Celebrate NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) with the Charles County Public Library this year by checking out some of our local authors, as part of our Local Author Virtual Showcase! All of the authors showcased in this series responded to a call for submissions we placed over this summer, to highlight their work throughout the month of November. At CCPL we value the contributions our local authors make in sharing their knowledge and passion with our community.  Make sure to check out our Local Author’s collection located at the Waldorf West Library. 

Briana A. Thomas

Black Broadway in Washington, D.C.

Arcadia Publishing

Before chain coffee shops and luxury high-rises, before even the beginning of desegregation and the 1968 riots, Washington’s Greater U Street was known as Black Broadway. From the early 1900s into the 1950s, African Americans plagued by Jim Crow laws in other parts of town were free to own businesses here and built what was often described as a “city within a city.” Local author and journalist Briana A. Thomas narrates U Street’s rich and unique history, from the early triumph of emancipation to the days of civil rights pioneer Mary Church Terrell and music giant Duke Ellington, through the recent struggles of gentrification

Briana A. Thomas has been published in Washingtonian Magazine, the historic Afro-American newspaper, and the Washington Post throughout her journalism career. Briana earned a Master of Journalism degree from the University of Maryland–College Park and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and communications from Greensboro College. She is the co-pastor of a Maryland-based multisite church Open Bible Ministries.