Branch, Taylor.

Variant names

Hide Profile

Taylor Branch, journalist and historian, is best known for his books chronicling the career of Martin Luther King Jr., and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Raised in Atlanta, Branch attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he became involved in political activism and completed a degree in American history in 1968. While a graduate student at Princeton University, Branch conducted a voter registration campaign among African Americans in rural Georgia. He was editor of "Washington Monthly," 1971-1973, and has been a contributing editor since then. He has also written for "Harper's" and "Esquire" magazines and is the author or co-author of several books. He advised President Bill Clinton on race-related issues.

From the description of Taylor Branch papers, 1865-2009 (bulk 1958-2009). WorldCat record id: 52872663

Journalist and historian Taylor Branch has written several books, including three volumes on Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement of the 1960s: Parting the Waters : America in the King Years, 1954-63 (1988), Pillar of Fire : America in the King Years, 1963-65 (1998), and At Canaan's Edge : America in the King Years, 1965-68 (2006). He also wrote The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President (2009), which was based on interviews conducted by Branch with President Bill Clinton during and after his presidency. Branch was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1989 and a MacArthur Foundation genius grant in 1991 in recognition for his achievements as a historian.

A native of Atlanta, Branch was raised in a middle-class white family and became interested in race relations during his high school years. He has commented that television images of police brutality directed against demonstrators in Birmingham in 1963 shocked him and motivated him to become involved in the civil rights movement. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which was integrated while he was a student there, and completed a degree in American history in 1968. He became involved in political activism while in college. He was one of the leaders of the Georgia Loyal National Democrats, an organization that challenged the seating of the Georgia delegation to the 1968 national Democratic Party convention on the grounds that it was not properly elected and blacks were underrepresented among its members. The organization succeeded in claiming half of the seats allotted to the Georgia delegation.

Branch pursued graduate study in international economics, with additional study in religion and philosophy, at Princeton University. To fulfill a policy-writing requirement of his master's degree program, Branch traveled to predominantly African American communities in rural Georgia to assist blacks in registering to vote during the summer of 1969 and documented his experiences. He developed his documentation into an article published by Washington Monthly, of which he became editor in 1971. He continued in that position until 1973 and remains affiliated with the publication as a contributing editor. He has also written for Harper's and Esquire magazines and has written or co-written several books in addition to his work on King and civil rights. These include a novel entitled The Empire Blues (1981). He advised President Bill Clinton on race-related issues, taught at Goucher College in Maryland, and frequently speaks at public events.

Branch resides with his family in the Baltimore area.

From the guide to the Taylor Branch Papers, (bulk, ), 1865-2013, 1958-2009, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Branch, Taylor. Taylor Branch papers, 1865-2009 (bulk 1958-2009). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
creatorOf Southern Elections Fund. Papers, 1965-1975 of the Fund and of the chairman of the Board of Trustees, Julian Bond [manuscript]. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Taylor Branch Papers, (bulk, ), 1865-2013, 1958-2009 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Abernathy, Ralph, 1926-1990. person
associatedWith Baez, Joan. person
associatedWith Bayard Rustin person
associatedWith Belafonte, Harry, 1927- person
associatedWith Bernard Lee person
associatedWith Bevel, James L. (James Luther), 1936-2008. person
associatedWith Bevel, John. person
associatedWith Bob Moses person
associatedWith Burke Marshall person
associatedWith Carmichael, Stokely. person
associatedWith C. B. King person
associatedWith Charles Jones person
associatedWith Charles Sherrod person
associatedWith Cheek, Marion. person
associatedWith Clarence Jones person
associatedWith Clark, Septima Poinsette, 1898-1987. person
associatedWith Clinton, Bill, 1946- person
associatedWith Coffin, William Sloane. person
associatedWith Diane Nash person
associatedWith Doar, John, 1921- person
associatedWith Dobson, Vernon. person
associatedWith Farmer, James, 1920-1999. person
associatedWith Haley, Alex. person
associatedWith Harrington, Michael, 1928-1989. person
associatedWith Harris, Meree. person
associatedWith Harris, Rutha Mae. person
associatedWith Harry Belafonte person
associatedWith Harry Wachtel person
associatedWith Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972. person
associatedWith James Bevel person
associatedWith James Farmer person
associatedWith Jenkins, Timothy. person
associatedWith Joan Baez person
associatedWith John Doar person
associatedWith John Lewis person
associatedWith Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973. person
associatedWith Jones, Charles. person
associatedWith Jones, Clarence. person
associatedWith Joseph Rauh person
associatedWith Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore), 1932-2009. person
associatedWith Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963. person
associatedWith Kennedy, Robert S., 1916- person
associatedWith King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968. person
associatedWith King, S. B. person
associatedWith Ku Klux Klan (1915- ) corporateBody
associatedWith Kwame Toure person
associatedWith Lee, Barnard. person
associatedWith Lewis, John, 1940 Feb. 21- person
associatedWith Louis Martin person
associatedWith Marion Cheek person
associatedWith Marshall, Burke, 1922- person
associatedWith Martin, Louis, 1912- person
associatedWith McNamara, Robert S., 1916- person
associatedWith Meree Harris person
associatedWith Michael Harrington person
associatedWith Morrisroe, Richard. person
associatedWith Moses, Bob. person
associatedWith Nash, Diane. person
associatedWith National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. corporateBody
associatedWith Nichols, Sheriff. person
associatedWith Nixon, Edgar Daniel. person
associatedWith Norman, Silas. person
associatedWith Ralph Abernathy person
associatedWith Rauh, Joseph L., 1911- person
associatedWith Reagon, Bernice Johnson, 1942- person
associatedWith Rustin, Bayard, 1912-1987. person
associatedWith Rutha Mae Harris person
associatedWith S. B. Wells person
associatedWith Septima Clark person
associatedWith Sherrod, Charles. person
associatedWith Shriver, Sargent, 1915-2011. person
associatedWith S. K. De person
associatedWith Southern Elections Fund. corporateBody
associatedWith Stokely Carmichael person
associatedWith Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.) corporateBody
associatedWith Timothy Jenkins person
associatedWith Tom Johnson person
associatedWith United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. corporateBody
associatedWith Vernon Dobson person
associatedWith Wachtel, Harry H. person
associatedWith Walker, Wyatt Tee. person
associatedWith Wells, S. B. person
associatedWith X, Malcolm, 1925-1965. person
associatedWith Young, Andrew, 1932- person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Montgomery (Ala.)
California
Southern States
Alabama
Selma (Ala.)
United States
Subject
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
Civil rights
Communists
Desks
Freedom of information
Historians
Journalists
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1947-01-14

Americans

English

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hh951k

Ark ID: w6hh951k

SNAC ID: 48224676