In addition to Evans extensive holdings on African American Literature, Cushing Library has some unique collections on Black authors that include Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks, W.E.B. DuBois, Ernest Gaines, bell hooks, Langston Hughes, C.L.R. James, and J.A. Rogers.  Please click the links below to view Evans and Cushing's holdings on these authors.

Amiri Baraka-Poet, novelist, writer, playwright, activist, and advocate of black culture and political power.  The collection also includes art work, contracts, and many of Baraka's early works and controversial publications including The Dutchman, Death is a Form of Ignorance, Four Black Revolutionary Plays, Bushwacked, and many others.

Gwendolyn Brooks-Poet, writer, and activist wrote over 40 books of poetry and also won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Annie Allen.

W.E.B. DuBois-Sociologist, author, scholar, social activist, Africanist.  DuBois wrote on the Black experience in America.  A prolific writer, one of his most memorable works is titled The Souls of Black Folk.

Ernest Gaines-Author of eight books including the acclaimed Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, A Lesson Before Dying, and A Gathering of Old Men.

bell hooks-Author, intellectual, feminist and social activist, whose work primarily focuses on the interconnectivity of race, class, and gender and their ability to produce and perpetuate systems of oppression and domination.  She has published over thirty books, numerous scholarly and mainstream articles, and has lectured widely.

Langston Hughes-Author, poet, civil rights activist, and social critic.  His more famous works include Simple's Uncle Sam, Let America Be America Again, Tambourines to Glory, and Weary Blues.

C. R. L. (Cyril Lionel Robert) James -Born in Trinidad, January 1901, James was a prolific writer on the Black condition around the world.  He became a leading writer on the Socialist movement and the Haitian revolution of 1791 led by Toussaint L'Ouverture.  Two of his most profound works, the play, Toussaint L’Ouverture, and his book, The Black Jacobins (1938), were written while he was an active member of the Trotskyist movement.

J.A.(Joel Augustus) Rogers-World traveler, prolific writer, accomplished lecturer, and the first Black war correspondent.  Rogers was also an anthropologist, historian, journalist and publisher.  Some of his famous works include Africa's Gift to America, From 'Superman' to Man, and the 3 volume series titled Sex and Race.