Profiles in Black History is a project of our Justice Works Anti-Racism Team. A new profile will be spotlighted every day during Black History Month.
Julius Lester (1939 - 2018)
Julius Lester
“A prolific author, [Julius] Lester had more than four dozen books for adults and children to his credit. He was also variously a literary and cultural critic, folklorist, photographer, civil rights worker and professional musician. As an essayist, he was a contributor to The New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, Dissent and other publications. A resident of Belchertown, Mass., he was a retired faculty member of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Mr. Lester’s writing — he produced nonfiction and fiction — was largely devoted to portraying [B]lack American history, past and present. It was a history, his work made clear, that bound [B]lack lives together ‘like beads strung on a necklace of pain,’ as he wrote in The Times in 1976.”
Learn more about Julius Lester:
Julius Lester, Chronicler of Black America, Is Dead at 78; Jan. 19, 2018; by Margalit Fox https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/19/obituaries/julius-lester-chronicler-of-black-america-is-dead-at-78.html?auth=link-dismiss-google1tap
Book recommendation: “The Autobiography of God” https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101773.The_Autobiography_of_God
More info: https://www.sncclegacyproject.org/about/in-memoriam/jean-wiley/87-julius-lester
Rebecca Riley is a writer and filmmaker who lives in North County San Diego.