Livingstone College

SALISBURY — “Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in my living room.”

The late, great poet Maya Angelou wrote those words in her poem, “Still I Rise.” On Thursday, another female author will show her sassy, secure and over-sixty style at a Women in History Brunch at Livingstone College.

Gwendolyn Baines, America’s No. 1 African-American nationally syndicated columnist, is the guest speaker at the Katharine W. Osborne Women in History Brunch, to be held at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Livingstone School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts on South Jake Alexander Boulevard.

Baines, author of the book, “Sassy, Secure and Over Sixty,” gained attention when the National Newspaper Publishers Association of Washington, D.C, selected her as their official “advice columnist.”

Her column, “Ask Gwendolyn Baines,” had more than 15 million readers per week as it was featured in more then 200 newspapers. It is now produced on the internet as “Ask Gwendolyn Baines — Online.”

Her popular one-woman show, with the same title of her book, became a smash hit and launched her acting career.

Baines grew up in Brentwood, Tenn., and later moved to Nashville with her parents. While living in Long Beach, Calif., she produced the “Ask Gwendolyn Baines” radio show, which was recorded in Hollywood, but aired in the southern states of Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas.

She has authored and published a total of eight books. Her latest publication, “Black Man — Black Woman,” deals with the outcry of black men’s dismissal of black women.

The Women in History Brunch started in 2000 to honor the achievements of women, said Deborah Johnson, UNCF director at Livingstone College. Katharine W. Osborne, former educator, writer, philanthropist and donor, sponsored a writer’s symposium at Catawba College and wanted to do something similar at Livingstone College. Osborne sponsored the brunch until her death in 2008.

“She wanted to bring an awareness to the students and the community about African-American female authors and their literary contributions. Thus was the birth of the Women in History Brunch celebration, held annually during the National Women in History Month of March,” Johnson said.

Each speaker is given the opportunity to host a book signing to promote their work.

Tickets are $30 each. All proceeds benefit UNCF. Food Lion is the corporate sponsor. For more information, call Deborah Johnson at 704-216-6118 or email djohnso@livingstone.edu