Pauline Hopkins

Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins (1859–1930), acclaimed African-American novelist and intellectual, was raised in Boston, Massachusetts and first rose to prominence as a playwright and performer before later turning to journalism and literature. Her use of the romantic novel as a medium by which to explore race and social issues, through works such as Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South, made her a pioneer of her time. As an editor and director of The Colored American Magazine, she wielded significant literary and cultural influence, and went on to write stories and articles for a number of other magazines.