At the Convention Center during the Essence Festival of Culture, three authors divulged details on unsung icons who keep them inspired. For the panel She Did That!: Celebrating HerStory, writers ReShonda Tate, Sadeqa Johnson, and Victoria Christopher Murray spoke about the wit and ingenuity of core historical figures and others. Moderator Morgan Menzies who is a fellow book lover offered compelling talking points that made the conversation feel intentional.
Hattie McDaniel is one icon who was discussed. Tate started off the panel by sharing insights on the origins of her book The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel. The author declared that McDaniel is somewhat of an unsung hero. Her grandmother was a fan of Gone With The Wind–she felt reflected in the film since she was a maid. “This was a woman to be reckoned with, the more I researched I was dumbfounded at all that we did not know.”
Tate also shared that though McDaniel was nominated for and won an Academy Award, she still had to sit in the back of the ceremony. The actress was the first African American woman to win an Oscar.
“The House of Eve came to me because I was thinking about stories that my grandmother told me,” Johnson said fondly. She went on to describe how her grandmother was considered the Black sheep of the family due to having Sadeqa’s mother at a young age in the 1950s. A family secret kept nudging her in the direction that eventually led to her book. “I started thinking about women and secrets and reproductive issues.”
Johnson adds that she pondered what types of options her grandmother had when she found herself pregnant in the 1950s. This thought led her to the idea of “maternity homes,” which was a topic she began to explore further because it was intrinsically tied to women’s history in America. These homes were often spaces where women birthed their own children who were then adopted by white families or clientele.
The House of Eve is a fictional novel that follows a main character, Eleanor Quarles as she attends Howard University and finds love. Another perspective is added through the lens of fifteen-year-old Ruby who is also pivotal to the book.
Mary McLeod Bethune, the founder of Bethune Cookman University is the unsung historical figure that Murray expounds upon in The First Ladies. The novel keys in on the partnership and friendship of Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt, who was a staunch supporter of women’s rights. “They became best friends during a time of Jim Crow and segregation,” Murray said.
“Those two women during the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration did so many things to change the world,” she added.
