List of African-American writers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of African-American authors and writers, all of whom are considered part of African-American literature, and who already have Wikipedia articles. The list also includes non-American authors resident in the USA and American writers of African descent.

A[]

Maya Angelou
  • Aberjhani (born 1957), historian, columnist, novelist, poet, artist and editor
  • Mumia Abu-Jamal (born 1954), political activist and journalist
  • Linda Addison (born 1952), author and poet
  • Tomi Adeyemi (born 1993), author and creative writing coach
  • Rochelle Alers (born 1943), author and artist
  • Elizabeth Alexander (born 1962), poet, essayist and playwright
  • Kwame Alexander (born 1968), writer of poetry and children's fiction
  • Larry D. Alexander (born 1953), author and artist
  • Lewis Grandison Alexander (1898–1945)
  • Candace Allen (living), novelist, cultural critic and screenwriter
  • Clarissa Minnie Thompson Allen (1859–1941), author and educator
  • Robert L. Allen (born 1942), activist, writer and academic
  • Garland Anderson (1886–1939), playwright
  • Maya Angelou (1928–2014), author and poet
  • Tina McElroy Ansa (born 1949), novelist, filmmaker, teacher and journalist
  • Ray Aranha (1939–2011), actor, playwright and stage director
  • Chalmers Archer (1928–2014), author, veteran and educator
  • M. K. Asante, Jr. (born 1982), author, poet, screenwriter, professor
  • Jabari Asim (born 1962), poet, playwright, professor
  • Russell Atkins (born 1926), musician, playwright and poet
  • William Attaway (1911–1986), novelist, short-story writer, essayist, songwriter, playwright and screenwriter

B[]

James Baldwin
  • Calvin Baker (born 1972), novelist
  • James Baldwin (1924–1987), novelist, playwright, essayist, poet and activist
  • Toni Cade Bambara (1939–1995)
  • Leslie Esdaile Banks (1959–2011)
  • Amiri Baraka (1934–2014)
  • Shauna Barbosa (born c. 1988), poet
  • Steven Barnes (born 1952)
  • Lindon W. Barrett (1961–2008)
  • Carol S. Batey (born 1955)
  • Samuel Alfred Beadle (1857–1932)
  • Paul Beatty (born 1962)
  • Robert Beck (1918–1992)
  • Christopher C. Bell (born 1933)
  • Derrick Bell (1930–2011)
  • Brit Bennett (living)
  • Gwendolyn Bennett (1902–1981)
  • Hal Bennett (1936–2004)
  • Lerone Bennett, Jr. (1928–2018)
  • Bertice Berry (born 1960)
  • Venise T. Berry (living), novelist
  • Henry Bibb (1815–1854)
  • Eleanor Taylor Bland (1944–2010), writer of crime fiction
  • Marita Bonner (1899–1971)
  • Arna Bontemps (1902–1973)
  • James Boggs (1919–1993)
  • Demico Boothe (living), writer on civil rights
  • David Bradley (born 1950)
  • William Stanley Braithwaite (1878–1962), poet and literary critic
  • Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000)
  • Claude Brown (1937–2002)
  • Hallie Quinn Brown (1849–1949)
  • Sterling A. Brown (1901–1989), poet, literary critic, professor, poet laureate of the District of Columbia
  • William Wells Brown (1814–1884), wrote first novel published by an African American, Clotel (1853)
  • Ashley Bryan (born 1923)
  • Niobia Bryant (born 1972), author of romance and mainstream fiction novels
  • Ed Bullins (1935–2021)
  • Olivia Ward Bush (1869–1944)
  • Octavia Butler (1947–2006)
  • Roderick D. Bush (1945–2013)

C[]

  • George Cain (1943–2010)
  • Bebe Moore Campbell (1950–2006)
  • Stokely Carmichael (1941–1998)
  • Ben Carson (born 1951)
  • Jennie Carter (1830–1881)
  • Stephen L. Carter (born 1954)
  • Cyrus Cassells (born 1957)
  • Lady Chablis (1957–2016), actress, author, drag performer
  • Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932), novelist and short-story writer
  • Alice Childress (1916–1994), playwright and novelist
  • Breena Clarke (living)
  • Cheril N. Clarke (born 1980)
  • Cheryl Clarke (born 1947)
  • John Henrik Clarke (1915–1998)
  • Stanley Bennett Clay (born 1950), writer, director, actor, publisher
  • Troy CLE (living)
  • Pearl Cleage (born 1948)
  • Eldridge Cleaver (1935–1998)
  • Michelle Cliff (1946–2016)
  • Lucille Clifton (1936–2010)
  • Wendy Coakley-Thompson (born 1966)
  • Ta-Nehisi Coates (born 1975)
  • Wanda Coleman (1946–2013)
  • Marvel Cooke (1903–2000)
  • Anna J. Cooper (1858–1964)
  • J. California Cooper (1931–2014), playwright
  • James Corrothers (1869–1917)
  • Jayne Cortez (1934–2012)
  • Bill Cosby (born 1937)
  • Joseph Seamon Cotter, Sr. (1861–1949)
  • Donald Crews (born 1938), children's book author
  • Stanley Crouch (1945–2020)
  • Harold Cruse (1916–2005)
  • Countee Cullen (1903–1946)
  • Waring Cuney (1906–1976)
  • Christopher Paul Curtis (born 1953)

D[]

Frederick Douglass
W. E. B. Du Bois
  • Jeffrey Daniels (living), poet
  • Meri Nana-Ama Danquah (born 1967)
  • Christopher Darden (born 1956)
  • Angela Davis (born 1944)
  • Frank Marshall Davis (1905–1987)
  • Kyra Davis (born 1972), novelist
  • Milton Davis (living)
  • George Dawson (1898–2001)
  • Samuel R. Delany (born 1942), novelist
  • Eric Jerome Dickey (1961–2021)
  • Anita Doreen Diggs (born 1966)
  • Lonnie Dixon (1932–2011)
  • Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)
  • Rita Dove (born 1952), poet
  • Sharon Draper (born 1948)
  • W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963)
  • Tananarive Due (born 1966)
  • Henry Dumas (1934–1968)
  • Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906), poet
  • Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875–1935)
  • David Anthony Durham (born 1969)
  • Michael Eric Dyson (born 1958)

E[]

Ralph Ellison
  • Cornelius Eady (born 1954)
  • Sarah Jane Woodson Early (1825–1907), educator, activist and author
  • Junius Edwards (1929–2008)
  • Ralph Ellison (1913–1994), novelist, best known as author of Invisible Man
  • Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745–1797)
  • Don Evans (1938–2003), playwright
  • Mari Evans (1919–2017), poet
  • Percival Everett (born 1956)
  • Eve Ewing (born 1986)

F[]

  • Sarah Webster Fabio (1928–1979)
  • Ronald Fair (1932–2018)
  • John M. Faucette (1943–2003), science-fiction author
  • Arthur Huff Fauset (1899–1983)
  • Jessie Fauset (1882–1961), editor, poet, essayist and novelist
  • London R. Ferebee (1849–1883), preacher and author
  • Lolita Files (living), author, screenwriter and producer
  • Antwone Fisher (born 1959)
  • Rudolph Fisher (1897–1934), novelist, short story writer and dramatist
  • Sharon G. Flake (born 1955), writer of young adult literature
  • Robert Fleming (living), journalist and writer of erotic fiction and horror fiction
  • Mary Weston Fordham (c.1862–1905), poet
  • Namina Forna (born 1987), author and screen writer
  • Leon Forrest (1937–1997), novelist
  • Tonya Foster (living), poet, essayist and educator
  • J. E. Franklin (born 1937), playwright
  • Hoyt W. Fuller (1923–1981)
  • Nina Foxx (living), novelist, playwright and screenwriter

G[]

  • Ernest Gaines (1933–2019), fiction writer
  • Ruth Gaines-Shelton (1872–1938), educator and playwright
  • Marcus Garvey (1887–1940)
  • Tony Gaskins (1984), motivational, inspirational, self-help writer
  • Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (born 1950)
  • Roxane Gay (born 1974)
  • Nikki Giovanni (born 1943)
  • Roy Glenn (1914–1971), fiction writer, Is It A Crime, Payback
  • Donald Goines (1936–1974)
  • Marita Golden (born 1950)
  • Edythe Mae Gordon (ca. 1897–1980), poet, fiction writer
  • Eugene Gordon (1891–1972), journalist
  • Charles Gordone (1925–1995), playwright
  • Amanda Gorman (born 1998), poet
  • Lawrence Otis Graham (born 1962)
  • Moses Grandy (born c. 1786)
  • Victor Hugo Green (1892–1960), travel writer
  • Eloise Greenfield (1929–2021), children's book author
  • Sam Greenlee (1930–2014), novelist, poet, best known as author of The Spook Who Sat by the Door
  • Bonnie Greer (born 1948), novelist, playwright, critic
  • Deborah Gregory, author of The Cheetah Girls book series
  • Dick Gregory (1932–2017)
  • Sutton E. Griggs (1872–1933)
  • Nikki Grimes (born 1950), children's book author and poet[1]
  • Angelina Weld Grimke (1880–1958)
  • Charlotte Forten Grimké (1837–1914)
  • Rosa Guy (1922–2012)
  • John Langston Gwaltney (1928–1998), anthropologist, author of Drylongso
  • Yaa Gyasi (born 1989), Ghanaian-American novelist, author of Homegoing

H[]

Langston Hughes
Zora Neale Hurston
  • Alex Haley (1921–1992), author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family
  • Virginia Hamilton (1934–2002), author of children's books
  • Henry Hampton (1940–1998)
  • Lorraine Hansberry (1930–1965), playwright
  • Joyce Hansen (born 1942), author of children's books
  • Vincent Harding (1931–2014), historian and social activist
  • Nathan Hare (born 1933)
  • Frances Harper (1825–1911), poet and abolitionist
  • E. Lynn Harris (1955–2009)
  • Juanita Harrison (1891–?)
  • Robert Hayden (1913–1980), poet, essayist, educator
  • Essex Hemphill (1957–1995), poet and activist
  • David Henderson (poet) (born 1942)
  • Safiya Henderson-Holmes (1950–2001), poet
  • Chester Himes (1909–1984), novelist
  • Kameisha Jerae Hodge (born 1989)
  • Corey J. Hodges (born 1970)
  • Karla F. C. Holloway (born 1949)
  • Bell Hooks (1952—2021), feminist, and social activist
  • Pauline Hopkins (1859–1930), novelist, journalist, playwright, historian and editor
  • Nalo Hopkinson (born 1960), Jamaican Canadian, currently based in California
  • George Moses Horton (1798–after 1867)
  • Detrick Hughes (born 1966)
  • Langston Hughes (1901–1967), poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist
  • Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960), folklorist, anthropologist, author of novels short stories, plays and essays

I[]

  • Jordan Ifueko (born 1993), writer
  • Rashidah Ismaili (born 1941), poet, fiction writer, essayist and playwright

J[]

  • Brenda Jackson (born 1953)
  • Jesse C. Jackson (1908–1983), young-adult novelist
  • Harriet Jacobs (1813 or 1815–1897), author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)
  • T. D. Jakes (born 1957)
  • Ayize Jama-Everett (born 1974), science fiction and speculative fiction writer
  • John Jea (1773–after 1817)
  • N. K. Jemisin (born 1972)
  • Beverly Jenkins (born 1951)
  • Joseph Jewell (living)
  • Terri L. Jewell (1954–1995), poet, writer and Black lesbian activist
  • Alaya Dawn Johnson (born 1982)
  • Angela Johnson (born 1961)
  • Charles R. Johnson (born 1948)
  • Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880–1966), poet
  • Helene Johnson (1906–1995), poet
  • James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938)
  • Mat Johnson (born 1970)
  • Varian Johnson (born 1977)
  • Edward P. Jones (born 1950), novelist and short-story writer
  • Gayl Jones (born 1949), novelist
  • Tayari Jones (born 1970)
  • June Jordan (1936–2002), poet, essayist and activist

K[]

Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Ron Karenga (born 1941)
  • Bob Kaufman (1925–1986), poet
  • Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907)
  • William Melvin Kelley (1937–2017), novelist
  • Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins (1863–1938), novelist
  • Randall Kenan (1963–2020)
  • Adrienne Kennedy (born 1931), playwright
  • Nina Kennedy (born 1960), memoirist, screenwriter
  • John Oliver Killens (1916–1987), novelist
  • Jamaica Kincaid (born 1949)
  • Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968)
  • Woodie King Jr. (born 1937)
  • Etheridge Knight (1931–1991), poet
  • Yusef Komunyakaa (born 1941)

L[]

  • Pinkie Gordon Lane (1923–2008), poet, editor and teacher
  • Nella Larsen (1891–1964), novelist
  • Victor LaValle (born 1972)
  • Andrea Lee, novelist and memoirist
  • Julius Lester (1939–2018)
  • David Levering Lewis (born 1936)
  • Willie Little (born 1961) author, multimedia artist
  • Alain Locke (1885–1954)
  • Attica Locke (born 1974), novelist
  • Audre Lorde (1934–1992), author, poet, activist
  • Bettina L. Love, abolitionist educator and writer
  • Glenville Lovell (born 1955), novelist and playwright

M[]

Toni Morrison
  • Christopher Mwashinga (born 1965), poet, theologian, essayist
  • Nathaniel Mackey (born 1947), poet, novelist, anthologist, literary critic and editor
  • Naomi Long Madgett (1923–2020), poet
  • Haki R. Madhubuti (born 1942)
  • Clarence Major (born 1936), poet, painter and novelist
  • Raynetta Manees (living), novelist
  • Manning Marable (1950–2011)
  • John Marrant (1755–1791)
  • Paule Marshall (1929–2019)
  • Ora Mae Lewis Martin (1889–1977), journalist and writer
  • Hans Massaquoi (1926–2013)
  • Brandon Massey (born 1973)
  • Victoria Earle Matthews (1861–1907), essayist, newspaperwoman, activist
  • Julian Mayfield (1928–1984)
  • James McBride (writer) (born 1957)
  • Nathan McCall (born 1955)
  • Bernice McFadden (born 1965), novelist
  • Claude McKay (1889–1948)
  • Patricia McKissack (1944–2017)
  • Reginald McKnight (born 1956)
  • Kim McLarin (born 1964), novelist
  • Terry McMillan (born 1951), novelist
  • James Alan McPherson (1943–2016)
  • Louise Meriwether (born 1923), novelist, essayist, journalist and activist
  • Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951)
  • E. Ethelbert Miller (born 1950), poet
  • May Miller (1899–1995), poet and playwright
  • Arthenia J. Bates Millican (1920–2012), poet, essayist and educator
  • Mary Monroe (living), novelist
  • Anne Moody (1940–2015)
  • Jessica Care Moore (born 1971), poet
  • Toni Morrison (1931–2019), author, Nobel laureate 1993
  • E. Frederic Morrow (c.1909–1994), first black American appointed to a president's administration (1955–60)
  • Walter Mosley (born 1952), novelist
  • Thylias Moss (born 1954)
  • Willard Motley (1909–1965)
  • Jess Mowry (born 1960)
  • Albert Murray (1916–2013)
  • Pauli Murray (1910–1985)
  • Walter Dean Myers (1937–2014), writer of children's books

N[]

  • Tariq Nasheed (living)
  • Gloria Naylor (1950–2016)
  • Larry Neal (1937–1981)
  • Barbara Neely (1941–2020), novelist, short-story writer and activist
  • Huey P. Newton (1942–1989)
  • Richard Bruce Nugent (1906–1987)

O[]

  • Bayo Ojikutu (born 1971), novelist
  • Mwatabu S. Okantah (born 1952)
  • Gabriel Okara (1921–2019)
  • Nnedi Okorafor (born 1974)
  • Marc Olden (1933–2003)
  • Terry a. O'Neal (born 1973)
  • Tochi Onyebuchi (born 1987)
  • Roscoe Orman (born 1944)
  • Ewuare Osayande (living)
  • Brenda Marie Osbey (born 1957), poet
  • Candace Owens (born 1989), political activist

P[]

  • ZZ Packer (born 1973)
  • Gordon Parks (1912–2006)
  • Suzan-Lori Parks (born 1963), playwright, screenwriter, musician and novelist
  • Tyler Perry (born 1969)
  • Eric Pete (living), novelist and short-story writer
  • Ann Petry (1908–1997), writer of novels, short stories, children's books and journalism
  • Debra Phillips (born 1959)
  • William Pickens (1881–1954)
  • Ann Plato (born c. 1824), educator and author
  • Sterling Plumpp (born 1940), educator and author
  • Carlene Hatcher Polite (1932–2009)
  • Alvin F. Poussaint (born 1934)
  • Jewel Prestage (1931–2014), first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in political science, former Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University.
  • Robert Earl Price (born 1942), playwright and poet

R[]

  • Aishah Rahman (1936–2014), playwright
  • Alice Randall (born 1959), author and songwriter
  • Dudley Randall (1914–2000), poet and publisher
  • Cordelia Ray (1852–1916), poet and teacher
  • Francis Ray (1944–2013), writer of romance fiction
  • Andy Razaf (1895–1973), poet, composer and lyricist
  • Ishmael Reed (born 1938), poet, essayist and novelist
  • Kiley Reid (born 1987), novelist
  • Jason Reynolds (born 1983), YA/Middle-Grade novelist/poet
  • Willis Richardson (1889–1977), playwright
  • Florida Ruffin Ridley (1861–1943), essayist and short story writer
  • Harrison David Rivers (born 1981), playwright
  • Cliff Roquemore (1948–2002), writer, producer and director
  • Carolyn Rodgers (1940–2010), poet
  • Octavia V. Rogers Albert (1853–c.1890)
  • Al Roker (born 1954)
  • Fran Ross (1935–1985)
  • Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin (1842–1924), journalist
  • Malinda Russell (ca. 1812–?), author of the first known cookbook by a Black woman in the United States
  • Rachel Renee Russell, author of the Dork Diaries series of children's novels
  • Carl Hancock Rux, poet, essayist, playwright, novelist
  • Rupaul (born 1960), actor, author, drag performer, TV show host

S[]

  • Kalamu ya Salaam (born 1947), poet, author, filmmaker, teacher, activist
  • Sonia Sanchez (born 1934), poet
  • Dori Sanders (born 1934) novelist
  • Sapphire (born 1950)
  • Charles R. Saunders (1946–2020), author and journalist
  • Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (1874–1938), historian, writer, and activist
  • George Schuyler (1895–1977), author, journalist and social commentator
  • Gil Scott-Heron (1949–2011), poet and musician
  • Clara Johnson Scroggins (1931–2019), author, collector
  • Sandra Seaton (living), playwright and librettist
  • Victor Séjour (1817–1874)
  • Fatima Shaik (living), author
  • Tupac Shakur (1971–1996)
  • Ntozake Shange (1948–2018), playwright and poet
  • Nisi Shawl (born 1955)
  • Sister Souljah (born 1964)
  • Iceberg Slim (1918–1992)
  • Amanda Smith (1837–1915)
  • Danez Smith (living), poet
  • Effie Waller Smith (1879–1960), poet
  • William Gardner Smith (1927–1974), journalist, novelist, and editor
  • Thomas Sowell (born 1930), economist, social theorist, political philosopher
  • A. B. Spellman (born 1935)
  • Anne Spencer (1882–1975), poet
  • Aurin Squire (born 1979), producer, playwright, screenwriter and reporter
  • Theophilus Gould Steward (1843–1924)
  • Maria W. Stewart (1803–1879), journalist, lecturer, abolitionist, women's rights activist
  • Jeffrey C. Stewart (born 1950), professor and Pulitzer prize winner
  • Nic Stone (born 1985)

T[]

  • Ellen Tarry (1906–2008)
  • Mildred D. Taylor (born 1943)
  • Susie Taylor (1848–1912)
  • Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954)
  • Lucy Terry (c. 1730–1821)
  • Michael Thelwell (born 1939)
  • Angie Thomas (born 1988)
  • Clarence Thomas (born 1948)
  • Joyce Carol Thomas (1938–2016), author, poet, playwright, and motivational speaker
  • Lorenzo Thomas (1944–2005)
  • Piri Thomas (1928–2011)
  • Truth Thomas (living)
  • Pamela Thomas-Graham (born 1963)
  • Era Bell Thompson (1905–1986)
  • Howard Thurman (1899–1981)
  • Wallace Thurman (1902–1934)
  • Ruth D. Todd (born 1878)
  • Lynn Toler (born 1959)
  • Melvin B. Tolson (1898–1966)
  • Jean Toomer (1894–1967)
  • Touré (born 1971)
  • Askia M. Touré (born 1938), poet, essayist, leading voice of the Black Arts Movement
  • Quincy Troupe (born 1939)
  • Sojourner Truth (c.1797–1883)
  • Omar Tyree (born 1969)
  • Neil deGrasse Tyson (born 1958)

V[]

  • Henry Van Dyke (1928–2011), novelist, editor, teacher and musician
  • Ivan Van Sertima (1935–2009), professor, author, historian, linguist and anthropologist at Rutgers University
  • Bethany Veney (c. 1813–1916), author of Aunt Betty's Story: The Narrative of Bethany Veney, A Slave Woman (1889)
  • Olympia Vernon (born 1973), novelist

W[]

  • Dwyane Wade (born 1982)
  • Alice Walker (born 1944)
  • Frank X. Walker (born 1961), founding member of Affrilachian poets
  • Margaret Walker (1915–1998)
  • Christopher George Latore Wallace (1972–1997)
  • Michele Wallace (born 1952)
  • Eric Walrond (1898–1966)
  • Mildred Pitts Walter (born 1922)
  • Marilyn Nelson Waniek (born 1946)
  • Douglas Turner Ward (1930–2021)
  • Jesmyn Ward (born 1977)
  • Booker T. Washington (1856–1915)
  • Frank J. Webb (1828–c.1894), novelist, poet, essayist
  • Ida B. Wells (1862–1931)
  • Richard Wesley (born 1945), playwright, screenwriter
  • Valerie Wilson Wesley (born 1947)
  • Cornel West (born 1953)
  • Dorothy West (1907–1998), novelist
  • Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), first published African-American poet
  • Walter Francis White (1893–1955)
  • Colson Whitehead (born 1969), novelist (The Intuitionist, The Underground Railroad) and journalist
  • Steven Whitehurst (born 1967), award-winning author
  • Albery Allson Whitman (1851–1901), poet, minister and orator
  • Anthony Whyte, writer of urban and hip-hop literature
  • John Edgar Wideman (born 1941)
  • Isabel Wilkerson (born 1961)
  • Crystal Wilkinson (living)
  • Chancellor Williams (1893–1992), historian and sociologist
  • John Alfred Williams (1925–2015), author, journalist and academic
  • Samm-Art Williams (born 1946), playwright
  • Sherley Anne Williams (1944–1999)
  • Walter E. Williams (1936–2020)
  • August Wilson (1945–2005)
  • Harriet E. Wilson (1825–1900), author of Our Nig and the first African-American novelist
  • William Julius Wilson (born 1935), author of When Work Disappears, The Truly Disadvantaged, and The Declining Significance of Race
  • Oprah Winfrey (born 1954)
  • Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950)
  • Jacqueline Woodson (born 1963), award-winning author of books for children and adolescents, including "Brown Girl Dreaming"
  • David Wright (born 1964)
  • Jay Wright (born 1935), poet
  • Kelly Wright, author of Outed Obsession and Fatal Fixation
  • Richard Wright (1908–1960), writer of novels, short stories, poems and non-fiction

X[]

  • Malcolm X (1925–1965)
  • Marian X (born 1944)

Y[]

  • Camille Yarbrough (born 1938)
  • Frank Yerby (1916–1991), historical novelist
  • Al Young (1939–2021), poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter and professor

Z[]

  • Zane (born 1966/67), author of erotic fiction
  • Ahmos Zu-Bolton (1948–2005), activist, poet and playwright

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Nikki Grimes at Scholastic.
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