John Killens - Georgia Author

John Killens is a well-known Georgia author. He has obtained many accomplishments in his life. Growing up under the Jim Crow Law had a substantial outcome on his political and social views and gave a source for his writings. John O. Killens is a well-known Georgia Author who has been beneficial in writing.

John Killens was born on January 14, 1916 with the parents by the name of Willie Coleman and Charles Killens Sr.. His parents and grandmother kept him up-to-date in the black culture and set him in a black pride belief system. John grew up hearing his great-grandmother's stories of growing up enslaved. John faced racism while growing up along with the rest of his family. His parents provided him the writings of Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Langston Hughes which he read.

Between 1934 and 1936 he attended various colleges including: Edward Waters College and Morris Brown College. His college got interrupted by the U.S. Military Draft into World War 2. The U.S. Army was highly segregated therefor he faced racism which later inspired his writings along with the childhood racism that he faced. When returning from war he moved to Brooklyn, New York and started writing classes at Columbia University. In 1950 - with help - he founded the Harlem Writers Guild.

In 1954 Killens published the novel “Youngblood” which he’s best known for. This story focuses on Youngbloods which is an African American family that struggles under the Jim Crow Laws in the south. The characters were inspired by Killens's own childhood. Youngblood was the first book published by a Guild member and became a protest novel that fell under the American Civil Rights movement. This novel kickstarted his role as a leader in the African American activist writer.

Most of Killens’ major works connect to a specific time of concerns in the African American history. “Great Gittin’ Up Mornin’” - published in 1980 - is written through the eyes

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