Shirley Graham Du Bois was a woman of many talents. In addition to composing Tom-Tom: An Epic of Music and the Negro, the musical covering the expanse of Black music, as of the 1930s, she was an author who penned biographies of Phillis Wheatley, Paul Robeson, Kwame Nkrumah, among others.

Her politics were decidedly Left and she was a member of the Communist Party USA for many years. Additionally, she was a confidant of President Kwame Nkrumah as well as another African head of state, Julius Nyerere, of Tanzania. Shirley Graham spent most of her life fighting against racial and capitalist injustice. She was a staunch supporter of the Chinese Revolution, and, as such, was highly respected by its leadership. She is buried in China.