Black Stars of the Harlem Renaissance

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

Acknowledgments v Introduction 1 W. E. B. Du Bois 5 W. C. Handy 13 Philip A. Payton Jr. 19 Jessie Redmon Fauset   23 Bubie Blake and Noble Sissle  28 Oscar Micheaux 34 Gertrude “Ma” Rainey 39 James Van Der Zee 43 Marcus Garvey 48 Francis Hall Johnson    54 Zora Neale Hurston 59 Augusta Savage 65 Bessie Smith 70 Paul Robeson 73 Duke Ellington 80 Thomas Andrew Dorsey 86 Louis Armstrong 91 Langston Hughes 95 Dorothy West   102 Chronology 107 Notes 109 Bibliography 112 Picture Credits  115 Author Credits 116 Index 117