Countee' Cullen's Secret Revealed by Miracle Book: A Biography of His Childhood in New Orleans

The mystery of Countee' Cullen's childhood has finally been solved. He was born into an 'elite' African-American family in 1906. His birthplace was New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, James S. Carter, Sr., was the first licensed African-American dentist in Louisiana. His mother was a well-educated Christian lady, Gussie Yeager Carter, from Natchez, Mississippi. James S. Carter, Jr. was Countee' Cullen's birth name signed by him in the book, "Color", which he sent to his mother in 1925. This book that I have written reveals why he changed his identity forever. I am his neice, Shirley Porter Washington, his youngest sister's (Clyde Carter Porter) daughter. I have the 'Miracle Book' and his 'Secret Revealed'.

I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. I attended Xavier University of Louisiana and received the B.A. Degree in 1954. I became an elementary school teacher, and taught in New Orleans for twelve years. I then attended Loyola University of Louisiana and received the M. Ed. Degree in 1964. I was a High School Guidance Counselor in the Orleans Parish School System for eighteen years. I retired in 1985.I became the owner/administrator of a pre-academy for pre-schoolers -- 'Kiddie Academy' -- through which were educaded over six-hundred children during a ten year period (1990-2000).I am now living in Henderson, Nevada because I can no longer reside in New Orleans since the 'Katrina Disaster'.This is my first book which I felt impelled to write so that the mystery of Countee Cullen's childhood could be disclosed and, consequently, his life and poetry better understood by literary historians.Shirley Porter Washington