Jabari Asim

Jabari Asim is the author of five books for adults and nine books for children. His most recent works are Only The Strong, a novel; Preaching To The Chickens: A Story of Young John Lewis; and A Child’s Introduction To African American History. His next book, We Can’t Breathe, will be published in October. His other books include Not Guilty: Twelve Black Men Speak Out on Law, Justice and Life (editor); The N Word: Who Can’t Say It, Who Shouldn’t and Why; and What Obama Means: For Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future.

He is a frequent public speaker and commentator who has appeared on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “The Today Show,” “The Colbert Report,” “Hannity & Colmes,” “the Tavis Smiley Show,” “the Diane Rehm Show” and countless other programs. His byline has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Essence Magazine, USA Today and the Chicago Tribune, among others.

He was an editor for 11 years at the Washington Post, where he also wrote a syndicated column on politics, popular culture, and social issues. Asim also served for 10 years as the executor editor of the Crisis, the NAACP’s flagship journal of politics, culture, and ideas. His awards and honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2016, and a Massachusetts Book Award Honor. He is an associate professor at Emerson College, where he directs the graduate program in creative writing.