Seat at the Table: Ethel Ray Nance & the Harlem Renaissance

A Seat at the Table: Ethel Ray Nance & the Harlem Renaissance is a compelling biography that reclaims the legacy of Ethel Ray Nance, a groundbreaking African American woman whose work shaped civil rights and cultural history in the 20th century. From her early life in Duluth, Minnesota, to her influential role in the Harlem Renaissance, Nance defied racial and gender barriers to become Minnesota's first Black stenographer and policewoman, and an essential force within the NAACP and the National Urban League.

This meticulously researched work transports readers into the vibrant world of Harlem in the 1920s, where Ethel collaborated with legendary figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Aaron Douglas. Drawing on rare letters, photographs, and personal diaries, author Karen Felecia Nance paints a vivid portrait of a woman whose life exemplified courage, cultural pride, and unyielding commitment to justice.