Mildred D. Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on November 13, 1943. Motivated by a racial incident, her father moved the family to Toledo, Ohio, when Taylor was only three weeks old.

This migration did not diminish the family's devotion and attachment to the South, and Taylor grew up with a tremendous fascination for the region, eagerly anticipating annual visits there.

She received her education in the Toledo schools, where she was an honor student, editor of the school newspaper, and a class officer.

While completing her college work at the University of Toledo, Taylor aspired to be a writer and a Peace Corps volunteer. Throughout her college years, she prepared herself by diligently researching the places she longed to visit.

She volunteered with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia for two years and returned home to recruit new volunteers before beginning her journalistic training at the...