James T. Haley

James T. Haley was an American writer, editor, and publisher. His Afro-American Encyclopaedia is an encyclopedia for and about African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was among the first works documenting African American history in encyclopedic form. It is now regarded as a "classic historical encyclopedia". His other works include "Sparkling Gems of Race Knowledge Worth Reading", a compendium of talks and essays. It "emphasize[d] a sense of community through point-counterpoints on language used by the African American community and editorials describing successful African Americans."
His encyclopedia illustrated with historically significant images and print illustrations. The encyclopedia was published in Nashville, Tennessee by Haley & Florida. He later ran J. T. Haley Publishing Co. His books were among the first of their kind documenting African American history in encyclopedic form. The publication of "Sparkling Gems" may have been arranged to coincide with the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition.
Mary A. McCurdy contributed an introduction and essays to Haley's works. "Sparkling Gems" includes an image of restaurateur and hotelier Georgia Gordon Taylor. The encyclopedia included images of Sissieretta Jones, Mary Rice Phelps, and Clarissa Thompson. The encyclopedia also includes images of buildings such as Dr. Robert Fulton Boyd's residence in Nashville and Preston Taylor's residence. Booker T. Washington and Rev. George Washington Dupree, a preacher, also appear in the encyclopedia.
Haley also published William Councill's illustrated cultural history book "Lamp of Wisdom; or Race History Illustrated" in 1898.