New National Biography launched
Apr 24, 2008
Co-edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Higginbotham, the African American National
Biography (AANB) is an eight-volume series that includes biographies of more than 4,000 African
Americans throughout 500 years. The series includes national heroes and historical figures as
well as local figures and community leaders throughout the United States. In many neighborhoods,
numerous streets, schools, and playgrounds are named after prominent community leaders, and these
names are seen every day — but the person behind the name might not be as well known. Not all
in the series are native-born Americans, but they did spend a significant period of their lives in
the United States. Also contemporary figures are included in the series.
The entries were written by more than 1,700 contributors. These included scholars,
graduate students, and journalists. Many names were contributed by those with personal connections
to the individual, and in this way, the series includes local figures who might not have otherwise
been included. In 2004, Oxford University Press published a preview book, also edited by Gates and
Higginbotham, titled “African American Lives,” which included 400 names. In addition to those names
published in the printed series, an additional 2,000 names will be included in a forthcoming online
database, as part of the African American Studies Center digital archive, available through the
Oxford University Press Web site.
