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A Harlem Wedding with Tiffany L. Warren
In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful is joined by author Tiffany L. Warren to talk about A Harlem Wedding—her richly researched historical novel inspired by the real life of Yolande Du Bois, daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, and the most talked‑about wedding of 1928.
Drawing on scrapbooks, letters, and archival research, Tiffany walks us through Yolande’s world as the “princess of the Talented Tenth”: a young woman raised at the center of her father’s civil rights vision, expected to marry brilliantly and help uplift the race. Colin and Tiffany explore W.E.B. Du Bois’s philosophy of the Talented Tenth, his hopes for “Talented Tenth grandchildren,” and why he was so determined to arrange his daughter’s marriage to celebrated poet Countee Cullen.
From there, the conversation opens up to the emotional heart of A Harlem Wedding: Yolande’s discovery that her marriage is not what it seems, her father’s relentless expectations, and the love she finds with bandleader Jimmie Lunceford—a man whose jazz career Du Bois dismisses even as it captures Yolande’s heart. Tiffany and Colin talk about the Harlem Renaissance as both glittering social scene and site of struggle, the tension between respectability politics and the city’s vibrant queer community, and the pressure of being asked to represent an entire race while still trying to figure out your own life.
Along the way, Tiffany shares what it was like to walk the streets of Harlem in search of the places her characters lived and loved—from Salem United Methodist Church to the Savoy Ballroom and the Dark Tower—and how archival discoveries, like Yolande’s scrapbooks and their heartbreaking note “to be worthy” under her father’s photograph, helped her shape Yolande on the page.
If you’re drawn to stories that braid together romance, family pressure, civil rights history, and the glittering energy of the Harlem Renaissance, this episode offers a vivid look at the true events behind A Harlem Wedding and the questions that continue to echo today.
Discover more novels, author conversations, and community resources at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.
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By Colin Mustful
5
33 ratings
In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful is joined by author Tiffany L. Warren to talk about A Harlem Wedding—her richly researched historical novel inspired by the real life of Yolande Du Bois, daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, and the most talked‑about wedding of 1928.
Drawing on scrapbooks, letters, and archival research, Tiffany walks us through Yolande’s world as the “princess of the Talented Tenth”: a young woman raised at the center of her father’s civil rights vision, expected to marry brilliantly and help uplift the race. Colin and Tiffany explore W.E.B. Du Bois’s philosophy of the Talented Tenth, his hopes for “Talented Tenth grandchildren,” and why he was so determined to arrange his daughter’s marriage to celebrated poet Countee Cullen.
From there, the conversation opens up to the emotional heart of A Harlem Wedding: Yolande’s discovery that her marriage is not what it seems, her father’s relentless expectations, and the love she finds with bandleader Jimmie Lunceford—a man whose jazz career Du Bois dismisses even as it captures Yolande’s heart. Tiffany and Colin talk about the Harlem Renaissance as both glittering social scene and site of struggle, the tension between respectability politics and the city’s vibrant queer community, and the pressure of being asked to represent an entire race while still trying to figure out your own life.
Along the way, Tiffany shares what it was like to walk the streets of Harlem in search of the places her characters lived and loved—from Salem United Methodist Church to the Savoy Ballroom and the Dark Tower—and how archival discoveries, like Yolande’s scrapbooks and their heartbreaking note “to be worthy” under her father’s photograph, helped her shape Yolande on the page.
If you’re drawn to stories that braid together romance, family pressure, civil rights history, and the glittering energy of the Harlem Renaissance, this episode offers a vivid look at the true events behind A Harlem Wedding and the questions that continue to echo today.
Discover more novels, author conversations, and community resources at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.