Shirlee Taylor Haizlip (born 1937) is an American

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

author. She has written three books, ''The Sweeter the Juice, A Memoir in Black and White'', ''In the Garden of Our Dreams'', co-authored with her husband, Harold C. Haizlip, and ''Finding Grace''.

Biography

Haizlip was born in

Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut, Greater Bri ...

and grew up in

Ansonia, Connecticut Ansonia is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Located on the Naugatuck River, it is immediately north of Derby, and about northwest of New Haven. The city is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was ...

. She graduated from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, taught sociology at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

and studied Urban Planning at the Harvard University School of Design. Haizlip was the first woman to manage a CBS television affiliate,

WBNB-TV WBNB-TV (channel 10) was a television station in Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands, Charlotte Amalie, on the island of Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. The station operated ...

in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. From there she went to

WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as Thirteen (stylized as THIRTEEN), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the Educ ...

TV, Channel 13 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and became one of its corporate officers. Haizlip moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1989 to become the National Director of the National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

, an organization which advocated and distributed funding for more than 139 film archives around the country. Haizlip left the Preservation Center to begin writing her book, ''The Sweeter the Juice''. In 2000, she was the first African-American to be appointed president of the Ebell Society of Los Angeles. She was again appointed president in 2010. Haizlip married Harold C. Haizlip in 1959 and the couple had two daughters.

Books

''Sweeter the Juice'' was a "notable book of the year", and was awarded the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Bruno Brand Award as best book on tolerance in 1995. In recognition of the importance of the book, The

University of New Haven The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private university in West Haven, Connecticut, United States. History The University of New Haven was founded in 1920 as the New Haven YMCA Junior College, a division of Northeastern University, which sha ...

honored Haizlip an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. The book is regularly taught in high schools across the country, and is required reading in numerous college courses.Women and Words
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haizlip, Shirlee Taylor American autobiographers American non-fiction writers 1937 births Living people Wellesley College alumni Tufts University faculty Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni American women autobiographers People from Stratford, Connecticut