In Proof of Existence, Phyllis Becker explores her African American family's history from 19th century Fitchburg, Massachusetts, to her own coming of age in Kansas City. Ancestors and relatives like her great aunts Katherine, a stage performer, and Ruth, a missionary to Liberia, defied conventional expectations of their times. She comes to recognize how the courage and creativity of her forbears helped set her on her own artistic path as a poet.