Author Julius Lester Dies at Age 78
Award-winning author Julius Lester died on Jan. 18, 2018 at age 78. He taught Judaic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts; the African-American activist converted to Judaism in 1982. He wrote 43 books, including the Newbery Honor To Be a Slave (1969), Coretta Scott King Author Award for Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue (2006), Coretta Scott King Honors for This Strange New Feeling (1983) and Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit (1988). He also wrote the text for John Henry (1995), for which Jerry Pinkney received a Caldecott Honor.
www.jta.org/2018/01/18/news-opinion/julius-lester-professor-who-embraced-his-jewish-and-african-american-identities-is-dead and www.gazettenet.com/Julius-Lester-acclaimed-author-and-teacher-dies-at-78-14989707.
From the 2006 Coretta Scott King Author Award Speech by Julius Lester for Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue http://olos.ala.org/csk/2018/01/22/julius-lester-1939-2018/