Mildred D. Taylor was born September 13, 1943, in Jackson, Mississippi. Three months after her birth her family moved to Toledo, Ohio, because her father was involved in what she calls a "racial incident." Taylor grew up in Ohio, attending the University of Toledo, where she majored in English education. After graduating, she served in the Peace Corps for two years in Ethiopia, followed by eight months as a recruiter and three more months as an instructor in a Peace Corps training camp.

In 1968, Taylor enrolled in a graduate program in journalism at the University of Denver, where she became active in the Black Student Alliance.

After receiving a master's degree in 1969, she developed and coordinated a study skills program for a black studies program she had helped institute at the University of Denver. In 1971, Taylor moved to Los Angeles, where she tried to become a...