(BBHT) Lesson Topic 1: Mildred Taylor

Mildred Taylor was born on September 13, 1943, in Jackson, Mississippi. Like the Logan family in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, the Taylor family lived in Mississippi since the days of slavery. However, when Mildred was just a tiny baby, her parents decided to make a new life in the north. The Taylors moved to Toledo, Ohio. They had a large family and many friends there.

The Taylors often took the long car trip back to Mississippi. They wanted to visit all their relatives. These trips were not happy all the time because black people and white people were kept apart in many parts of the south due to segregation. Black people and white people could not use the same restrooms, water fountains, or playgrounds. Blacks and whites had to eat in different parts of restaurants, too. Segregation made it very hard for black people.

When she was ten years old, Mildred Taylor was the only black child in her class. She was upset about the one-sided stories about black Americans in her history books. There was no pride in these stories. When she shared her own facts about black history with the class, however, everyone thought she was making things up.

In 1965, Taylor earned her college degree from the University of Toledo. From 1965 to 1967, she taught English and history to children in Africa. Then she studied at the University of Colorado's journalism school. Taylor worked hard to educate everyone in the university about the African-American experience. At the time, she kept thinking about making her family's stories her own.

Taylor published Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry in 1976, beginning her writing career.

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