Biography

Gerald Lyn Early is an American essayist and American culture critic, appearing and serving as a consultant on Ken Burns' documentary films Baseball, Jazz, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, The War, and Muhammad Ali. Currently, Early is the Merle Kling Professor of Modern letters, of English, African studies, African-American studies, American culture studies, and Director, Center for Joint Projects in the Humanities and Social Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a regular commentator on National Public Radio's Fresh Air, and his essays have appeared in numerous editions of Best American Essays series. He writes on topics as diverse as American literature, the Korean War, African-American culture, Afro-American autobiography, non-fiction prose, baseball, jazz, prizefighting, Motown, Miles Davis, Muhammad Ali and Sammy Davis Jr.

Photos

Filmography

View Baseball
Baseball

Baseball

1994Series
7.4
View Baseball: The Tenth Inning
Baseball: The Tenth Inning

Baseball: The Tenth Inning

2010Series
10.0
View Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

2005Series0
View Dean Martin: King of Cool
Dean Martin: King of Cool

Dean Martin: King of Cool

2021Film
7.6
View Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

2019Film
7.2
View Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson

2016Series
7.9
View The Journey of the African-American Athlete
The Journey of the African-American Athlete

The Journey of the African-American Athlete

1996Film
10.0
View Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed
Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed

Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed

2008Film
7.0