World Literary Awards

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Candacy Taylor

キャンダシー・テイラー

Candacy Taylor

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
United States
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
author, photographer, cultural documentarian
Affiliations
Fellow, Hutchins Center (Harvard University), Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) project, Schomburg Center fellowship (New York Public Library), Graham Foundation grantee, American Council of Learned Societies (grant), National Endowment for the Humanities (grant), National Trust / African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (related), Library of Congress (collections/archival projects)

Education

California College of the Arts
Country: United States
Converted her master's thesis into the photo book 'Counter Culture: The American Coffee Shop Waitress.'

Awards

Carter G. Woodson Book Award
2023
Work: Overground Railroad (Young Readers Edition)
Category: 児童・ヤングアダルト
Organization: National Council for the Social Studies
Result: 受賞
The New York Times 100 Notable Books
2020
Work: Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America
Organization: The New York Times
Result: 選出
Oprah Magazine top travel books list
2021
Work: Overground Railroad
Organization: Oprah Daily
Result: 選出
National Geographic top books by adventurous women
2020
Work: Overground Railroad
Organization: National Geographic
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America

2020 Non-fiction / Cultural history

Explores the legacy of the Green Book, reconstructing the places, people, and architecture that supported Black travelers through photography and narrative cultural history.

travel and mobilityracial segregationcommunity and safe spaceshistoric preservationarchitecture
Adaptations
  • [Book (Young Adult edition)] Overground Railroad (Young Readers Edition) (2023)

Counter Culture: The American Coffee Shop Waitress

2009 Photobook / Social documentary

A photobook developed from her master's thesis, featuring women aged 50 and over who had worked for decades as waitresses, documenting labor and lives through portraiture.

laborgendereveryday portraiturememory and generations

Bibliography

  • Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America
  • Counter Culture: The American Coffee Shop Waitress

Adaptations

  • Overground Railroad Young Readers Edition (book)
  • The Negro Motorist Green Book exhibition (Smithsonian traveling exhibition)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
documentary photography–based narrationcombination of archival material and oral historyvisually rich explanatory nonfiction
Recurring Motifs
roads and journeysin-between spaces like diners and motelsarchitectural detailssites of memory and community

Legacy

Re-evaluated the record of the Green Book visually and historically, deepening public and tourism history through preservation and exhibitions. Gained wide public recognition through Smithsonian touring exhibitions.

Museums

  • Jimmy Carter Library and Museum (hosted exhibition) Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Archives

  • Collections/archival projects at the Library of Congress
  • Schomburg Center (New York Public Library) archives

In Popular Culture

  • Featured in major media outlets (The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, etc.)

Trivia

  • Overground Railroad reconstructs the legacy of the Green Book through photography and narrative study.
  • Her master's thesis became the photobook 'Counter Culture', documenting older diner waitresses.
  • She curated an exhibition on The Negro Motorist Green Book that toured 13 museums as a Smithsonian traveling exhibition (2020–2025).