LidLarvester1966

My library is available to friends, comrades, and family. It consists mainly of African American Studies, political biographies, social studies, political science, fiction, and philosophy.

I'm L.V. Gaither. Over the course of three decades, I have been a public school educator, teaching at every level of k-12. Education, whether in the traditional classroom, through adult education, or within the non-profit setting, has always been a focus of mine. I have also worked as an activist around various issues, including public housing, local and national political campaigns, and death penalty abolition. Additionally, I have lectured throughout the country on a variety of subjects regarding social change, black history, and politics.

My interests are literacy instruction, academic mentorship, social justice, and education policy. I have also written on topics such as history and social justice, and my writings have been published in numerous journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies, and encyclopedias. My essays have appeared in anthologies published by St. Martin’s Press, SUNY, University Press of Mississippi, and Writers & Readers. I authored Loss of Empire (Africa World Press/Red Sea Press) in 2006, and have written for various encyclopedias (including 13 article entries to Encyclopedia of African American History 1896—Present, From the Age of Segregation to the 21st Century, Paul Finkelman, Editor in Chief (Oxford University Press, JAN 09). Additionally, from 1992 to 2007, I edited an independent journal of politics, literature, and culture. My journal, The Gaither Reporter (1993-2005) featured interviews with more than 50 intellectuals, activists, and political leaders, including Marimba Ani, Joy James, Jacob Carruthers, Charshee McIntyre, Ali Mazrui, John Henrik Clarke, Derrick Bell, and Gil Scott Heron. During this same period, I was a writer and columnist for Source Magazine. Most recently, I was invited to contribute my reflections on Motown for OUPBlog and regularly contribute to Oxford African American Studies Center's African American National Biography, edited by Henry L. Gates, Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham.

I'm a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where I studied speech communications.