Nelson Peery

Nelson Peery was born in 1923 and grew up in rural Minnesota, the son of a postal worker in the only African American family in town. After fighting in World War II, he joined the Communist Party and worked for many years as a bricklayer and as a political revolutionary. The author of the award-winning memoir Black Fire (The New Press), among other works, he lives in Chicago.

Nelson Peery was born in 1923 and grew up in rural Minnesota, the son of a postal worker in the only African American family in town. After fighting in World War II, he joined the Communist Party and worked for many years as a bricklayer and as a political revolutionary. The author of the award-winning memoir Black Fire (The New Press), among other works, he lives in Chicago. See less