Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar was born June 27, 1872 in Dayton, OH. His mother Matilda, was a former slave and his father Joshua had escaped slavery and served in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and the 5th Massachusetts Colored Calvary Regiment during the Civil war (online). Joshua and Matilda separated in 1874. Dunbar came from a poor family. After his father left, his mother supported the family by working as a washerwoman. One of the families …showed first 75 words of 1166 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1166 total…grown. These types of poems would still have a lasting effect if they were given to Ladies of the 20th century. In conclusion Dunbar was important because his talent was at least equal to the pressure that his position as a representative of his race put upon him. He was one of the first black writers to counterbalance American race prejudice with receptivity to the strengths of the black community. Paul Laurence Dunbar died February 9, 1906.