Press, appears on Emmy-winning show Basic Black. She's an associate profes...
Nyaneba Nkrumah
Nyaneba Nkrumah NONE Nyaneba Nkrumah, born in Boston and raised in Africa, is a well-educated author with a love for literature instilled by her mother. She holds a master's from University of Michig...
Kristen Green
Kristen Green NONE Kristen Green is a New York Times bestselling author and reporter, recognized for her non-fiction work. She has a 20-year writing career with newspapers like the Boston Globe. Gree...
Laura Warrell
Laura Warrell NONE Laura Warrell, a Vermont College of Fine Arts graduate, is an accomplished writer and educator. She's attended prestigious residencies and taught Creative Writing and Literature in...
Margaret A. Burnham
Margaret A. Burnham NONE Margaret A. Burnham, a notable law professor and the founding director of the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern University, has had a diverse caree...
Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan 0000000103319656 Louis Farrakhan, born May 11, 1933, is a renowned former musician turned religious leader of The Nation of Islam. Raised in Massachusetts, he found fame in Boston bef...
Ilyon Woo
Ilyon Woo 0000000100456364 Ilyon Woo, author of 'The Great Divorce', is a Whiting Grant recipient known for her articles in The Boston Globe and The Wall Street Journal. She's backed by the National ...
Phoebe Sinclair
Phoebe Sinclair NONE Phoebe Sinclair is a passionate writer, organizer, and facilitator who values the power of voice. A lover of city cycling, wandering, and candy corn, she resides in Boston with h...
Buki Papillon
Buki Papillon NONE Nigerian-born author Buki Papillon, educated in law and creative writing in the UK and US, has earned accolades for her debut novel, An Ordinary Wonder. A recipient of numerous wri...
Marilyn Nelson
Marilyn Nelson 0000000081267022 Marilyn Nelson, former Poet Laureate of Connecticut, is a three-time National Book Award Finalist, Annisfield-Wolf Award winner, and author of acclaimed titles like 'T...
Caleb Gayle
Caleb Gayle NONE Caleb Gayle is an award-winning journalist and professor at Northeastern University, specializing in race and identity. His work has been published in major outlets like The New York...
Taymullah Abdur-Rahman
Taymullah Abdur-Rahman NONE Taymullah Abdur-Rahman is a Black Muslim thought leader, educator, and prison abolitionist with certifications in Islamic studies and interreligious leadership. He's a for...
Crystal Hubbard
Crystal Hubbard NONE Crystal Hubbard is a versatile author, known for her picture books, contemporary and historical romance novels, and short stories. Her debut title is part of the Who HQ series. C...
Cole Arthur Riley
Cole Arthur Riley NONE Cole Arthur Riley, a New York Times bestselling author, is a respected writer and poet known for her work in The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, and more. As the creator of Black L...
Lisa Stringfellow
Lisa Stringfellow NONE Lisa Stringfellow is an award-winning author known for her West Indian and Black southern heritage-inspired works like “A Comb of Wishes” and “Kingdom of Dust.” She is a dedica...
Joel Christian Gill
Joel Christian Gill NONE Joel Christian Gill, chairman of Strange Fruit Comics, is known for his award-winning graphic novels which focus on uncelebrated narratives from Black History. Apart from his...
Mary Annaïse Heglar
Mary Annaïse Heglar NONE Mary Annaïse Heglar is a renowned author featured in outlets like New York Magazine, The Boston Globe, Vox, and Rolling Stone. Her works are also included in collections suc...
muMs the schemer
muMs the schemer NONE Craig Grant, known as muMs the Schemer, is a poet and actor from the Bronx, New York. He rose to fame in the documentary SlamNation and through his role as “Poet” in HBO's Oz. H...
Talia Whyte
Talia Whyte NONE Talia Whyte has been a freelance journalist since 1998. Prospective clients seeking story assignments, nonfiction ghostwriting, copywriting commissions, story ideas, or licensing in...
Preston L. Allen
Preston L. Allen NONE Preston L. Allen, a Boston and Miami native, is an award-winning author known for his engaging short stories. A recipient of the State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in...
Brandon M. Terry
Brandon M. Terry NONE Brandon M. Terry is the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University and the co-director of the Institute on Policing, Incarceration, and Publi...
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 ...
Yusef Komunyakaa
Yusef Komunyakaa 000000011440862X Yusef Komunyakaa the first African American male to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry Yusef Komunyakaa, born on April 29, 1947, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet recog...
Patricia Hruby Powell
Patricia Hruby Powell 0000000045698001 Patricia Hruby Powell, former dancer and now acclaimed children's author, is known for her books such as “Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker”, whic...
Bennett Capers
Bennett Capers NONE Bennett Capers has published stories in literary magazines such as Callaloo, Gettysburg Review, Fiction, and elsewhere, and his work has appeared in two anthologies of short fict...
Jayson Tatum and Sam Apple
Jayson Tatum and Sam Apple MULTIPLE Jayson Tatum (aka Deuce’s dad) is a professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics. A six-time NBA All-Star, multiple-time All-NBA First Team selection, Ol...
Justin Ellis
Justin Ellis NONE Justin Ellis is a writer and journalist whose first nonfiction book is The Cruelty of Nice Folks. He is a projects editor for Defector, an employee-owned media company, where he...
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 ...
G’Ra Asim
G’Ra Asim NONE G’Ra Asim is a writer, musician, and assistant professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of Boyz n the Void: A Mixtape to My Brother, which was name...
A. H. Jerriod Avant
A. H. Jerriod Avant NONE A. H. Jerriod Avant was born and raised in Longtown, Mississippi. A graduate of Jackson State University, he earned MFA degrees from both Spalding University and New York Un...
Robin D. Stone
Robin D. Stone NONE Robin D. Stone, MA, LMHC-D, CPT, is a psychotherapist, poetry therapist, wellness coach, and longtime journalist. In her Manhattan private practice, Stone works primarily with Bl...
Clarence B. Jones
Clarence B. Jones 0000000036182118 AALBC mourns the passing of Clarence B. Jones Dr. Clarence Benjamin Jones (January 8, 1931 – May 22, 2026) the lawyer who served as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s pe...
Andrea Davis Pinkney
Andrea Davis Pinkney 0000000083413599 Andrea Davis Pinkney is a bestselling author of children and young adult books, awarded multiple honors such as Coretta Scott King Awards and NAACP Image Award n...
Gwen Ifill
Gwen Ifill 0000000052256367 Gwen Ifill was a renowned journalist and editor for Washington Week and The NewsHour. Prior to PBS, she was a correspondent for NBC News and reported for notable outlets l...
Sarah Lewis
Sarah Lewis 0000000434612603 Sarah Lewis is the founder of Vision & Justice and the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and Associate Professor of African and African American Studies ...
Vickie M. Stringer
Vickie M. Stringer NONE “I use my life as an example to warn others of the dangers of the drug game.” Vickie Stringer, the Queen of Hip-Hop Literature, has revolutionized the genre throu...
Jada Jeni Bennett
Jada Jeni Bennett NONE Jada Jeni Bennett is a graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied illustration. Jada Jeni Bennett is a recent graduate of The School of the Art ...
Asha Lemmie
Asha Lemmie NONE Asha Lemmie is the New York Times bestselling author of Fifty Words For Rain and The Wildest Sun. She holds a BA in English Literature from Boston College and is currently a graduat...
Isabel Wilkerson
Isabel Wilkerson 0000000073025226 Isabel Wilkerson, first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize, is a distinguished journalist and professor. Recognized for her work at The New York Times an...
Brian Pinkney
Brian Pinkney 0000000063549392 As a child, Brian Pinkney loved drawing pictures on every piece of paper he could find. He also loved watching his father, Jerry Pinkney, illustrate books for children...
Ashley June Reese
Ashley June Reese NONE Ashley June Reese is Creative Director of Black Interior Designers, Inc. (BID). Her Houston-based design firm, House of June Interiors, works with a roster of clients from Bos...
Wil Clay
Wil Clay NONE Wil Clay, a renowned artist, began his journey in art at a young age. He studied at prestigious art institutions before establishing studios in Providence and Houston. Initially focusin...