Gerald Early facts for kids

Gerald Lyn Early (born April 21, 1952) is an American writer and expert on American culture. He is a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He teaches English, African studies, African-American studies, and American culture studies.

He has also worked as an advisor for Ken Burns' famous documentary films. These include Baseball, Jazz, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, The War, and Muhammad Ali. You might also hear him on National Public Radio's Fresh Air. His essays have appeared in many Best American Essays collections. He writes about many different topics, such as American literature, African-American culture, baseball, jazz, and famous people like Muhammad Ali and Sammy Davis Jr.

In 2024, he was chosen to join the American Philosophical Society. This is a very old and respected group of smart people.

Early Life and Education

Gerald Early was born on April 21, 1952, in Philadelphia. His father passed away when Gerald was only nine months old. His mother, a preschool teacher, raised him and his two sisters by herself.

He grew up in a less wealthy part of the city. He became friends with members of local gangs, but he chose not to join them. Instead, he focused on his studies. He graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1974. During college, he discovered the writings of Amiri Baraka, a poet and playwright. Early later said Baraka's work greatly influenced his own writing.

He also developed his writing skills by working for the university newspaper. One of his first big articles was about a gang-related murder of a cousin.

After getting his first degree, Early stayed in Philadelphia. He worked for the city government for a while. He also spent six months helping to monitor gang activities. Later, he went back to school at Cornell University. He earned his doctorate degree in English literature in 1982.

Starting His Teaching Career

In 1982, Gerald Early got his first teaching job. He became an assistant professor of black studies at Washington University in St. Louis. He worked hard and became a full professor by 1990. He taught in both the English department and the African and Afro-American studies departments.

Family Life

Gerald Early married Ida Haynes on August 27, 1977. Ida is a college administrator. They have two daughters, Linnet Kristen Haynes Early and Rosalind Lenora Haynes Early.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Gerald Early has received many awards for his writing.

• In 1988, he won a Whiting Award for his creative non-fiction writing.
• In 1994, he won the National Book Critics Circle Award. This was for his collection of essays called The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American Culture.
• He has been nominated twice for a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes.
  • In 2001, he was nominated for Yes I Can! The Sammy Davis Jr. Story.
  • In 2002, he was nominated for Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words From The Harlem Renaissance.
• On September 5, 2007, Washington University honored him. They showed a special portrait of him painted by Jamie Adams. This painting hangs in the university's Olin Library.
• In 2013, Gerald Early was added to the St. Louis Walk of Fame. This honors famous people from the St. Louis area.
• On February 19, 2022, a street in Park Forest, a town near Chicago, was renamed Early Street in his honor. It used to be named after a Confederate general. This change celebrates the town's diverse history.

Books Written by Gerald Early

• Tuxedo Junction: Essays on American Culture (1989)
• Life with Daughters:Watching the Miss America Pageant (1990)
• The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American Culture (1994)
• Daughters: On Family and Fatherhood (1994) (This is a memoir, a book about his own life.)
• One Nation Under a Groove: Motown & American Culture (1994) (This book is about music history.)
• How the War in the Streets Is Won: Poems on the Quest of Love and Faith (Time Being Books, 1995) (This is a book of poetry.)
• Yes I Can! The Sammy Davis Jr. Story (2001) (Nominated for a Grammy Award.)
• Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words From the Harlem Renaissance (2002) (Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes.)

Books He Has Edited

Gerald Early has also helped put together many important collections of writings.

• Lure and Loathing: Essays on Race, Identity and the Ambivalence of Assimilation (1993)
• Ain't But a Place: An Anthology of African American Writings About St. Louis (1998)
• Body Language: Writers on Sport (1998)
• The Muhammad Ali Reader (1998)
• Miles Davis and American Culture (2001)
• The Sammy Davis, Jr. Reader (2001)
• Black America in the 1960s (2003)
• My Soul's High Song: The Collected Writings of Countee Cullen (1991)
• Speech and Power: The African-American Essay in Its Cultural Content (1993)