July 29th 2024.
Gail Lumet Buckley, a renowned author and the daughter of the legendary Lena Horne, passed away at the age of 86. Her daughter confirmed her passing on July 18th, and the world mourns the loss of such a talented and influential figure. Gail was born in 1937 to Lena Horne and Louis Jordan Jones, a well-respected political figure. Growing up in a Black middle-class family, Gail was inspired to pursue a career in writing, focusing on her own family's background. She spent her childhood between Brooklyn and Los Angeles before attending Radcliffe College, an independent women's college at the time, where she obtained her bachelor's degree in 1959. In 1999, the college merged with Harvard University.
Despite her mother's successful career in Hollywood, Gail chose to pave her own path in academia and literature. However, she never strayed from her mother's mission of fighting for racial justice. In fact, Gail herself served as a counselor for the National Scholarship Service and Fund for Negro Students. Her passion for writing led her to a career in journalism, starting with a position at Life magazine in 1962. She later became a contributing writer for prestigious publications such as The New York Times and Vogue. But it was her first book, "The Hornes: An American Family," published in 1986, that truly captivated readers with its detailed account of the Black middle-class livelihood.
Gail's inspiration for the novel came when she stumbled upon a trunk filled with artifacts belonging to her maternal grandfather. From photographs to letters and bills, these items spanned six generations of her family's history. This sparked Gail's deep dive into her family's past, which she continued in her later works. In 2016, she published "The Black Calhouns: From Civil War to Civil Rights With One African American Family," which explored the contrasting experiences of her family during Reconstruction and the Harlem Renaissance.
In an introduction for The New York Times, Gail wrote, "Today, however, it is important to let people know 'what' I am. I identify myself as African American to let others know that I am one of America's historical stepchildren." She went on to explain that the quality of African American life is often determined by the attitudes and actions of those in power, like a stepparent and stepsiblings.
Gail's passion for writing about racial issues extended beyond her own family's history. She published two more novels, both centered on the themes of race. Her 2001 work, "American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military From the Revolution to Desert Storm," even won the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Book Award in 2002. Gail's legacy as a prolific writer and champion of Black history will continue to inspire future generations. She is survived by her two daughters, Amy and Jenny, as well as two grandchildren. Gail's impact on the literary world and her dedication to preserving the unique histories of Black America will never be forgotten.
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