The Life Journey of Writer and Activist Louise Meriwether

The Life Journey of Writer and Activist Louise Meriwether

Louise Jenkins Meriwether novelist, essayist, journalist, and outspoken social advocate was born on May 8, 1929, in Haverstraw, New York, the only daughter of Marion Lloyd Jenkins and Julia Jenkins. Her early years were shaped by the turmoil that followed the 1929 stock market crash. Seeking stability, her family left Haverstraw for New York City, first settling in Brooklyn and later making a home in Harlem.

As the third of five children, Meriwether came of age during the Great Depression. The hardships she witnessed and experienced in those years would eventually influence the themes and tone of her writing. Even with limited financial resources, she completed her primary education at Public School 81 in Harlem and later graduated from Central Commercial High School in Manhattan.

During the 1950s, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English from New York University. Around this time, she married Angelo Meriwether, a teacher based in Los Angeles. Although this marriage as well as a later marriage to Earle Howe ended in divorce, she continued to write under the Meriwether name.

Her professional path expanded in 1965 when she completed a master’s degree in journalism at the University of California, Los Angeles. Earlier, during the 1950s, she had broken new ground as the first Black story analyst employed by Universal Studios. In the early 1960s, she contributed articles to the Los Angeles Sentinel, highlighting important Black figures such as opera star Grace Bumbry, attorney Audrey Boswell, and Judge Vaino Spencer.

In 1967, Meriwether became part of the Watts Writers’ Workshop, an initiative developed after the 1965 Watts uprising, where she served as a staff member and creative contributor. Her debut novel, Daddy Was a Number Runner (1970), a fictional portrayal of Harlem’s struggles during the Depression, became the first published novel to emerge from the workshop.

She later authored three children’s biographies featuring notable African American historical figures: Civil War hero Robert Smalls (1971), pioneering heart surgeon Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1972), and civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1973). Her bibliography also includes two later novels Fragments of the Ark (1994) and Shadow Dancing (2000) as well as various short stories.

Throughout her career, Meriwether shared her knowledge with aspiring writers, teaching creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Houston.