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The American literary tradition has, in a far shorter span of time than others throughout history, achieved a glowing and glittering reputation. From its transatlantic roots it has absorbed the sons and daughters of other cultures, other lands and made them part of her own. Within this melting pot of styles, genres and wordplay one fact stands out: In the American short story, literary tradition has a strong, vibrant and almost inclusive history, if you know where to look.

The American literary tradition has, in a far shorter span of time than others throughout history, achieved a glowing and glittering reputation. From its transatlantic roots it has absorbed the sons and daughters of other cultures, other lands and made them part of her own. Within this melting pot of styles, genres and wordplay one fact stands out: In the American short story, literary tradition has a strong, vibrant and almost inclusive history, if you know where to look.

David Walker (1796-1830) was an abolitionist and anti-slavery activist. In 1829, he published An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World, a call for black unity and resistance against slavery. Walker challenged the racism of his time, specifically targeting the American Colonization Society, an organization which sought to deport all free and freed Blacks from the United States to a colony in Africa.

James Morris Webb (1874-1940) was a Christian minister associated with The African Methodist Episcopal Church who was involved with Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association. In 1919, he published the book The Black Man, The Father of Civilization, Proven by Biblical History. The work deals with the ancient history of Israel, Egypt, and the Kingdom of Cush south of Egypt.

The Rev. Calvin Dill Wilson (1857-1946) was a Presbyterian minister and author. His book Black Masters, first published in 1904, explores the history of wealthy free African Americans who became slave-owners. According to Wilson’s research, there were around 6,200 Black slave-holders in the years before the Civil War who owned some 18,000 slaves. By owning their families, free colored men and women could protect them against oppressive local laws.

Dr. William Lucius Hunter, MD (1850-1915) was a physician and a clergyman of the African Methodist-Episcopal Church. For his 1901 book Jesus Christ Had Negro Blood in His Veins, he researched Scripture in order to combat racial discrimination and abuse. He identifies the biblical Canaanites as having been Black and argues that several important Jewish figures and ancestors of Jesus had children by this group of people. Showing that David and Solomon married Black women, he contends that Jesus had Black ancestry dating back to Ham, the son of Noah.

Josiah Henson (1789-1883) was an author, abolitionist, and minister. He was born into slavery in Maryland, and escaped to Canada in 1830, where he founded a settlement for fugitive slaves in Ontario. Henson's autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself (1849), is thought to have inspired the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. The autobiography was written down by the abolitionist Samuel Atkins Eliot, a former mayor of Boston and state legislator.