This book is published in honor of Mrs. Lizzie Wilkerson, artist, who was born in 1900 in a rural community of Newton County, Georgia, USA. She was the youngest of 21 children, although she was childless. In 1919, she married Dewey Wilkerson a local friend, laborer/mechanic, and moved to Atlanta.

In 1978, her brilliant and unique talent was discovered through a Georgia State University community outreach program, headed by Jean Ellen Jones, Professor Emeritus of Art. Following three successful, separate shows in the Atlanta metropolitan area, Mrs. Wilkerson’s artwork hangs in the most prestigious museums of the United State. “Animal Parade” is in the permanent collection at the Museum of American Folk Art, New York, New York; “Covington Country Plantation” hangs in the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. and “Pink Angel” is in the permanent collection at Atlanta High Museum of Art. Mrs. Wilkerson died in 1984 at the age of 84, following a brief illness. During the last survey, owners of her art have refused all requests from buyers regardless of the amounts.

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Earnest Hooks Jr. is a native of Atlanta, where he met Lizzie Wilkerson as a young child. He attended Howard   University’s School of Architecture and Harvard’s Professional Development Program.  He is a registered architect  and certified building biologist. Hooks recently completed the M.B.A / Marketing  Graduate Program at the University of Phoenix; Certification in Operations Management from Wharton’s School, University of Pennsylvania, 2013.

Hooks has served as a mentor for local children in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program for several years  He is also an Introduction Leader for Landmark Education, Inc.  Writing is considered to be his second passion to Architecture and Design. As CEO of the Lizzie Wilkerson Foundation, Inc., he created the concept of using her art as a platform to motivate early learners to excel. The art was a gift from Mother Lizzie Wilkerson after her 1984 death.  He also received two honorable mentions from the Peachtree City Friends for his poetry writing in 2012 and 2013.