Black Stars of the Harlem Renaissance

by Jim Haskins, Eleanora E. Tate, Clinton Cox

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY COMES TO LIFE

Discover why young people all over the country are reading the Black Stars biographies of African American heroes. Here is what you want to know about the lives of great black men and women during the fabulous Harlem Renaissance:

louis "satchmo" armstrong
eubie blake
thomas andrew dorsey
w. e. b. du bois
duke ellington
james reese europe
jessie redmon fauset
marcus garvey
w. c. handy
fletcher henderson
langston hughes
zora neale hurston
hall johnson
henry johnson
oscar micheaux
philip payton jr.
gertrude "ma" rainey
paul robeson
augusta savage
noble sissle
bessie smith
james van der zee
dorothy west
carter g. woodson

"The books in the Black Stars series are the types of books that would have really captivated me as a kid."
-Earl G. Graves, Black Enterprise magazine

"Inspiring stories that demonstrate what can happen when ingenuity and tenacity are paired with courage and hard work."
-Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books

"Haskins has chosen his subjects well . . . catching a sense of the enormous obstacles they had to overcome. . . . Some names are familiar, but most are little-known whom Haskins elevates to their rightful place in history."
-Booklist

"The broad coverage makes this an unusual resource-a jumping-off point for deeper studies."
-Horn Book

Genres: History

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2002

Reviews

[David Luong · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reason I chose this book is that I wanted to know more historic figures that lived during the Renaissance era. For instance, I had already know Langston Hughes, and read many of his books. He was a very significant author, who develops a variety of rhetoric, and creative styles in his work. Anyways, this book mentions many famous black people, with their historical background, and the accomplishments they have made during the Harlem Renaissance. Once I finished, not only did I learned more about Hughes, but also another famous leader, named Booker T. Washington, an intelligent educator who revolutionized black people in the U.S.

Still, I enjoyed this book because I learned something new,such as the reason for the Harlem Renaissance, and how it made a vital influence on Harlem residents in New York City, especially in the present-day.

[Danny Lam · Rating 3 out of 5]

If i wasn't finding sources for my American History research paper, i wouldn't have found such an amazing and informative non-fiction book on the lives of Harlem Renaissance contributors. I thought this would be the best book for a research paper, or maybe just a nice bedtime story if you are interested in history. Anyways, this book captures the lives of many African Americans, like Langston Hughes, who made great contribution to the literature of the Harlem Renaissance. One portion of this book gave a detailed biography of Hughes and how his childhood was and how he was able to become successful. Overall, I think this book was great and i strongly suggest people to read it.