Jabari Asim is an associate professor of writing, literature and publishing at Emerson College, where he directs the MFA program in creative writing. He is the former Executive Editor of The Crisis magazine, a preeminent journal of politics, ideas and culture published by the NAACP and founded by W.E.B. Du Bois in 1910. He is the author of 15 books, including We Can’t Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies and the Art of Survival; The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, And Why; What Obama Means: For Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future; A Taste Of Honey: Stories; and Only The Strong, a novel.

His children’s books include the bestselling Whose Toes Are Those, Preaching To The Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis; and A Child’s Introduction to African-American History. His reviews, essays and cultural criticism have been published in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice, the Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and Essence Magazine, among others.

His forthcoming books include My Baby Loves Christmas (HarperCollins), Going To Meet The Greatest (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen), and Sing It Like A God (Penultimate Press).

His honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, the Carter G. Woodson Award from the National Council for the Social Studies, a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book Award, an ALA Notable Children’s Book citation, and two NAACP Image Award nominations.