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Simmons, Ruth

(Encyclopedia)Simmons, Ruth, 1945–, American educator and college president, b. Grapeland, Tex., grad. Dillard Univ. (B.A., 1967) and Harvard (A.M., 1970; Ph.D., 1973). As a scholar she was primarily concerned wi...

Sembene, Ousmane

(Encyclopedia)Sembene, Ousmane o͝osmäˈnĕ səmbĕˈnĕ [key], 1923–2007, Senegalese author and film director who wrote and made films in French and Wolof, often regarded as the father of sub-Saharan African ci...

John III, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John III (John the Fortunate), 1502–57, king of Portugal (1521–57), son of Manuel I. His reign saw the Portuguese empire at its apogee. The great Asian possessions were extended by further conques...

Spingarn, Joel Elias

(Encyclopedia)Spingarn, Joel Elias spĭnˈgärn [key], 1875–1939, American educator and literary critic, b. New York City, grad. Columbia (B.A., 1895; Ph.D., 1899). He was professor (1899–1911) of comparative l...

spiritual

(Encyclopedia)spiritual, a religious folk song of American origin, particularly associated with African-American Protestants of the southern United States. The African-American spiritual, characterized by syncopati...

Howard University

(Encyclopedia)Howard University, at Washington, D.C.; coeducational; with federal support. It was founded in 1867 by Gen. Oliver O. Howard of the Freedmen's Bureau, to provide education for newly emancipated slaves...

Achebe, Chinua

(Encyclopedia)Achebe, Chinua chĭnˈwä ächāˈbā [key], 1930–2013, Nigerian writer, b. Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. A graduate of University College, Ibadan (1953), Achebe, an Igbo who wrote in English, is one ...

literature

(Encyclopedia)literature. For the literature of England, see English literature; for that of Germany, see German literature, and so forth. For the forms of literary art, see biography, essay, novel, theater, letter...

Morrison, Toni

(Encyclopedia)Morrison, Toni, 1931–2019, American writer, b. Lorain, Ohio, as Chloe Ardelia (later Anthony) Wofford; B.A. Howard Univ., 1953, M.F.A. Cornell, 1955. Her fiction is noted for its poetic language, lu...

African art

(Encyclopedia)African art, art created by the peoples south of the Sahara. The predominant art forms are masks and figures, which were generally used in religious ceremonies. The decorative arts, especially in text...
 

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