ReShonda Tate is no stranger to best-selling, award-winning literary works. Still, she entered historical fiction as something of a newcomer. You wouldn’t know it by the reception to her first foray into the genre, The Queen of Sugar Hill, which brought long-overdue attention to the life of Hattie McDaniel, the first Black person to win an Academy Award.
With her latest novel, Tate goes even further. With Love From Harlem immerses readers in the cultural heartbeat of 1940s Harlem through the life of jazz prodigy, activist, and global star Hazel Scott—a woman whose fame rivaled, and at times surpassed, that of the most iconic names in music.
Genius nearly erased from history
“This is a woman I didn’t know much about,” Tate said. “And once I began researching, I’m like, why doesn’t the world know her?”
At the height of her career, Scott was a virtuoso pianist, a magnetic performer, and a groundbreaking media figure. According to Tate, she was “the biggest stars in the country, the biggest jazz entertainers… rivaling Billie Holiday [and] Sarah Vaughan at her time,” before her outspoken activism led to devastating consequences.
“She was basically erased from history because she decided to speak out,” Tate said.
The cost of speaking truth to power
Scott’s political courage came at a steep price. A civil rights pioneer, she refused to remain silent in the face of racism and inequality. That defiance led to her being labeled a communist during the height of Cold War paranoia.
“They deemed her a communist and basically ran her out of the country,” Tate said. “It was very difficult for her because she was so vocal… and then to be deemed a communist in a country that you were giving your all for.”
Forced to leave the U.S., Scott found refuge and creative kinship abroad.
“She ended up going to Paris with the likes of James Baldwin, Billie Holiday, and Langston Hughes,” Tate explained. “And they created a community there. I talk about all of that in the book.”
Ancestral assist
While With Love From Harlem is deeply researched, Tate describes the writing process as spiritually guided.
“Hazel spoke to me throughout this journey,” Tate said.
That guidance proved especially important when addressing the more complicated parts of Scott’s life, including her relationship with Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a famous Harlem pastor and U.S. Congressman.
Tate initially hesitated to explore that issue because of the well-known rumors of infidelity with one of the country’s well-known Black leaders.
“You know how you don’t want to dig up the dirt on people in our history,” she said.
But Tate said it was important to show these people as raw, real, and relatable.
“Telling Hazel’s story meant telling the things she wasn’t always proud of,” Tate said, “‘because maybe people won’t repeat those same mistakes.’”
Joys and challenges
What Tate enjoyed most about writing With Love From Harlem was fully inhabiting the world she was recreating.
“As I’m writing, I would play music. I felt transported,” she said. “The community of that time was something that I wish we could get back today… I felt the community in writing and researching this book.”
As a longtime journalist and current managing editor of The Defender, Tate admits historical fiction required a mindset shift.
“Everything in my books is rooted in fact,” she explained, “but you have to take creative liberties, and change some timelines around. And that was kind of difficult because I’m a journalist.”
One example involved Scott’s mentorship of Nina Simone.
“I wanted that to be part of the book,” Tate said, “but that didn’t happen until after the timeline of my book. So, I had to adjust and be creative with the timeline of history, and that’s where the fiction comes in.”
Reader takeaways and critics praise
Tate is clear about her ultimate goal.
“I want readers to have a thirst to say, ‘Who else don’t I know about?’” she said. “I want them to want to learn more.”
And readers are already doing just that.
“One of the biggest things I love is people saying, ‘I went down a rabbit hole of research.’ And so that tells you that you’ve done your job.”
The novel has earned strong early acclaim. New York Times best-selling author Sadeqa Johnson calls it “vibrant, richly detailed, and emotionally resonant,” adding that it “illuminates a remarkable woman whose legacy deserves to be known by all.”
Reader Whitney Daniell praised the immersive quality of the writing, saying it makes you feel “like you’re right there in the room with Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes, and other icons.”
Nationwide tour
To promote the book, Tate is embarking on a 28-city tour beginning in Harlem at Abyssinian Baptist Church, where Powell Jr. once pastored.
“That is where we have our initial book launch on Jan. 24,” Tate said.
On Jan. 27, Tate is hosting a book launch in Houston in conjunction with the Edison Cultural Arts Center (7115 W. Fuqua, Missouri City, TX 77489) for the Grand Opening.
The next day, Tate will be in Katy, TX, to cut the ribbon on a brand-new Barnes & Noble before heading to Austin and beyond.
While celebrating the opening of new chain bookstores, Tate is also intentional about supporting independent Black-owned shops.
“There are 10 Black bookstores that I partnered with just to bring attention and business to them,” she said.
Next up
Even while touring, Tate will be writing. With nearly 55 books published, she has mastered the art of creating wherever she is.
Her next project explores Prohibition-era bootlegging.
“My next book takes place during Prohibition… I had no idea that Black women were a big part of the bootleg industry, and I enjoy unearthing that and teaching people information about their history that they might not otherwise know.”
For more information on With Love From Harlem, Tate’s tour, and more, visit www.ReShondaTate.com.
