Toni Cade Bambara

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Toni Cade Bambara

American author and civil-rights activist

Also known as: Toni Cade

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 5, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: Toni Cade

Born:: March 25, 1939, New York, N.Y., U.S.

Died:: Dec. 9, 1995, Philadelphia, Pa. (aged 56)

Notable Works:: “Gorilla, My Love”; “If Blessing Comes”; “The Black Woman: An Anthology”; “The Salt Eaters”; “The Sea Birds Are Still Alive”

Role In:: American civil rights movement

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Toni Cade Bambara (born March 25, 1939, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Dec. 9, 1995, Philadelphia, Pa.) was an American writer, civil-rights activist, and teacher who wrote about the concerns of the African-American community. Reared by her mother in Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Queens, N.Y., Bambara (a surname she adopted in 1970) was educated at Queens College (B.A., 1959). In 1961 she went to Europe, studying acting and mime in Italy and in France. She received an M.A. in 1964 from City College of the City University of New York. She was a frequent lecturer and teacher at universities and a political ...(100 of 223 words)

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