Laban Carrick Hill was the author of more than thirty books, including the 2004 National Book Award Finalist Harlem Stomp!, which he researched for nearly a decade, and America Dreaming, which examines the legacy of the 1960s. He taught writing at Columbia University, Baruch College, St. Michael’s College and Pine Manor College in Massachusetts. He was also the cofounder and codirector of the Writers Project of Ghana, based in the US and Ghana. He passed away in 2021.