Eleanora E. Tate 1948–

Author, journalist

Grandmother Was Key Influence

Embarked on Literary Career

Selected writings

Sources

Crafting uplifting stories about young African American girls who learn valuable lessons about their heritage and how to cope with the problems that surround them, Eleanora Tate has provided a wealth of positive role models for her readers. Her highly-acclaimed stories have been hailed by critics for shattering racial stereotypes, promoting the value of community, and offering realistic hope to African American youths, all in the context of colorfully told tales that vividly capture the flavor of small-town life. As Carole Brown Knuth wrote in the African-American Review in 1998, “Eleanora Tate’s imperative as an author is to tell the story of the competing dynamics of African American children’s lives, in their own language and from their unique perspective. Her novels shed light on pockets of ambivalence and darkness and confusion in children’s experience; through their rich cultural linkages her works create unique contexts of heritage.”

Because of their important themes, upbeat tone, and vivid storytelling, many of Tate’s books have become regular additions to school reading lists and are included on recommended reading compilations. Tate is known for her meticulous research and incorporating characters and settings from her own life experiences into her books and stories. Many of the ideas for her stories have come from young people she met during creative writing residencies at various schools. “I like to write about the kid who manages to overcome an obstacle, no matter how much adults and other kids try to jerk him/her around,” said Tate in an interview with CBB. This type of character is made memorable in Tate’s South Carolina Trilogy, a series of three novels that deal with self-worth and image-building in difficult situations.

Grandmother Was Key Influence

Eleanora Elaine Tate was born in the small town of Canton, Missouri. She never knew her father and was raised for the first thirteen years of her life by her grandmother, Corinne Johnson. “My grandmother was everything to me and for me,” Tate remarked to CBB. She also credited her grandmother for greatly influencing her decision to become a writer. Tate decided that she wanted to become a writer by the time she was in sixth grade. “I felt I had messages to share with the

At a Glance…

Born Eleanora Elaine Tate on April 16, 1948, in Canton, MO; daughter of Clifford and Lillie (Douglas) Tate; married Zack E. Hamlett III (aphotographer), 1972; children: Gretchen Tate. Education: Drake University, B.A., journalism, 1973.

Career: News editor, lowa Bystander, 1966-68; reporter, Des Moines Register and Des Moines Tribune, 1968-76; contributed to black history and culture workshops, Des Moines, 1968-76; staff writer, Jackson Sun, TN, 1976-77; freelance writer, Memphis Tri-State Defender, 1977; writer and researcher, Kreative Kon-cepts, Inc., Myrtle Beach, SC, 1979-81; created and ran (with husband) Positive Images, Inc., a small public relations co., Myrtle Beach, 1983-93; founded media consultant firm, Tate & Assoes., 1993; co-directed a national Black Storytelling Festival; featured speaker at Fifth Regional Caribbean Conference, Hamilton, Bermuda, 1996; has contributed stories and poetry to American Ctrl, Scholastic, Storyworks, Goldfinch, the journal of Black Poetry, and other publications.

Selected memberships: Iowa Arts Council Artist in Schools/Community, 1970-89; Natl Assn. of Black Storytellers, Inc., 1988-92 (natl. pres., 1991-92); SC Arts Commission Artists in Education, 1982-92; NC Writers’ Network; Twin Rivers Reading Council of IRA; NAACP, Georgetown SC chapter, 1984-89.

Selected awards and honors: Community Lifestyle Award, TN Press Assn., 1977; Parents’ Choice Cold Seal Award, 1987; Presidential Award, Natl. Assn. of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Georgetown SC Chapter, 1988; Grand Strand Press Assn. Award, 1988. Grace Brooks Memorial Humanitarian Award, SC Action Council for Cross-Cultural Mental Health and Human Services, 1991. Distinguished Woman of the Year, Arts, Carteret County, NC Council for Women, 1993; NC Kidfest Festival, author, 1998.

Addresses: Office—PO Box 3581, Morehead City, NC, 28557; Agent—Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency, 65 BleeckerSt, New York, NY 10012.

world, even though some folks liked to tell me it was stupid and worthless for a Black girl ‘like me’ to want to write,” Tate related to CBB.

In 1961 Tate moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where her desire to write became even more fervent. “My writing was my best friend as a teenager,” she remarked to CBB. At the age of 18, Tate began working full-time as a writer for the Iowa Bystander, a small African American weekly newspaper in Des Moines. While working at the Bystander, Tate gained valuable experience as a writer from an African American news editor named Frances Hawthorne. It was also during this time that Tate began to develop a sense of social consciousness. As she related in an interview with CBB, “The 1960s were an exciting time for this young writer and I tried to be a caring, crusading young Black woman news editor, trying to help lead the charge to expose corruption and uphold the truth and the righteous, and fight those who would cast their racist wrongs against my people in this country and on the continent of Africa.”

Two years after joining the staff of the Bystander, Tate received a full four-year scholarship to Drake University from the Des Moines Register and Tribune Newspaper company. Following graduation, she became the first African American female journalist to work at the Register. At this time, Tate was trying to establish her own voice as a writer of poetry and fiction. In an attempt to further her development as a creative writer, she attended regular meetings with a group of African American artists in Des Moines. Tate has also cited the works of James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, playwright Lorraine Hansberry, and poet Gwendolyn Brooks as important literary influences.

Embarked on Literary Career

While writing for the Register and the Tribune, Tate interviewed Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as various other celebrities. She also reviewed movies, books, and record albums. In 1976 Tate relocated to Tennessee, where she worked as a staff writer for the Jackson Sun. She also served as a freelance writer for the Memphis Tri-State Defender. In 1980 Tate published her first novel, Just an Overnight Guest. Set in a fictional town similar to Tate’s hometown of Canton, Missouri, the story is presented from the perspective of a nine-year-old African American girl named Margie Carson, who has to cope with the entry of a mixed-race child into her family. “Eleanora Tate does a fine job presenting the emotional complexities of Margie’s initiation into adult life’s moral ambiguities,” wrote Merri Rosenberg in the New York Times Book Review. Just an Overnight Guest was later made into a film starring Richard Roundtree and Rosalind Cash. In 1985, the film was added to the “Selected Films for Young Adults” list by the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association.

Tate eventually moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and soon began doing research for her highly-acclaimed South Carolina Trilogy. The first novel of the trilogy, The Secret of Gumbo Grove, was published in 1987 and tells the story of an 11-year-old girl who stumbles upon an old cemetery in her town. This discovery eventually leads to many interesting historical revelations about African Americans in her community. The Secret of Gumbo Grove was hailed by School Library Journal as “A warm, humorous, and wonderful story….”

In 1990, Tate published the second entry in the trilogy entitled Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr /The novel tells the story of a young African American girl, Mary Elouise, who tries desperately to win the friendship of a snobbish, blond-haired classmate. Through the course of the novel, Mary Elouise begins to develop a greater sense of self-worth and a deeper appreciation for her own African American heritage. In her discussion of Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! in African- American Review Knuth wrote, “Tate looks behind the curtain of double consciousness to reveal the complex sensibilities of black children exploring their heritage, the history of their community, and the bewildering stereotypes of inferiority and shame which continue to proliferate so irresponsibly in our society.”

The third installment of Tate’s trilogy, A Blessing in Disguise, was published in 1994. In this novel, Tate explores contemporary themes such as drug abuse, crime, and violence and their effects on a small town. “The Secret of Gumbo Grove and Thank You, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.! celebrate neighborhoods, communities, and self-worth, but in A Blessing in Disguise I explore what happens to families when neighborhood responsibility and positive role modeling for youth wither under the weight of the pemiciousness of hard drugs, crime, and greed,” remarked Tate in African- American Review. In its review of A Blessing in Disguise, Publishers Weekly noted, “snappy dialogue convincingly suggests these characters’ love of life, against which Tate artfully, and disturbingly, juxtaposes darker feelings.”

One of Tate’s motivations for writing the South Carolina Trilogy was to present African American issues from an African American perspective. Too often, these issues are presented from the viewpoint of white writers. In African-American Review, Tate said, “I wrote them to tell the stories of what it is that makes our communities what they are, from the past to the present, that will appeal to young readers, and that will give them hope.”

In 1992, Tate published a sequel to Just an Overnight Guest Entitled Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School, this novel examines Margie’s life three years later as she continues to learn about her heritage through stories told by her father about his own childhood. That same year, Tate collaborated with her nephew, illustrator Don Tate II, on a work entitled Retold African Myths

One of Tate’s most charming works is her 1997 novel, Don’t Split the Pole: Tales of Down-Home Folk Wisdom. In this novel, Tate crafts stories from a variety of proverbs, aphorisms, and slogans to create what Time magazine called “a wonderful celebration of superior storytelling that can be enjoyed by the entire family.” In its review, Publisher’s Weekly referred to Tate as a “crafty author whose stories leap off the page and lodge straight in the funny bone.”

Tate has also written audiocassette versions of some of her books so that blind children can connect with her words. In addition to novels, contributions to other books, and many newspaper articles, Tate has written short stories, articles, and poetry for magazines such as American Girl, Scholastic, Storyworks, Goldfinch, and the Journal of Black Poetry. During her lengthy career, she has also written advertising copy, news releases, and public service announcements for television, radio, and newspapers. Tate also presents lectures on children’s literature in schools, libraries, and college campuses and conducts creative writing workshops for both children and adults.

Selected writings

Just an Overnight Guest, Dial Press, 1980.

The Secret of Gumbo Grove, Franklin Watts, 1987.

Thank Your, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!, Franklin Watts, 1990.

Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School, Bantam Books, 1992.

A Blessing in Disguise, Delacorte, 1995.

Don’t Split the Pole: Tales of Down-Home Folk Wisdom, Delacorte, 1997.

Sources

Books

Trosky, Susan, editor, Contemporary Authors, Volume 43, Gale Research, 1994, pp. 435-37.

Periodicals

African-American Review, Spring 1998, pp. 77, 85.

Atlanta Constitution, January 26, 1989, p. C5.

New York Times Book Review, February 8, 1981, p. 20.

Publishers Weekly, December 5, 1994, p. 77; October 6, 1997, p. 84.

Other

Additional information for this profile was obtained from an interview with Eleanora Tate, publicity materials from Tate & Associates, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Web site on the Internet.

—Ed Decker