Katz, William Loren 1927-

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KATZ, William Loren 1927-

PERSONAL: Born June 2, 1927, in New York, NY; son of Bernard (a researcher) and Madeline (Simon) Katz. Education: Syracuse University, B.A., 1950; New York University, M.A., 1952.

ADDRESSES: Home—231 West 13th St., New York, NY 10011. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER: Writer. New York City public schools, New York, NY, teacher of American history, 1955-60; Greenburgh District 8 School System, Hartsdale, NY, high school teacher of American history, 1960-68; New School for Social Research (now New School University), New York, NY, instructor in U.S. history, beginning 1977. Scholar-in-residence and research fellow, Columbia University, 1971-73; lecturer on American Negro history at teacher institutes; teacher of black history at Tombs Prison; producer of audio-visual materials on minorities for classrooms. Has testified before U.S. Senate on Negro history; has appeared on television and radio programs, including Today Show. Consultant to President Kennedy's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Development, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Air Force schools in England, Belgium, and Holland, 1974-75, Inner London Educational Authority, 1982, British House of Commons, Life magazine, New York Times, and Columbia Broadcast System (CBS-TV). Military service: U.S. Navy, 1945-46.

MEMBER: United Federation of Teachers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Gold Medal Award for nonfiction, National Conference of Christians and Jews, and Brotherhood Award, both 1968, both for Eyewitness: The Negro in American History; Oppie Award, 1971, for The Black West: A Documentary and Pictorial History; White Dove Peace Award, White Dove-Imani-Rainbow Lodge, 2000.

WRITINGS:

Eyewitness: The Negro in American History, Pitman (New York, NY), 1967, 3rd edition, 1974.

Five Slave Narratives, Arno/New York Times (New York, NY), 1968.

Teachers' Guide to American Negro History, Quadrangle (New York, NY), 1968, revised edition, 1971.

(With Warren J. Halliburton) American Minorities and Majorities: A Syllabus of United States History for Secondary Schools, Arno (New York, NY), 1970.

The Black West: A Documentary and Pictorial History of the African-American Role in the Westward Expansion of the United States, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1971, revised edition, 1973, reprinted, Harlem Moon (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Warren J. Halliburton) A History of Black Americans, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1973.

An Album of Reconstruction, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1974.

An Album of the Civil War, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1974.

(With Bernard Gaughran) The Constitutional Amendments, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1974.

Minorities in American History, six volumes, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1974-75.

(With Jacqueline Hunt) Making Our Way, Dial (New York, NY), 1975.

Black People Who Made the Old West, Crowell (New York, NY), 1977.

The Great Depression, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1978.

An Album of Nazism, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1979.

Flight from the Devil: Six Slave Narratives, Africa World Press, 1986.

The Invisible Empire: The Ku Klux Klan Impact on History, Open Hand Publishing, 1986.

The Lincoln Brigade: A Picture History, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1989.

Breaking the Chains: African-American Slave Resistance, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1990.

The Civil War to the Last Frontier, 1850-1880s, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (New York, NY), 1993.

Minorities Today, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (New York, NY), 1993.

The New Freedom to the New Deal, 1913-1939, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (New York, NY), 1993.

Proudly Red and Black: Stories of African and Native Americans, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1993.

The Westward Movement and Abolitionism, 1815-1850, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (New York, NY), 1993.

World War II to the New Frontier, 1940-1963, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (New York, NY), 1993.

The Great Migrations, 1880s-1912, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (New York, NY), 1993.

The Great Society to the Reagan Era, 1964-1990, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (New York, NY), 1993.

Exploration to the War of 1812, 1492-1814, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (New York, NY), 1993.

Eyewitness: A Living Documentary of the African-American Contribution to American History, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1995.

Black Women of the Old West, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1995.

Black Legacy: A History of New York's African Americans, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1997.

Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage, Alladin (New York, NY), 1997.

Black Pioneers: An Untold Story, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1999.

I Demand Justice: Black Settlers of the West, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2001.

(Editor, with Laurie R. Lehman) The Cruel Years: American Voices at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century, Apex Press, 2002.

General editor, "The American Negro: His History and Literature" series, 147 volumes, Arno (New York, NY), 1968-71, "Minorities in America: Picture Histories" series, 1972—, "Teaching Approaches to Black History in the Classroom," 1973; editor, "The Anti-Slavery Crusade in America" series, 70 volumes, Arno/New York Times (New York, NY), "Pamphlets in American History" series, Microfilm Corp. of America/New York Times (New York, NY), 1978-82, and "Vital Sources in American History for High School Students" series, 179 volumes, 1980. Contributor of articles to periodicals and professional journals, including Reader's Digest, Journal of Negro History, Journal of Black Studies, Teachers College Record, Freedomways, and Southern Education Report. Member of editorial board, Black Studies, 1970—.

ADAPTATIONS: Breaking the Chains was adapted as an audiobook.

SIDELIGHTS: William Loren Katz specializes in writing black history for a young audience. As a writer for Black Child explained: "African-American parents are on the prowl for children's books with positive Black images. In the field of nonfiction, many will probably find what they want in the carefully researched, exciting works of William Loren Katz," whose books contain "an abundance of stirring women and men pioneers and daring doers. This author is a master of simple, no-nonsense prose and his books are crammed with powerful antique prints and vintage photographs from his historic collection." Brad Hooper, in his Booklist review of The Black West: A Documentary and Pictorial History of the African-American Role in the Westward Expansion of the United States, noted that "Katz is extremely comprehensive, very readable, and peppers his text with abundant and edifying illustrations."

Especially focusing on the history of black Americans in the settling of the Old West, Katz has written a number of titles chronicling the achievements of black pioneers. Black Women of the Old West, for example, tells of the many women who were pioneers, settlers, farmers, business owners, and army wives throughout the American West. Margaret A. Bush in Horn Book found that Katz's book provides "well-organized explanations of many aspects of black history." Chris Sherman in Booklist concluded that "this very readable book is likely to be an eye-opener for many readers."

Katz's Black Pioneers: An Untold Story describes the efforts of black settlers in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys. In addition to settling the land and establishing farms and businesses, black Americans were also obliged to fight moves to legalize slavery in the sparsely settled territories. They also worked to set up the Underground Railroad to assist escaped slaves from the South to reach safety. Deborah Taylor in Horn Book noted that "the narration is clear, fluid, and enlivened with quotes from the pioneers themselves." Anne O'Malley in Booklist judged Black Pioneers to be "an excellent source for reports and a rich supplement to the U.S. history curriculum."

Katz once told CA: "Since I agree with the idea that the historian who condoned a crime was perpetuating it throughout history—his guilt was greater than that of the original perpetrator of the crime, not only because the effect of his sin was more enduring, but also because his motive was less pressing—I have attempted to offer a history that enables us to look at the past intelligently and shape our future with the knowledge of the past in mind. My concentration on minorities has been pursued because I believe that society is only as strong as its weakest members, and that the responsibility of our nation is to spread justice to all within its borders. The first line of defense of all of us is protection for the least of us."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Black Child, February-March, 1997, "Black History As It Really Was."

Booklist, December 15, 1995, Chris Sherman, review of Black Women of the Old West, p. 695; February 15, 1997, Ilene Cooper, review of Black Legacy: A History of New York's African Americans, p. 1012; February 15, 1999, Brad Hooper, review of The Black West: A Documentary and Pictorial History of the African-American Role in the Westward Expansion of the United States, p. 1012; June 1, 1999, Barbara Baskin, review of Breaking the Chains: African-American Slave Resistance (audiobook), p. 1857; July, 1999, Anne O'Malley, review of Black Pioneers: An Untold Story, p. 1936; February 15, 2002, Patricia Austin, review of Breaking the Chains (audiobook), p. 1038.

Horn Book, January-February, 1996, Margaret A. Bush, review of Black Women of the Old West, p. 92; May, 1999, Kristi Beavin, review of Breaking the Chains (audiobook), p. 356; July, 1999, Deborah Taylor, review of Black Pioneers, p. 484.

Reader's Digest, July, 1969.

School Library Journal, September, 1999, Debbie Feulner, review of Black Pioneers, p. 236.

Village Voice, May 13, 2002, Robin D. G. Kelley, "Shirtwaist Tales."