05 Feb 2021

Mildred D. Taylor

Black Authors Post, Day 5.

Black Authors Post, Day 5.

Today’s author is children’s and young adult fiction author Mildred D. Taylor.

Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1943. When she was a baby, her family moved to Toledo, Ohio in an attempt to get away from segregation. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Toledo in 1965. She then spent two years with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, and, after returning to the United States, earned a master’s degree in Journalism at the University of Colorado. While at University of Colorado, she helped create a new Black Studies Program as a member of the Black Student Alliance.

Taylor wrote her first novel at the age of 19, but it was never published due to disagreements with the editor on what changes should be made. In 1971, Taylor moved to Los Angeles, and spent time as an editor and proofreader. In 1973, she entered a contest sponsored by the Council on Interracial Books for Children. Her book, Song of the Trees, was picked as the winner of the African American Category, and it was published in 1975. The book was the beginning of her tale of the Logan family, an African American family in the South during the Depression. She continued writing and publishing books about the Logan family, all based on family stories told to her by her father, uncles, and aunt.

Taylor’s works have been the recipients of several awards. One of her best known books, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, was nominated for the National Book Award and received the Coretta Scott King Award. Two of her other books were also recipients of the Coretta Scott King Award. She won the Newbery Medal for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

In 2004, Mississippi celebrated a Mildred D. Taylor Day, and she returned to give a speech to the children of Mississippi at Ole Miss.

She currently lives in Colorado, and the latest book in her saga of the Logan family, All the Days Past, All the Days to Come, was just published last month.

Some of my favorite Mildred D. Taylor books:

A note: These Amazon links point to Amazon Smile, Amazon’s affiliate charity program. If you have not set up Amazon Smile, I encourage you to point it to an organization like The Hallie Q Brown Community Center, “an African American, nonprofit social service agency open to all, primarily serving the Summit University area of Saint Paul, Minnesota and the broader Twin Cities metro area.”

Some links to learn more about Mildred D. Taylor: