AALBC Search
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 ...
Relentless Aaron and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
Relentless Aaron and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson MULTIPLE Relentless Aaron and 50 Cent are renowned authors known for their compelling narratives. Their works often explore urban life, providing reade...
Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano 0000000110225228 Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797) was a freed slave and influential abolitionist. His autobiography, published in 1789, played a crucial role in ending the African slave tr...
Chris Gardner
Chris Gardner 0000000040093476 Chris Gardner is an entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, and single parent who overcame homelessness to become a best-selling author. His memoir, The Pursuit of Happyn...
Monica R. Guillemin and Carla McMichael
Monica R. Guillemin and Carla McMichael MULTIPLE Carla McMichael is a respected Administrative Law Judge, globetrotter, mother, grandmother, mentor, and friend. With degrees from UC Santa Cruz and UC...
Greg Mathis
Greg Mathis 0000000034573270 Judge Mathis is a public servant and advocate for equal justice. His career began in college leading campaigns, later joining Detroit City councilman Clyde Cleveland's st...
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Ketanji Brown Jackson 0000000115333586 Justice Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson, born September 14, 1970, is the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a Harvard graduate, former pu...
Solomon Northup
Solomon Northup 0000000374327420 Born free, Solomon Northup was kidnapped into slavery in 1841, enduring this for 12 years in Louisiana. Regaining his freedom in 1853, he penned the memoir “Twelve Ye...
Elizabeth Keckley
Elizabeth Keckley 0000000057594701 Elizabeth Keckley, born a slave in 1818, bought her freedom and became a leading figure in Washington society as a dressmaker and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln. L...
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass 0000000121171288 “Without Struggle… There Is No Progress!” —Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), born into slavery, was an influential abolit...
William Craft and Ellen Craft
William Craft and Ellen Craft MULTIPLE William and Ellen Craft, escaped slaves from Georgia, became famous fugitives in the 1840s. Disguised as a white man and his servant, they reached the North and...
Aleshea Harris
Aleshea Harris NONE Aleshea Harris, an award-winning playwright known for her epic western revenge play “Is God Is,” and her critically acclaimed work “What to Send Up When It Goes Down.” She's a rec...
Jermain Wesley Loguen
Jermain Wesley Loguen 0000000032721380 Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen was an African-American abolitionist, bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and author of the real-life slave narrat...
Kathy Strahs
Kathy Strahs NONE Kathy Strahs, creator of the top-rated blog Panini Happy, left her corporate career to follow her passion for cooking. Her innovative recipes and stunning food photography have been...
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...
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...
Jay Manuel
Jay Manuel NONE TV personality Jay Manuel is celebrated for his roles as a Fashion Correspondent, Host, Judge, Creative Director, and Executive Producer on popular television shows over 20 years. He'...
Jarrett Adams
Jarrett Adams NONE Jarrett Adams, a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University, served a fellowship with Judge Ann Claire Williams and clerked in the U.S. District Court. After working for the Innocence ...
Siku
Siku 0000000065618187 Siku is a multifaceted British artist, author, theologian, and musician, renowned for his comic book/concept art. He has worked with 2000AD, Marvel UK, and COM X, producing nota...
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...
Diane D. Turner
Diane D. Turner NONE Diane D. Turner is the curator for Temple University's Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection. Her expertise lies in Black history, film, and music. She authored the childr...
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 ...
Candice Dow
Candice Dow NONE Candice Dow, a Baltimore native and alumna of the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, transitioned from a Senior Software Engineer to a full-time writer. After secur...
Harriet Jacobs
Harriet Jacobs 0000000121310444 Harriet Ann Jacobs, an escaped slave turned abolitionist speaker and reformer, authored “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” one of the first books highlighting th...
Christina M. Greer
Christina M. Greer 0000000396951910 Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an NYU McSilver Institute Fellow, associate professor at Fordham University, and author of award-winning book Black Ethnics. She hosts “...
Quincy Troupe
Quincy Troupe 0000000376418772 Quincy Troupe, born in 1939, is an award-winning author, recognized for his poetry, children's books, and non-fiction works. His notable titles include a memoir of Earl...
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...
Ned Sublette
Ned Sublette 0000000108555156 Ned Sublette, born in 1951, is a talented composer, musician, and author hailing from Texas. Known for his work in Spanish Classical Guitar, he is also a renowned musico...
Joan Wright Lewis
Joan Wright Lewis NONE Jamaican-born author Joan Wright Lewis, now a US citizen, is known for her works that inspire youth and young adults to embrace self-love, pursue dreams, and foster genuine fri...
Historical Research Department of the Nation of Islam
Historical Research Department of the Nation of Islam NONE This author explores the historical relationship between Black and Jewish communities, claiming that Black leaders advocating for economic a...
E. D. Arrington
E. D. Arrington NONE E.D. Arrington, also known as Lois, was raised by her grandparents in Greene County, North Carolina. After a successful career at the National Education Association, she turned t...
Aaron Philip
Aaron Philip 000000002322004X "Aaron Philip, a 12-year-old from the Bronx, caught the attention of Tumblr's CEO with his earnest blog, Aaronverse. Despite living with cerebral palsy, Aaron's unique v...
Damilare Kuku
Damilare Kuku NONE Damilare Kuku is a multi-talented Nigerian author, known for her bestseller story collection, Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad. She has experience in radio, scripts, film, and a...
Kevin Lewis
Kevin Lewis 0000000030894966 Kevin Lewis loves recognizing that bouncy, busy brown sugar baby spirit, especially when he sees it in the fans of his popular picture book favorites Chugga Chugga Choo-...
Sandra A. Ottey
Sandra A. Ottey NONE Sandra A. Ottey, born in Kingston, Jamaica, is a US-based author known for 'Jamerican Connection' and its sequel. She holds a bachelor's degree from Medgar Evers College and a ma...
Timbaland and Veronica Chambers
Timbaland and Veronica Chambers MULTIPLE Timothy Z. Mosley, known as Timbaland, is a renowned music producer, part of hip-hop duo Timbaland & Magoo, and CEO of Mosley Music Group. Veronica Chambers, ...
Betty DeRamus
Betty DeRamus NONE Betty DeRamus is an award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist known for her nonfiction books on slavery and post-slavery era. Her works, “Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories f...
Margaret Garner
Margaret Garner NONE Margaret Garner, a fugitive slave from Kentucky, killed one of her children rather than permit her to be returned to slavery. She drowned in a shipwreck as she was being ...
Naomi V. Dunsen-White
Naomi V. Dunsen-White NONE Naomi V. Dunsen-White is a children’s book author and editor focused on promoting diversity and representation in children's literature. She utilizes her background as a fo...
Michael Todd
Michael Todd 0000000135342914 Michael Todd is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Relationship Goals and Crazy Faith and the lead pastor of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His driv...
Elizabeth Atkins
Elizabeth Atkins NONE Elizabeth Ann Atkins, best-selling author, actress, TV host, and award-winning journalist, uses her multimedia platform to inspire others to reach their potential. An advocate f...
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...
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 ...
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...
Christine Taylor Butler
Christine Taylor Butler NONE Christine Taylor Butler is an accomplished children's author from Ohio. Overcoming initial fears, she pursued her passion for writing, inspired by her daughters' love for...
Jacqueline Alcantara
Jacqueline Alcantara NONE Jacqueline Alcántara is a freelance illustrator specializing in children’s literature. After teaching art and photography, she pursued projects featuring diverse main chara...
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...
Deborah Cardona a.k.a “Sexy”
Deborah Cardona a.k.a “Sexy” NONE Deborah Cardona, aka “Sexy”, is a NY author and publisher who began writing in prison, drawing from her experiences in Spanish Harlem's gangs and drugs scene. A moth...
Nina Foxx
Nina Foxx 0000000045364941 Nina Foxx, a prolific author of 15 novels, has also written, produced, and directed multiple award-winning stage plays and films. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a...
Stephen L. Carter
Stephen L. Carter 0000000114553253 Stephen L. Carter, a distinguished Yale Law professor with 30 years of experience, is an acclaimed author of seven nonfiction works and three bestselling novels. Bo...
Tyora Moody
Tyora Moody NONE Tyora Moody is a distinguished author and entrepreneur, known for her romantic suspense and cozy mystery novels. Her debut novel, 'When Rain Falls', was released in 2012. She is a me...
Randy Kearse
Randy Kearse NONE Randy Kearse, a Positive Life Strategist, uses his experience as a former inmate to develop solution-based strategies for positive change. He offers educational programs and multime...
Kardea Brown
Kardea Brown NONE Kardea Brown is a contemporary Southern Chef, author of the New York Times bestseller The Way Home, and the creator of the New Gullah Supper Club pop-up, where her menu pays homage...
Terence Lester
Terence Lester NONE Terence Lester, founder of Love Beyond Walls, is known for his global poverty awareness campaigns and books. He's been featured on major platforms like The Today Show and named a ...
Aesop
Aesop 0000000120317310 Aesop (c. 620-560 B.C.), the legendary creator of Aesop's Fables, was a presumed black slave from Ancient Greece. His fables popularized everyday phrases such as “don't count y...
Hannah Crafts
Hannah Crafts 0000000057115061 Hannah Bond, known as Hannah Crafts, was an African-American writer and ex-slave who escaped to the North and wrote The Bondwoman’s Narrative. Settling in New Jersey, B...
Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells 0000000083935290 Ida B. Wells, born a slave in 1862, was an influential African-American journalist, editor, suffragist, and early Civil Rights leader. Notable for her documentation of l...
Thomas Norman DeWolf
Thomas Norman DeWolf 0000000074225246 Author of 'Inheriting the Trade', explores his family's past as the largest slave-trading dynasty in U.S. history. Featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary 'Tr...
Joy DeGruy
Joy DeGruy 000000004270340X Dr. Joy Angela DeGruy is a renowned researcher, educator, author, and presenter focused on social justice and self-healing. Known for her work on Post Traumatic Slave Synd...
John Ridley
John Ridley 0000000114963631 John Ridley is an award-winning American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. Best known for “12 Years a Slave” and the series “American Crime,” his latest work is ...
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...
Manu Herbstein
Manu Herbstein 0000000052849963 Manu Herbstein, born in 1936, is a South African and Ghanaian author and engineer who worked globally before settling in Ghana in 1970. His debut novel, “Ama, a Story ...
George Moses Horton
George Moses Horton 000000006316904X George Moses Horton (1798–1884) was the first African American poet to be published in the Southern US, while still enslaved. His notable works include “The Hop...
Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o 0000000065421480 Lupita Nyong'o, born March 1, 1983, is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. Raised in Kenya and educated in the U.S., she began her career in Hollywood, made her acting debut in ...
Frances Foster
Frances Foster 0000000078407303 Frances Foster has edited and authored many works, including Witnessing Slavery: The Development of the Antebellum Slave Narrative and the Norton Critical Edition of ...
Francesca Momplaisir
Francesca Momplaisir NONE Haitian-born Francesca Momplaisir is a multilingual literature scholar and writer. Educated at Columbia University, the University of Oxford, and New York University, she sp...
Emily Meggett
Emily Meggett NONE Emily Meggett, 87, is a prominent figure in South Carolina's Gullah community, featured by PBS, Food Network, and NPR. Raised in a 19th-century slave cabin, now a central Smithsoni...
Lawrence Deron Thomas
Lawrence Deron Thomas NONE Lawrence Deron Thomas, a Bay Area native, was inspired by his parents to pursue strength, courage, and success. After a brief stint as a rapper, he found his passion for wr...
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Valerie Smith, William L. Andrews, Frances Foster, Brent Hayes Edwards, Deborah E. McDowell, Hortense J. Spillers, Kimberly W. Benston, Farah Jasmine Griffin, and Jesse McCarthy
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Valerie Smith, William L. Andrews, Frances Foster, Brent Hayes Edwards, Deborah E. McDowell, Hortense J. Spillers, Kimberly W. Benston, Farah Jasmine Griffin, and Jesse McCarth...
Vincent Brown
Vincent Brown 0000000114674784 Vincent Brown is the Charles Warren Professor of American History and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. He is the author of Tacky...
Stanley Crouch
Stanley Crouch 000000011474616X Stanley Crouch (December 14, 1945 – September 16, 2020) was born in Los Angeles. He was an American music and cultural critic, syndicated columnist, and novelis...
Winnie Harlow
Winnie Harlow NONE Winnie Harlow (born Chantelle Whitney Brown-Young in July 27, 1994) is a Canadian fashion model, actress, entrepreneur, and advocate best known for challenging conventional beauty...
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...
Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka 0000000446460520 Amiri Baraka, also known as LeRoi Jones, was a prolific 20th-century African American writer, poet, and Obie-winning playwright. Known for works such as “Blues People” a...
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...
Margaret Busby
Margaret Busby 0000000384780261 Margaret Busby, UK's youngest and first black female publisher, co-founded Allison & Busby Ltd and was a director at Earthscan Publications. An award-winning writer, e...
Latorial Faison
Latorial Faison NONE Faison is the Judge for Nubianpoets.com 2018 Nation Poetry Month Poetry Contest Latorial Faison is an American poet and author, known for her profound poetry reflecting her Africa...
Gregory Gourdet
Gregory Gourdet NONE Gregory Gourdet, born 1975 in New York, is a renowned chef and health enthusiast. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, he trained under Jean-Georges Vongerichten and ran the...
Abdulrazak Gurnah
Abdulrazak Gurnah 0000000109376264 Winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature Abdulrazak Gurnah, a UK-based novelist and academic, won the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature for his exploration of colo...
Carolyn Holland
Carolyn Holland NONE Carolyn Holland, a bibliophile and historical romance enthusiast, is dedicated to diversifying the genre by writing books for and about people of color. Inspired by LA Banks and ...
Tamara Morgan
Tamara Morgan NONE Tamara Morgan, a Berkeley native and Stanford Law School alumna, is an accomplished Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader and employment law attorney. Known for her resilience, s...
Spike Adams
Spike Adams NONE Spike Adams is a retired Colorado judge and a proud father of three sons, having shared 35 wonderful years of marriage with his soulmate. Before ascending to the bench, Adams served...
r.h. Sin
r.h. Sin NONE Reuben Holmes, known as r.h. Sin, is a New York Times bestselling poet from New Brunswick, N.J. Overcoming a difficult upbringing through his love for writing, Sin currently lives in Ne...
Robert F. Williams and Mabel R. Williams
Robert F. Williams and Mabel R. Williams MULTIPLE Born in Jim Crow-era Monroe, North Carolina, Robert F. Williams and Mabel R. Williams were the state’s most legendary African American freedom fight...
Maria Pinto
Maria Pinto 0000000066372318 Naturalist, forager, and educator Maria Pinto offers a stunning debut book that uncovers strange and beautiful fungal connections between the natural and human worlds. S...
J. California Cooper
J. California Cooper 000000011687953X J. California Cooper was a renowned author and playwright, named Black Playwright of the Year in 1978. Encouraged by Alice Walker, she transitioned to fiction, w...
Lisa Jackson
Lisa Jackson 0000000388255181 Lisa Jackson is an author known for her compelling narratives and exploration of emotions in her works. Her writing often explores themes of desire, trust, belief, and a...
Katherine Shears
Katherine Shears NONE Katherine Shears is a dedicated executive consultant and deep thinker committed to social betterment and personal transformation. A voracious reader, she applies knowledge from ...
Nathaniel Glover
Nathaniel Glover NONE From the terrors of Ax Handle Saturday to making history as a barrier-breaking law enforcement leader and academic champion, Nathaniel Glover’s journey is an enduring...
Chris Gardner and Quincy Troupe
Chris Gardner and Quincy Troupe MULTIPLE Chris Gardner is a renowned author, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker, best known for his autobiography “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Quincy Troupe is a ce...
Brook Susan Parker
Brook Susan Parker NONE Dr. Brook Bello (formerly brook susan parker), CEO/Executive Director, and Founder of More Too Life, Inc. and Living Above the Noise Center in Florida. She is a #Champion fro...
Will Smith
Will Smith 000000011507289X Will Smith is a leading figure in showbiz, known for starring in seven consecutive box-office hits, including I Am Legend. He is recognized for his challenging roles, such...
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...
Joy Deja King
Joy Deja King NONE Joy Deja King, raised in various states across the US, is a modern author known for her young and edgy street-life novels. A journalism graduate from North Carolina Central Univers...
Doug and Jackie Christie
Doug and Jackie Christie MULTIPLE Doug & Jackie Christie are both natives of Seattle, WA. Jackie, a former model turned fashion designer, owns her own clothing boutique and label. Doug, a former NBA ...
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...
Jennifer Baker
Jennifer Baker NONE Jennifer Baker is a publishing professional, host of the Minorities in Publishing podcast, and contributing editor to Electric Literature. She advocates for diversity in the indus...
Glenda R. Taylor
Glenda R. Taylor 0000000034034410 Glenda R. Taylor is a blind author, scholar, critic and cultural historian who overcame her disability to intensify her studies. She holds a M.A. degree in History a...
RuPaul
RuPaul 0000000055514093 RuPaul Andre Charles, a Tony and Emmy award-winning executive producer and host, is renowned for his contributions to the TV franchise RuPaul's Drag Race. Known for his music,...
Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D.
Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. NONE Chicago-born Theresa Michelle Wilson, also known as Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D., is a southern siren based in Atlanta. A graduate of Millikin University School of M...