For nearly 20 years I have reported on social issues such as health, education, culture, politics and the environment.  Since my stories have often dealt with race, I thought it would be a good idea to say a few words about why.

I was born in Los Angeles and raised in an all-female household by my mother and grandmother, who are both African American. My father is Anglo American so technically that makes me “biracial.”  I understand that some people prefer to use terms like “multiracial” or “multiethnic.”  These are fine, but I primarily refer to myself as African American. My somewhat ambiguous appearance sometimes raises questions.  People often want to know how I see myself. Why I don't just call myself white.  I suppose I might be able to "pass" for white. I choose not to.

Many years ago, I received a B.A. in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara.  Since I had heard that writers don’t make much money, I decided to continue on with my education as a “just in case.” I received my Ph.D. from the History of Consciousness Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz a few years later. It was a wonderful program that taught me fascinating theories in the field of cultural studies.

But I wanted to be a writer, not a theorist.  More specifically, I wanted to be a journalist.  Just out of graduate school, I began by contributing articles on film, television and books to The Village Voice and The LA Weekly.  Later, I made my way to the East Coast, where I wrote for publications such as The Washington Post, and its more recent subsidiary publication, theRoot.com, as well as The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Vibe, Essence, Savoy (which recently relaunched) and many other print magazines – including some that no longer exist in print magazine form like Emerge and Honey.

I also wrote three books.

I See Black People:The Rise and Fall of African American-Owned Television and Radio published by Nation Books in 2008, is a collection of frank and intimate conversations with owners of radio and tv stations, large and small. Through their recollections, the book examines the mystery of why so few minorities and women own media outlets in America. An excerpt from my interview with slain journalist Chauncey Bailey was published by the Columbia Journalism Review, and the book is currently ranked the #8 bestseller in the category of radio history and criticism among Amazon's Kindle Books.

Black Women's Lives: Stories of Power and Pain, also published by Nation Books in 2006, has real-life, personal portraits of women that I find absolutely fascinating. One is an organic dairy farmer in Bakersfield, Vermont, whose son was killed in the first Gulf War; another is a high-powered corporate executive who struggled briefly with fertility challenges but soon adopted twin girls; another is a elementary school principal in Georgia who spent a lifetime battling her own weight, before starting the first sugar-free school in America; another is an acclaimed filmmaker and television director in Los Angeles , and so on. This book went into its third printing within the first year of its publication. Of the three it's my personal favorite.

My first book, published in 1999 by Oxford University Press is Color By Fox: the Fox Network and the Revolution in Black Television. Since this was a revised version of my dissertation it’s more academic, but it offers great context for those who are passionate about cultural studies and the entertainment industry.   In it, I went behind the scenes of many popular African American television show such as “In Living Color,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “Martin,” “New York Undercover,” “The Sinbad Show,” “Living Single,” “Roc,” and “South Central” to interview more than 65 mostly African American producers, directors and television executives. This reporting was the basis for my own analysis of race and television representation during this era. Color By Fox is now required reading for many college-level media and communications courses nationwide. Also, it was my first so I’ll always be a little nostalgic about it (smile). 

Over the years, I have been a frequent guest speaker and instructor on college campuses, including five years as an associate adjunct profession at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. I have often appeared on television outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, MTV, Fox, BET, PBS, and TV-One, as well as radio stations such as Pacifica Radio, Air America, and NPR, where I have worked as both a commentator and a segment producer.

In 2007, I decided to make a fairly big career shift after being offered a full-time teaching position at Hofstra University on Long Island, located just outside of Manhattan. Besides moving to New York City, where I have lived for nearly ten years now, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.  Since then, have thoroughly enjoyed working with our enthusiastic students as an associate professor of journalism, and also as director of our growing graduate M.A. Journalism program.

Recently, I’ve also hit the road with a panel of amazing women – authors Gloria Feldt, Deborah Siegel, and Courtney Martin. You can follow us as we tour various locations nationwide, speaking on the topic of feminist movement across generations. Check out our blog at Women, Girls, Ladies.

I hope you find something in my work that is useful to you – something that moves you.