‘The Humanity Archive’: Louisville author says journey to NYT best seller began in library
Subject
The Humanity Archive; Louisville; Jermaine Fowler
Description
The newest author from Louisville to land a book on the New York Times Best Sellers list says his story — even the book itself — all starts in the main downtown branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.
“I used to catch the TARC bus to the main library and spent whole summers in there, really,” said Jermaine Fowler, whose debut book, “The Humanity Archive,” entered the best sellers list for hardcover nonfiction in March.
“There were a lot of kids playing football or sports or other things. My thing was books and the library was like my go to. I would go spend hours going through the shelves, just reading my way out of the library.”
Fowler’s underdog journey to becoming a bestselling author of a history book was circuitous, but he says it all stems from his passion for books and knowledge of the past — beyond what he was taught in classrooms — that was nurtured by the library and never went away.
“The Humanity Archive” stems from his podcast of the same name that he launched in early 2020, both of which mostly seek to share underreported and whitewashed parts of Black history, weaving those stories of peoples’ struggles and triumphs within the larger context of American history, where they belong.
Creator
Joe Sonka Louisville Courier Journal
Source
Publisher
courier-journal.com
File
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- August 4, 2026
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