Born: 1916 in Macon, Georgia
Killens was an influential essayist, screenwriter, teacher, and lecturer
He grew up hearing his great-grandmother tell stories of her childhood during slaveryHe worked for sometime as a lawyer, but then worked as a WWII soldier
Killens then landed in New York City as student, political organizer, and news-writer
His first novel was called Youngblood which was published in 1954
In many of his books he wrote about an African-American family's struggle in a fictional Georgia town during the Jim Crow-era of 1920s
Other novels are And Then We Heard the Thunder and Sippi
He dramatized racism in USA in WWII
About life in South during the voting rights struggles during the 1960s
Died: 1987 in Brooklyn, New York