One of the most intriguing activists and artists of the 20th century, this text looks at the life and work of Shirley Graham Du Bois. She was a controversial figure who championed the Civil Rights movement in America, the liberation struggles of Africa and the socialist development of Maoist China. Through careful analysis and use of personal correspondence, interviews and previously unexamined documents, it explores her work as a Harlem Renaissance playwright, biographer, composer, teacher, novelist, left political activist, advisor and inspiration, who was a powerful historical actor.