The Handy African American History Answer Book

Jessie Carney Smith, Ph.D., is a noted author, biographer, and black studies scholar whose work includes Black Heroes, Black Firsts, and Freedom Facts and Firsts. She is the William and Camille Cosby Professor in the Humanities at Fisk University in Nashville, where she also serves as the university librarian. Among her numerous awards are the 1992 National Women's Book Association Award, the Candace Award for excellence in education, and Sage magazine's Ann J. Cooper Award for her published works on African American women. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.