James Haskins
Encyclopedia
James Haskins was a prolific and award-winning author
with more than one hundred books for both adults and children. Many of his books highlight the achievements of African Americans and cover the history
and culture
of Africa
and the African American experience. His work also included many biographical subjects ranging from Hank Aaron to Scatman Crothers
and Malcolm X
. Most of his writings were for young people. He wrote on a great variety of subjects that introduced young people to the language and cultures of other countries, especially Africa.
, and spent his childhood in a household with lots of children. He received his high school education in Boston
, Massachusetts
. He received a B.A. degree from Georgetown University
in 1960, a B.S. degree from Alabama State University
in 1962, and a M.A. degree from the University of New Mexico
in 1963.
After graduation, before he decided to become a teacher, Haskins moved to New York
and worked as a stock trader on Wall Street
. He taught music and special education classes in Harlem
. His first book, Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher, was a result of his experience. He was a professor of English at the University of Florida
, Gainesville
, and lived in New York City
.
Haskins died in 2005 of complications from emphysema
.
to the black members of the Hannibal Guards, a military organization in Pittsburgh during the Civil War.
Haskins' 1977 picture book The Cotton Club, featuring gangsters, jilted love, and pre-prohibition gangsters, was used as inspiration for the 1984 film
of the same name.
In 1998 his critically acclaimed young adult book African American Entrepreneurs was published by Jossey-Bass in English
. The book followed the success of his first work, Voodoo and Hoodoo: The Craft as Revealed by Traditional Practitioners, which was published some twenty years prior.
including The Story of Stevie Wonder, which won the award in 1976; and Lena Horne, which won the same award in 1984. Bricktop was chosen by the English-Speaking Union to be a Book-Across-the-Sea in 1983. Black Music in America won the 1988 Carter G. Woodson Book Award of the National Council for Social Studies. His four-book Count Your Way series (Arab World, China, Japan, and Russia) won the Alabama Library Association Award for best work for children in 1988. In 1994, he was presented the Washington Post Children’s Book Guide Award.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
with more than one hundred books for both adults and children. Many of his books highlight the achievements of African Americans and cover the history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the African American experience. His work also included many biographical subjects ranging from Hank Aaron to Scatman Crothers
Scatman Crothers
Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
and Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
. Most of his writings were for young people. He wrote on a great variety of subjects that introduced young people to the language and cultures of other countries, especially Africa.
Biography
Haskins was born in Demopolis, AlabamaAlabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, and spent his childhood in a household with lots of children. He received his high school education in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He received a B.A. degree from Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in 1960, a B.S. degree from Alabama State University
Alabama State University
Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- History :...
in 1962, and a M.A. degree from the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
in 1963.
After graduation, before he decided to become a teacher, Haskins moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and worked as a stock trader on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
. He taught music and special education classes in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
. His first book, Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher, was a result of his experience. He was a professor of English at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, and lived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Haskins died in 2005 of complications from emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
.
Writing
Haskins' picture books, with many brightly colored pictures and few words, were geared to young children just learning to read. They tend to highlight the achievements of African Americans in society. The characters in his stories cover the gamut of African American role models, from Rosa ParksRosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
to the black members of the Hannibal Guards, a military organization in Pittsburgh during the Civil War.
Haskins' 1977 picture book The Cotton Club, featuring gangsters, jilted love, and pre-prohibition gangsters, was used as inspiration for the 1984 film
The Cotton Club (film)
The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
of the same name.
In 1998 his critically acclaimed young adult book African American Entrepreneurs was published by Jossey-Bass in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The book followed the success of his first work, Voodoo and Hoodoo: The Craft as Revealed by Traditional Practitioners, which was published some twenty years prior.
Awards
Haskins won many awards for his work. Several of his books won the Coretta Scott King AwardCoretta Scott King Award
The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...
including The Story of Stevie Wonder, which won the award in 1976; and Lena Horne, which won the same award in 1984. Bricktop was chosen by the English-Speaking Union to be a Book-Across-the-Sea in 1983. Black Music in America won the 1988 Carter G. Woodson Book Award of the National Council for Social Studies. His four-book Count Your Way series (Arab World, China, Japan, and Russia) won the Alabama Library Association Award for best work for children in 1988. In 1994, he was presented the Washington Post Children’s Book Guide Award.