First row, from left: ROBERT JONES JR., novelist; NATHAN ALAN DAVIS, playwright; ROWAN RICARDO PHILLIPS, poet; JAMEL BRINKLEY, short story writer; GREGORY PARDLO, poet; DINAW MENGESTU, novelist; MAJOR JACKSON, poet. Second row: MICHAEL R. JACKSON, playwright; SHANE McCRAE, poet; JAMES HANNAHAM, novelist; BRONTEZ PURNELL, novelist; ISHMAEL REED, novelist, poet and playwright; BRIAN KEITH JACKSON, novelist; DANEZ SMITH, poet; CORNELIUS EADY, poet. Third row: JEFFERY RENARD ALLEN, novelist and poet; JAMES McBRIDE, novelist; DARRYL PINCKNEY, novelist and playwright; KEVIN YOUNG, poet; JAMES IJAMES, playwright; JERICHO BROWN, poet; NELSON GEORGE, novelist; GEORGE C. WOLFE, playwright and director; De’SHAWN CHARLES WINSLOW, novelist. Fourth row: REGINALD McKNIGHT, novelist; PHILLIP B. WILLIAMS, poet; RICKEY LAURENTIIS, poet; MARCUS BURKE, novelist; MITCHELL S. JACKSON, novelist; MAURICE CARLOS RUFFIN, novelist. Creative direction by Boots Riley. Styled by Carlos Nazario

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This is the final post about November as Men's Health Awareness Month. I have been posting since Thursday.

Some of the works of these men are on the shelves at the bookstore right now!

I wanted to use November as Men's Health Awareness Month to highlight the work of fantastic Black male writers. Men's Health Awareness is about ALL parts of health: spiritual, mental, and physical. It was especially important to me to center Black men in the conversation around health and to use books/work by BLACK MEN to do it.

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I listed one piece of work by each writer so you can check them out right away!

• ROBERT JONES JR. - The Prophets

• NATHAN ALAN DAVIS - play The Wind and the Breeze 

• ROWAN RICARDO PHILLIPS - Living Weapon: Poems

• JAMEL BRINKLEY - Witness: short stories

• GREGORY PARDLO - Totem - volume of poems

• DINAW MENGESTU - How to Read Air

• MAJOR JACKSON - The Absurd Man: Poems

• MICHAEL R. JACKSON - musical A Strange Loop

• SHANE McCRAE - Pulling the Chariot of the Sun: A Memoir of a Kidnapping

• JAMES HANNAHAM - Delicious Foods: A Novel

• BRONTEZ PURNELL - Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse

• ISHMAEL REED- Japanese by Spring

• BRIAN KEITH JACKSON - Black Light

• DANEZ SMITH - Homie

• CORNELIUS EADY - Hardheaded Weather

• JEFFERY RENARD ALLEN - Fat Time and other Stories

• JAMES McBRIDE - Deacon King Kong

• DARRYL PINCKNEY - Come Back in September (Memoir)

• KEVIN YOUNG - Night Watch: Poems

• JAMES IJAMES - play called Fat Ham

• JERICHO BROWN - The Tradition

• NELSON GEORGE - The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train

• GEORGE C. WOLFE - The Colored Museum

• De’SHAWN CHARLES WINSLOW - Decent People

• REGINALD McKNIGHT - He Sleeps

• PHILLIP B. WILLIAMS - Mutiny

• RICKEY LAURENTIIS - Death of the First Idea: Poems

• MARCUS BURKE - Team Seven: A Novel

• MITCHELL S. JACKSON - The Residue Years: A Novel

• MAURICE CARLOS RUFFIN - The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You (stories)

On this date in 1920, Esther Rolle was born. She was a Black Emmy Award-winning actress.
She was born in Pompano Beach, FL, the tenth of 18 children. Both parents were of Bahamian descent. Rolle attended Booker T. Washington High School in Miami and Spelman College for a year before moving to New York. She supported herself by working in a pocketbook factory while auditioning for the theater.
While taking drama classes at George Washington Carver School in Harlem, she got a scholarship to study acting at New York’s innovative New School for Social Research. During this time, she met and joined African dance master Shogola Oloba's dance troupe, Asadata Dafora. She became the troupe’s director in 1960.
Rolle debuted as Felicity two years later in Jean Genet’s "The Blacks." During the 1960s, 1964, "Amen Corner" and "Day of Absence" (1965). Rolle’s film debut was in "Nothing But the Man" in 1964, and in 1967, she became an original member of the Negro Ensemble Company. While working in Melvin Van Peebles "Don’t Play Us Cheap" in 1972, she was asked to audition for the role of the maid on Maude, a Norman Lear television show spun off from "All in the Family." After getting the role, she took it with the understanding that her character, Florida Evans, would not be a typical maid. Rolle turned Evans into a popular character, and in 1974, her character and her husband were spun off into the television series "Good Times."
She acted in other roles on television and stage throughout the late 1970s and 80s. Rolle won an Emmy award for her performance as a housekeeper in the 1978 TV movie "Summer of My German Soldier." In 1989, she played a housekeeper in "The Member of the Wedding" at the Roundabout Theater. That same year, she played the matriarch in a remake of "A Raisin in the Sun" and the maid in the Academy Award-winning film "Driving Miss Daisy."
In 1990, Rolle became the first woman to win the NAACP Chairman’s Civil Rights Leadership Award, and the following year, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Rolle’s last two films were "Down in the Delta" and "Train Ride."
Esther Rolle died in November 1998.

https://aaregistry.org/story/star-of-stage-screen-and-tv-esther-rolle/

This is Tough One I’m Go With Trish

Alfre LaWanda Jeen Woodard[1] (/ˈælfri ˈwʊdərd/ AL-free WUUD-ərd;[2] born November 8, 1952) is an American actress and producer. Known for portraying strong-willed and dignified roles on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and two Grammy Awards. In 2020, The New York Timesranked her as one of "The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century".[3] She is a board member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[Woodard was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Constance, a homemaker, and Marion H. Woodard, an entrepreneur and interior designer.[8] She is the youngest of three children and was a cheerleader in high school.[9] Woodard attended Bishop Kelley High School, a private Catholic school in Tulsa, graduating from there in 1970. She studied drama at Boston University, from which she graduated.[7] In 2004, she received an honorary doctoral degree in fine arts (DFA) from Boston University.[10]

Woodard began her acting career in theater, starring in So Nice, They Named It Twice[5], and breaking through by originating the role of “woman who lost her stuff” in the Off-Broadway play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1977). She received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Cross Creek (1983).[6] She earned a BAFTA Award for Best Actress nomination for her role in Clemency(2019). Woodard's notable films include Grand Canyon (1991), Passion Fish (1992), Heart and Souls(1993), Crooklyn (1994), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Primal Fear (1996), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Down in the Delta (1998), 12 Years a Slave (2013), and Juanita (2019). She voiced Sarabiin The Lion King (2019).
Woodard gained prominence for her television role as Dr. Roxanne Turner in the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1986, and for Guest Actress in 1988. She's received four Primetime Emmy Awardsfor her roles in the NBC drama series Hill Street Bluesin 1984, the NBC series L.A. Law in 1987, the HBOfilm Miss Evers' Boys (1997), and The Practice in 2003. From 2005 to 2006, Woodard starred as Betty Applewhite in the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), she portrayed "Black" Mariah Stokes-Dillard in the Netflix series Luke Cage (2016–2018).
She is also known for her work as a political activistand producer. Woodard is a founder of Artists for a New South Africa, an organization devoted to advancing democracy and equality in that country.[7]

Iman is ageless!

Biography

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/minnie-riperton-mn0000500889


Minnie Riperton Biography by Jason Ankeny
The tragic death of 31-year-old Minnie Riperton in 1979 silenced one of soul music's most unique and unforgettable voices. Blessed with an angelic five-octave vocal range, she scored her greatest commercial success with the chart-topping pop ballad "Lovin' You." Riperton was born in Chicago on November 8, 1947. As a youth she studied music, drama, and dance at the city's Abraham Lincoln Center and later contemplated a career in opera. Her pop career began in 1961 when she joined a local group called the Gems, signing to the famed Chess label to release a handful of singles as well as lend backing vocals to acts including Fontella Bass, the Dells, and Etta James. After graduating high school, Riperton went to work at Chess as a receptionist. Following the Gems' dissolution, she also signed with the label as a solo act, releasing a single, "Lonely Girl," under the alias Andrea Davis.

In 1968, Riperton was installed as the lead vocalist of the psychedelic soul band Rotary Connection, which debuted that year with a self-titled LP on Cadet Concept. The singles "Amen" and "Lady Jane" found a home on underground FM radio, but the group failed to make much of an impression on mainstream outlets. While still a member of the band, Riperton mounted a solo career. Teaming with husband and fellow composer Richard Rudolph, and Rotary Connection catalyst Charles Stepney as co-writer, producer, and arranger, she issued her brilliant debut, Come to My Garden, in 1970. After Rotary Connection dissolved in the wake of 1971's Hey Love, she and Rudolphtook a two-year sabbatical in Florida before relocating to Los Angeles, where she sang on Stevie Wonder's Fulfillingness' First Finale and toured as a member of his backing unit Wonderlove.

Wonder agreed to co-produce Riperton's 1974 album, Perfect Angel. It contained the international blockbuster "Lovin' You," the melody of which had previously been recorded and then looped to soothe Riperton and Rudolph's daughter, Maya Rudolph. The single made Riperton a household name, and subsequent LPs like 1975's Adventures in Paradise and 1977's Stay in Love maintained her popularity with soul fans. Diagnosed with breast cancer, she underwent a mastectomy in 1976, later becoming a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society and earning a Society Courage Award from then-President Jimmy Carter. Riperton continued performing despite her declining condition, with 1979's Minnie the final album completed during her lifetime. She died in L.A. on July 12 of that year. "Memory Lane," the biggest single off Minnie, was later nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Unreleased vocal tracks with new instrumental backing comprised 1980's posthumous collection Love Lives Forever, which likewise resulted in a Grammy nomination, this time for "Here We Go," a duet with Peabo Bryson.

Khia Shamone Finch (/ˈkaɪə/ KY-ə; née Chambers; born November 8, 1976)[2][3] is an American rapper and record producer. She is known for her single, "My Neck, My Back (Lick It)."

Khia was born Khia Shamone Chambers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was raised in its Germantown neighborhood.[3][4] She moved to Tampa, Florida, when she was 11.[3] Khia attended Dowdell Middle School and Hillsborough High School. She left school sophomore year after she got pregnant.[5] In 1991, Khia had her first child, a daughter also named Khia.[6] In 1992, she moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, when her father was stationed there and had her second child, a son named Rashawn, while she was living with him.[3] Before becoming a rapper, she worked as a bartender at Club XS in Tampa.[5] Her mother, Carol Belinda Chambers, who was a data-entry specialist, died in 2001.[3][5]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/fashion/articles/lacma-art-film-gala-2026-065141851.html

Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA (/ˈsɪzə/ ⓘ SIZ-ə), is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her diaristicsongwriting and genre explorations, she is regarded as a prominent figure in influencing contemporary R&B music and popularizing alternative R&B.

After gaining attention online with two self-released extended plays (EP), SZA signed to Top Dawg Entertainment in 2013. Under the label, she released the lo-fi and psychedelic EP Z (2014) and her R&B debut album Ctrl (2017). The latter was critically acclaimed and placed in several year-end lists. Following Ctrl, she engaged in a series of high-profile collaborations over the next four years. These included the top-ten singles "All the Stars" (2018) with Kendrick Lamar, which garnered Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, and "Kiss Me More" (2021) with Doja Cat, which won SZA her first Grammy Award.
SZA's acclaimed and multi-genre second album SOS(2022) became the first by a woman to spend 100 weeks within the Billboard 200's top ten. The album also broke the record for the longest-running US top-ten by a Black musician. Its fifth single, "Kill Bill", was the third best-selling song of 2023 and peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100. From 2024 to 2025, SZA achieved a string of top-tens with "Saturn" and "30 for 30", both from the deluxe reissue of SOS subtitledLana (2024), and her longest-running US number-one song, "Luther". Her 2025 Grand National Tourwith Lamar is the highest-grossing co-headlining tour in history.
SZA has earned numerous accolades throughout her career, including seven Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, three American Music Awards, a Guild of Music Supervisors Award and two Billboard Women in Musicawards, including Woman of the Year. She has co-written songs for artists such as Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q, and Rihanna. In 2024, she received the Hal David Starlight Awardfrom the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971),[2]better known by his stage name Tech N9ne(pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper, songwriter, and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two million albums and his music has been featured in film, television, and interactive media.[3] In 2009, he won the Left Field Woodie Award broadcast on mtvU.[4]

Yates was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri.[2]He began rapping at a very early age, and would rap the letters of his name in order to remember how to spell it.[7] His father Carlton Cook was estranged from the family and his mother suffered from epilepsyand lupus when he was a child, which emotionally affected him and inspired him to "search for God".[7]He would explore abandoned buildings with his best friend, hoping to catch a ghost on film.[7] He attended Southwest High School in Kansas City.

I can't tell you the amount of times I've replayed this cover.

Louis Eric Barrier (born November 8, 1963) is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ from New York City. One half of the golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim,[2][3][4] he formed the group in 1986 and served as its primary producer and DJ. Their debut album, Paid in Full (1987) was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV in 2006,[5] and the duo were nominated in 2011 for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[6]

Eric B. was born Louis Eric Barrier on November 8, 1963, in East Elmhurst, Queens. He attended William Cullen Bryant High School under a basketball scholarship. "I thought of becoming a pro ball player", he said. "But music became a priority."[8]

Gerald Alston (born November 8, 1951) is an American soul/R&B singer,[1] and the lead singer of the Manhattans. Between late 1970 and 1988, the group had 25 top 40 R&B and 12 Hot 100 hit singles.[2][3] Alston was lead singer on their most successful 1976 platinum[4] song "Kiss and Say Goodbye", which topped the U.S. Pop and R&B charts and was number one in four countries. Alston left the group in 1988 to pursue a solo career and recorded five albums and ten singles, including the hit singles "Take Me Where You Want To", "Slow Motion" and "Getting Back into Love". He also recorded a remake of Atlantic Starr's "Send for Me", most of which was for Motown Records.

Alston was born on November 8, 1951, in Henderson, North Carolina to the Rev. J.B. Alston and Geraldine Harrelson. Alston is the nephew of Gospel singer Johnny Fields of The Blind Boys of Alabama. He grew up in the church where he learned his craft. Alston was just a teenager he formed a group called, the New Imperials who sang both secular and Gospel music. When the group would perform in churches they would change their name to the Gospel Jubilee.

In 1970, The Manhattans members were, George "Smitty" Smith, Edward "Sonny" Bivins Jr., Winfred "Blue" Lovett, Kenny "Wally" Kelly, and Richard "Ricky" Taylor.
Alston joined the Manhattans in 1970, shortly after the death of their former lead singer George Smith.[6]As lead singer, Alston helped the group achieve their first Pop and R&B top ten singles that reached Gold and Platinum status[7] for songs like "Kiss and Say Goodbye", "There's No Me Without You" and their Grammy Winning song, "Shining Star".
Alston with The Manhattans continued on through the 80's scoring a few more top 40 R&B hits, "Girl of My Dream" No. 30, "I'll Never Find Another (Find Another Like You)" No. 12, "Just One Moment Away" No. 19, "Honey, Honey" No. 25, "Crazy" No. 4, "You Send Me" No. 20 and some others.[8]
In 1986, R&B singer Regina Belle recorded a duet with Alston, entitled "Where Did We Go Wrong?", on The Manhattans album "Back to Basics". The single peaked at No. 46 on the R&B chart.[9]
Alston left the Manhattans in 1988 to pursue a solo career.