George E. Kent
Encyclopedia
George E. Kent was an African-American professor of literature
, with a specialization in Afro-American literature.
, George Kent was the youngest of four children born to Irby D. Kent, a blacksmith
and Louise Austin Kent, a school teacher. Even as a child he would teach alongside his mother. He met his wife, Desiré Ash, whilst studying for his BA at Savannah State College
. After serving in the 25th Infantry (1942–5), he received his MA and PhD in English from Boston University
. Dr. Kent and his wife, Desire, had two children; a son Edward, now deceased, and a daughter, Sherald.
With a strong love of literature, and a dream of becoming a teacher in his own future, he began teaching at the age of 16 in one of the schools his mother had established. His formal higher education began with a B.S in English from Savannah State College
. He later obtained a Masters and PH.D from Boston University
, in English Language and Literature, respectively. During these formative years, he also served in the military.
Over a long teaching career, he held numerous positions including visiting professorships with colleges and universities such as Wesleyan University
, University of Connecticut
, Florida A & M University, Grambling State College, and the University of Chicago
. From the 1940s through the 1960s he held positions from Professor of English to Professor and Chairman of Languages and Literature, as well as Dean of Delaware State College. He was also Professor and Chairman of English in the Division of Liberal Arts at Quinnipiac College.
He finished his career in education as a Professor of English, with a specialty in African-American literature and poetry at the University of Chicago
from 1970 until his death in 1982. While at the University, George E. Kent is remembered as a pioneer for being among the first tenured African-American professors at the University of Chicago
and as the first African-American professor of English. Dr. Kent should also be remembered as an intense scholar and intellectual dedicated to excellence in his work as well as in the expectations he had of the many students he taught and mentored.
Throughout his tenure at the University of Chicago
, he offered excellence. He brought that into the school, and for his students to whom he was fiercely loyal and held high expectations for them pursuing not only their studies but their lives in excellence. It is in this respect that the Organization of Black students honors Dr. George E. Kent annually at the OBS George E. Kent Lecture.
Kent taught at Delaware State College
in Dover
from 1949 to 1960, and then at Quinnipiac College
in Hamden
, Connecticut until 1969. He then joined the University of Chicago
, becoming a full professor there in 1970, a position he retained until his death. The annual George E. Kent Lecture at the University of Chicago
is named in his honour.
His specialism was Afro-American literature. He completed the first full biography of the poet Gwendolyn Brooks
just before his death from cancer in 1982.
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, with a specialization in Afro-American literature.
Early life and education
Born in Columbus, GeorgiaColumbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, George Kent was the youngest of four children born to Irby D. Kent, a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
and Louise Austin Kent, a school teacher. Even as a child he would teach alongside his mother. He met his wife, Desiré Ash, whilst studying for his BA at Savannah State College
Savannah State University
Savannah State University is a four-year, state-supported, historically black university located in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah State holds the distinction as the oldest public historically black university in Georgia...
. After serving in the 25th Infantry (1942–5), he received his MA and PhD in English from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. Dr. Kent and his wife, Desire, had two children; a son Edward, now deceased, and a daughter, Sherald.
With a strong love of literature, and a dream of becoming a teacher in his own future, he began teaching at the age of 16 in one of the schools his mother had established. His formal higher education began with a B.S in English from Savannah State College
Savannah State University
Savannah State University is a four-year, state-supported, historically black university located in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah State holds the distinction as the oldest public historically black university in Georgia...
. He later obtained a Masters and PH.D from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, in English Language and Literature, respectively. During these formative years, he also served in the military.
Career
| 1984 | Sonia Sanchez Sonia Sanchez Sonia Sanchez is an African American poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. She has authored over a dozen books of poetry, as well as plays and children's books... |
| 1985 | Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka , formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism... (formerly LeRoi Jones) |
| 1986 | Paula Giddings Paula Giddings Paula Giddings is a writer and an African-American historian. She is the author of When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America and In Search of Sisterhood... |
| 1987 | James Baldwin James Baldwin (writer) James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,... |
| 1988 | Dick Gregory Dick Gregory Richard Claxton "Dick" Gregory is an American comedian, social activist, social critic, writer, and entrepreneur.... |
| 1989 | Nikki Giovanni Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her... |
| 1990 | Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka , formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism... (formerly LeRoi Jones) |
| 1991 | Ivan Van Sertima Ivan van Sertima Ivan Gladstone Van Sertima was an associate professor of Africana Studies at Rutgers University in the United States.... |
| 1992 | |
| 1993 | Jawanza Kunjufu |
| 1994 | Kwame Toure (formerly Stokely Carmichael) |
| 1995 | Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka , formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism... (formerly LeRoi Jones) |
| 1996 | Joyce Ann Joyce |
| 1997 | Michael Eric Dyson |
| 1998 | John Edgar Wideman John Edgar Wideman John Edgar Wideman is an American writer, professor at Brown University, and sits on the contributing editorial board of the literary journal Conjunctions.-Early life:... |
| 1999 | Nikki Giovanni Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her... |
| 2000 | George Curry George Curry George Curry may refer to:*George Curry , Governor of New Mexico Territory and U.S. Representative*George Law Curry , U.S. politician*George Curry *S. George Curry , Canadian architect-See also:... |
| 2001 | Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka , formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism... (formerly LeRoi Jones) |
| 2002 | Michael Eric Dyson |
| 2003 | Sonia Sanchez Sonia Sanchez Sonia Sanchez is an African American poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. She has authored over a dozen books of poetry, as well as plays and children's books... |
| 2004 | Susan L. Taylor Susan L. Taylor Susan L. Taylor is an American editor, writer, and journalist. She served as editor-in-chief of Essence from 1981 through 2000. In 1994, American Libraries referred to Taylor as "the most influential black woman in journalism today".-Early life:Taylor was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New... |
| 2005 | Nikki Giovanni Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her... |
| 2006 | Cornel West Cornel West Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America.... |
| 2007 | Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr., is an American literary critic, educator, scholar, writer, editor, and public intellectual. He was the first African American to receive the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship. He has received numerous honorary degrees and awards for his teaching, research, and... |
| 2008 | Angela Davis Angela Davis Angela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party... |
| 2009 | William Julius Wilson William Julius Wilson William Julius Wilson is an American sociologist. He worked at the University of Chicago 1972-1996 before moving to Harvard.... |
Over a long teaching career, he held numerous positions including visiting professorships with colleges and universities such as Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
, Florida A & M University, Grambling State College, and the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. From the 1940s through the 1960s he held positions from Professor of English to Professor and Chairman of Languages and Literature, as well as Dean of Delaware State College. He was also Professor and Chairman of English in the Division of Liberal Arts at Quinnipiac College.
He finished his career in education as a Professor of English, with a specialty in African-American literature and poetry at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
from 1970 until his death in 1982. While at the University, George E. Kent is remembered as a pioneer for being among the first tenured African-American professors at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and as the first African-American professor of English. Dr. Kent should also be remembered as an intense scholar and intellectual dedicated to excellence in his work as well as in the expectations he had of the many students he taught and mentored.
Throughout his tenure at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, he offered excellence. He brought that into the school, and for his students to whom he was fiercely loyal and held high expectations for them pursuing not only their studies but their lives in excellence. It is in this respect that the Organization of Black students honors Dr. George E. Kent annually at the OBS George E. Kent Lecture.
Kent taught at Delaware State College
Delaware State University
Delaware State University , is an American historically black, public university located in Dover, Delaware, and there are two satellite campuses located in Wilmington, Delaware, and Georgetown, Delaware...
in Dover
Dover, Delaware
The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...
from 1949 to 1960, and then at Quinnipiac College
Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park...
in Hamden
Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
, Connecticut until 1969. He then joined the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, becoming a full professor there in 1970, a position he retained until his death. The annual George E. Kent Lecture at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
is named in his honour.
His specialism was Afro-American literature. He completed the first full biography of the poet Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was an American poet. She was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968 and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1985.-Biography:...
just before his death from cancer in 1982.
Key publications
- Blackness and the Adventure of Western Culture, Third World PressThird World PressThird World Press is the largest independent black-owned press in the United States.In December 1967, Haki R. Madhubuti met with poet and activist Carolyn Rodgers and Johari Amini in the basement of a South Side apartment in Chicago to found Third World Press, an outlet for African-American...
, 1972 (ISBN 0-88378-026-7 - A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, University Press of Kentucky, 1990 (ISBN 0-8131-0827-6)