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The life of a nation is told by the lives of its people

 

 

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What’s new: September 2024

The ANB September 2024 update features 32 revised and updated essays and 32 retrospective images.

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Shirley Graham

Shirley Graham (1896–1977) was an award-winning playwright, musical director, author, and political activist. Graham forced change in opera and drama, opening both to a bold African American perspective. She also wrote biographies to introduce young people to notable African Americans who—at the time she was writing in the mid-twentieth century—were not necessarily among the canonical figures of the country's history. Although she was overshadowed in her later years by being the spouse of W. E. B. Du Bois, she continued her life’s work as an important and influential writer and liberation activist.

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News

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

What’s New: September 2024

The ANB September 2024 update features 32 revised and updated essays and 32 retrospective images.

AUGUST 21, 2024

What’s New: August 2024

This update features five new biographies, including model and actress Farrah Fawcett; Oscar-winning special effects animator Ray Harryhausen; Hollywood makeup artist Jack Pierce; linguist Lorenzo Dow Turner; and film director and producer Mark Sandrich.

JULY 25, 2024

What’s new: July 2024

This update features five new biographies, including Afong Moy, the first recognized Chinese woman in the United States; Los Angeles food writer Jonathan Gold; architectural photographer Ezra Stoller; Technicolor movie star Rhonda Fleming; and union activist, suffragist, and communist leader Juliet Stuart Poyntz.