Terry Mulligan facts for kids
Terry Baker Mulligan is an American writer. She writes novels and books about her own life, called memoirs. Her famous books include the novel Afterlife in Harlem and the memoir Sugar Hill: Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem. She has won important awards for her writing, like the IPPY Award in 2012 and the Benjamin Franklin Awards in 2013.
Growing Up and School
Terry Baker Mulligan grew up in New York City. Her mother, Olivia Hodges Jackson, worked as a secretary for a newspaper in Harlem. She also worked at the City College of New York. Terry's father, Roy Baker, was from Philadelphia. He was a dancer at the famous Cotton Club and performed with Cab Calloway during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a time when African-American art and culture became very popular.
Even though her parents were not married, her father helped raise Terry. They had fun adventures together on Seventh Avenue in New York City.
Terry went to both public and private schools in New York City. She finished high school at the New Lincoln School in Harlem. Later, she studied English at Wagner College in Staten Island. She also earned a Master of Arts degree in English from the City College of New York.
Her Memoir: Sugar Hill: Where The Sun Rose Over Harlem
After Terry Baker Mulligan got married in the early 1970s, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri. There, she started writing her memoir, Sugar Hill, Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem. This book won awards in 2012.
In her memoir, she shares stories about growing up in the Harlem neighborhood of Sugar Hill in the 1950s. She describes it as a place where famous African-American people lived alongside everyday families. Terry writes about visiting the Apollo Theater often. This theater was a very popular place for great singers and musicians of jazz, soul, gospel, R&B, and early rock ‘n roll. She also writes about how her grandmother, mother, and aunts helped shape her as she grew up.
The cover of Sugar Hill was even shown on the front of Publishers Weekly magazine in March 2012.
Awards for Her Work
Terry Baker Mulligan's book, Sugar Hill, Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem, won important awards.
In May 2012, it received the Independent Publishers Gold Medal. This award was for Adult Multicultural Nonfiction, which means it was recognized as a great book about different cultures for adult readers.
In 2013, Sugar Hill won two more big awards. These were the Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal Awards. It won for both Autobiography/Memoir and Multicultural Writing.
