An interview with the author of ‘Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen: The Emotional Lives of Black Women’ — We all know about the myth of the super-powered Black superwoman. It’s been ingrained in our consciousness for generations. But is it healthy? …

It’s disrespectful that three survivors are still living in poverty with no reparations in sight — All eyes are on Tulsa, Oklahoma, this week as the nation remembers the tragic events of May 31 to June 1, 1921, when a White mob killed some 300 Black residents and looted the community known as “Black Wall Street” before burning it to the ground. The official agenda put…

Because a lot of the time, the publisher’s advance just doesn’t cut it — I once received an email from a reader and aspiring author. “How did you get funding to support your book?” she asked. “How did you pay for travel and other resources?” Her question got me thinking. Over the years I’ve received contracts for advances as high as $150,000 (in the…

Contemplating the new book, The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, James Baldwin Shaped a Nation. — What does it mean to be a mother? What does it mean to be a Black mother? Those two questions continue to yield entirely different answers in America today. As the biracial mother of a 4-year-old girl with both Asian American and African American roots, and a father from Spain…

Coming from a multiracial background can leave some students feeling isolated — “As a person of color…” Phoebe Vlahoplus, 20, a history major at Wesleyan University pauses. “Or… half a person of color.” “It depends,” she says carefully when I ask if she’s uncomfortable using the phrase. She is East Indian and Greek, but her parents were born in the United States…

Radical changes in U.S. demographics are reinventing what it means to be multiracial — “Raise your hand if you would see me on the street and think I’m Black?” Several hands went up in an auditorium full of college students. “Okay. What about biracial?” More hands. “Hmm… And what if I wore my hair in an Afro?” Still more hands flew into the air. …

Proving who you are, and having others accept you as such, can be frustrating — Sonia Smith-Kang wears a lot of hats. She calls herself a multicultural activist but an equally accurate description might be something like “master connector.” …

Hint: It’s not where you might expect — “Black. Ivory. Shadow.” I repeat the words to make sure I heard them right. “Black. Ivory… Shadow?” “Yeah.” Jasmin Baker, 25, is cracking up. “When I was younger I made it my thing.” She lowers her voice, making it seductive. “Like… yeah. I’m black ivory shadow.” “Right.” Now her boyfriend…

In this intimate Q&A, three authors discuss how they’re changing the narratives about people of color — This conversation has been lightly edited for space and clarity. ZORA: T. Kira, your book, “Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls,” isn’t just about race. It’s about loss, addiction, sexuality and sexual violence, gender, power, and so many other issues. But I want to focus on race here for a minute.