William Loren Katz (June 2, 1927 – October 25, 2019)[1] was an American teacher, historian, and author of 40 books on African-American history, including a number of titles for young adult readers.[2] He was particularly noted for his research and writing on the 500-year history of relations between African Americans and Native Americans. His books include Breaking the Chains: African American Slave Resistance, The Black West, and Black Women of the Old West. [3]
Born in New York, NY, Katz was the son of Ben (a researcher)[4] and Madeline (Simon) Katz.[5] After graduating high school in 1944, Katz joined the Navy at the age of 17 and then went onto use the GI Bill to further his education.[2] A graduate of Syracuse University (Bachelor of Arts in history, 1950) and of New York University (Master of Arts in Secondary Education, 1952), Katz taught in New York City and State public secondary education systems for 14 years.[5] He served as a consultant to the U.S. Senate, the British House of Commons, and the Smithsonian Institution; the state boards of education of North Carolina and New York; school districts from California to Florida and England.[2][3][6] He was married to Dr. Laurie Lehman, an associate professor of special education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus, and an early authority and writer on disability studies.[7] He was the father of two children, Michael and Naomi, and a grandfather to Maya.
Katz's "Education and Books" column appeared in the New York Daily Challenge;[5] contributed articles to the Amsterdam News and many other publications; he hosted an interview program on Pacifica Radio station WBAI-FM in New York, and appeared on many TV and radio programs hosted by Indigenous Americans and African Americans. He was the recipient of the 2000 White Dove Imani Peace Award from the White Dove-Imani-Rainbow Lodge of Whitehall, Ohio.[2]
He spoke at more than 50 universities and dozens of museums, and libraries, including The American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Institution, The Western History Association to Johns Hopkins University, The Institute for Texan Cultures, and the Schomburg Library. He became affiliated with New York University in 1973 and edited more than 220 research volumes for libraries. He edited the American Negro: His History and Literature book series for Arno Press.
His books, research, writing and lectures won several awards, including the 1991 Carter G. Woodson book award for Breaking the Chains.[8] John Hope Franklin, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., John Henrik Clarke, Howard Zinn, James M. McPherson, Alice Walker, Cornel West, Ivan Van Sertima, Betty Shabazz, and Dr. Ralph Bunche have praised his works.[6][9]
In 2012 he received the National Underground Railroad to Freedom Award by the National Park Service and delivered the keynote address "The Underground Railroad that Ran South to Freedom" at its National Conference.[10] He received an award for lifetime contributions to the literature for children of African descent from the Institute of African American Affairs of New York University,[2] where he had been a scholar-in-residence.[5]
