Carrie Allen McCray

Infobox Person


image_size = 150px
name = Carrie Allen McCray
birth_date = birth date|1913|10|4
birth_place = Lynchburg, Virginia, United States
death_date = death date and age|2008|7|25|1913|10|4
death_place = Columbia,
South Carolina,
United States
occupation = Writer

Carrie Allen McCray (October 4, 1913 – July 25, 2008) was an African-American writer born in Lynchburg, Virginia, whose published works include "Ajös Means Goodbye" (1966), "The Black Woman and Family Roles" (1980), and her first-person memoir, "Freedom’s Child: The Life of a Confederate General’s Black Daughter" (1998). Her poems have appeared in such magazines as "Ms." and "The River Styx".

McCray was one of the founders and first board members of the "South Carolina Writers Workshop", and was the namesake for its literary award. She was also a member of the Board of Governors of the South Carolina Academy of Authors.

McCray, who made her home in Columbia, South Carolina, since 1986, was the widow of John H. McCray, a South Carolina journalist and civil and political rights activist. She died on July 25, 2008, aged 94.

Quote

"I never thought of myself as a writer — only as a social worker and teacher who wrote and loved to write. For me, it had to be validated. It took "Freedom’s Child" to do that."

References

* [http://www.usca.edu/aasc/mccray.htm Biographical Listing from University of South Carolina]
* [http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1490/Carrie_Allen_McCray_a_source_of_southern_literature Listing from African-American Registry]
* [http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/03.07/01-blackwomen.html Article from Harvard University Gazette]
* [http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/711100.html Obituary]