In praise of Ossie.

Superlatives--best, greatest, most--seem inadequate to describe who Ossie Davis was and what he meant to all of us. An imposing man who exuded gentleness. Outspoken but not strident. The booming voice. Precisely articulated lines. The ready smile and sweet demeanor. If he had not existed, we as a people would have needed to invent him to voice our collective thoughts and dreams. Yolanda King, a daughter of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an actress in her own right, recalls him as "a tremendous light, a great soul."

Months ago, we deliberated over whom to put on our cover for an issue that would not only examine the debts that theater owes to books, but also highlight the African American family in articles, among others, on reunions, genealogy, mothers in literature and black manhood today. Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee together seemed a natural choice (see "The Word Workers," page 22). They agreed.

We proceeded with an interview and started collecting photographs to accompany the article. Sharon D. Johnson, a Los Angeles freelancer, talked to them about the power of words--just a few days before Davis took off to work on a movie in Miami and Dee to work on one in New Zealand. It was no doubt one of the last interviews in which Davis would take part.

So the news that he had left us traveled quickly among our tiny but far-flung staff. We grieved along with everyone else, but we also had a journalistic decision to make. For a day or so, we wrestled with whether to put someone else on the cover. We soon decided it seemed right, almost prophetic that we should go ahead. His staff assured us that they felt it would be fitting and, we hope, he would have wanted it this way.

We were incredibly honored not only to have already recorded some of his last thoughts, but also fortunate to be able to call on Haki R. Madhubuti, the poet, publisher and longtime friend of Dee and Davis, to write a remembrance that places him in his cultural context.

We had also asked Joseph P. Blake, a journalist and playwright, to talk to those who write for the theater about how books influence them (see "Inspiration for Drama," on page 29). Sharita Hunt, a writer who has also acted in such works as For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf on Broadway, had already talked books with Phylicia Rashad and LisaGay Hamilton while they were doing the Broadway run of Gem of the Ocean. We hope these articles will both inform and inspire you.

Elsewhere in this issue, we are rolling out another new department, ESSENTIALS, which will suggest the must-have book selections for African Americans in various categories. This one, by Nia Ngina Meeks, a Philadelphia writer, offers guidelines on building a core library covering a range of fiction and nonfiction for home use.

Another notable story is by Fred Beauford, former editor of The Crisis, on the great memoirs of the Civil Rights Movement with a call for leaders who have not borne witness in writing to do so. [See BIBLIOMANE, page 38.] For June, Gay Pride Month, Steven G. Fullwood and Larry D. Lyons II selected books that offer legal advice to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people and couples. It is also Black Music Month, and we have selected reviews to help you celebrate it.

Beginning with this issue, the editors at BIBR will note titles we highly recommend in the review sections with a symbol . Our aim is to share with readers the books we are enjoying.

Angela P. Dodson

BIBR Executive Editor