A Journey Of Discovery

How 100 black history books became my path to…

- Shella Gillus

HAS GOD EVER USED SOMETHING unexpected to change the course of your life?

My surprising turning point was winning a beauty pageant. I was crowned Miss Black Heritage as a sophomore at the University of Arizona. Although the title was nice, it was the prize that really mattered. I received a library of 100 books about African American history. I was thrilled, but I had no idea that a set of hardback books would lead me to a career as a novelist.

Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, I had excellent role models: my parents, Lee and Minnie, along with my sister, Alisa, and members of my close-knit church. Yet I encountered few examples of greatness in the history textbooks at school. Most of the African Americans I read about were enslaved or victims of segregation, which seemed to be our primary contribution to the American story.

Within the pages of my prize, I found inspiring stories that unlocked a whole new dimension of African-American history. I read about poets, artists, intellectuals, scholars, inventors, politicians, civil rights activists—an honor roll of accomplishment and enrichment of American culture. These role models helped me realize opportunities beyond my wildest dreams.

Today I’m a historical fiction writer in McKinney, Texas, a wife to my wise and creative husband of 17 years, Stacey, and a mother to my son and daughter, Spencer and Staci, who attend a school with a hybrid model of instruction that enables me to teach them at home a couple of times a week.