Piper Dellums is an American author and public speaker. She is the daughter of former U.S. Congressman and Oakland mayor

Ron Dellums Ronald Vernie Dellums (November 24, 1935 – July 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. He had previously served thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California ...

Early life and education

Piper Dellums is the daughter of former U.S. Congressman and Oakland mayor

, and the sister of actor

Erik Dellums Erik Todd Dellums is an American actor and narrator. He is known for playing the drug kingpin Luther Mahoney for two seasons on ''Homicide: Life on the Street''. He also voiced the roles as the radio DJ Three Dog in the 2008 video game ''Fallou ...

, a professional actor. Dellums is a graduate of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where she studied psychology, biology, and theater. She also earned a graduate degree in drama therapy with an emphasis in biochemistry at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Career

Dellums' story about a white South African girl coming to live with her family in the 1970s, titled "Simunye", was the basis for the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

-winning Disney movie '' The Color of Friendship'' (2000). The role of Dellums was played by Shadia Simmons.

Other activities

Dellums travels throughout America speaking at conferences and workshops about her humanitarian work.

Personal life

Dellums has two daughters.

References

Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century African-American writers American women writers Living people Dellums family 21st-century African-American people New York University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni {{US-writer-stub