Charles Chesnutt

Charles Waddell Chesnutt (1858-1932) was born during the era of slavery to parents who were free Blacks. He was the best known North Carolina author of African-American descent in his era. As a young man, he worked in his father's Fayetteville grocery store. By the age of 16, he had come to Charlotte to teach the city's black schoolchildren. He had an intense thirst for knowledge. At a time when few educational opportunities existed for black Americans, he studied math, music, literature and languages.

He left Charlotte to take a job as assistant principal of the State Normal School. By age 22, he was its principal. He was married to Susan Perry and they had four children, all of whom went on to become college graduates. Chesnutt moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he worked as a court reporter.

In 1887, he became the first black American to have his work published in the Atlantic Monthly literary magazine. His stories, centering on slave life and issues of race, came to the attention of book publisher Houghton, Mifflin and Co. By 1903, Chesnutt had published three acclaimed novels. In 1928, he was recognized for his work by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He died in 1932.