Mildred D. Taylor
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Mildred D. Taylor (born. September 13, 1943, Jackson, Mississippi) is an author and saleswoman, known for her children's fiction book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Taylor's father believed that better opportunities awaited his family in more northern states due to the racial discrimination in the South. Thus, after her first three months of life, her family moved to Ohio after her father established a factory in Toledo, Ohio. This move got her extended family to thinking about going North as well; it ended up that Mildred D. Taylor grew up surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins. Storytelling was a regular event on family trips to the South. The family storytellers recollected accounts of struggles with severe racism in the South, tragedies and triumphs; humorous yarns were told and many of the stories were about surviving and the African-American family keeping their dignity in a racist culture. Mildred went to the University of Colorado.
These anecdotes became very clear in Mildred’s mind. In fact, once she recalled that as the adults talked about the past “I began to visualize all the family who had once known the land, and I felt as if I knew them, too...” Taylor has talked about how much history was in the stories; some stories took place during times of slavery and some post-slavery.
Her saga about the Logan family is really based on her whole family history. For example, it starts out with The Land, which is based on the stories she heard about her great-grandfather, who was the son of a white plantation owner and a black woman in Alabama and how he purchased land. She is currently working on her last book, Logan, that finishes the saga off with the Logan family moving from Mississippi to Ohio.
[edit] Books
- Song of the Trees (1975)
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976)
- Let the Circle Be Unbroken (1981)
- The Gold Cadillac (1987)
- The Friendship (1987)
- Mississippi Bridge (1990)
- The Road to Memphis (1990)
- The Well: David's Story (1995)
- The Land (2001)
- Logan(2004)
[edit] Awards
Song of the Trees
- First prize (African-American category), Council on Interracial Books for Children, 1973
- Outstanding Book of the Year Citation, New York Times, 1975
- Jane Addams Honors Citation, 1976
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
- NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature 2003
- Jane Addams Honor Citation, 1977
- Notable Book Citation, American Library Association, 1976
- Newbery Medal, 1977
- Buxtehuder Bulle Award, 1985
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
- Outstanding Book of the Year Citation, New York Times, 1981
- Jane Addams Honor Citation, 1982
- American Book Award nomination, 1982
- Coretta Scott King Award, 1982
The Friendship
- Coretta Scott King Award, 1988
- Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for fiction, 1988
The Gold Cadillac
- Notable Book Citation, New York Times, 1987
- Christopher Award, 1988
The Road to Memphis
- Special Award, Children's Book Council, 1988
- Coretta Scott King Award, 1990
Mississippi Bridge
- Christopher Award, 1990
The Well: David's Story
- Jane Addams Book Award, Jane Addams Peace Council, 1996
The Land
- Coretta Scott King Award, 2002
