Natasha S. Alford at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store welcomes NATASHA S. ALFORD—CNN political analyst and vice president of digital content for theGrio, and anchor for theGrio TV—for a discussion of her new memoir American Negra. She will be joined in conversation by BRANDON M. TERRY—John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University—and MAYA DOIG-ACUÑA—PhD candidate in African & African American Studies at Harvard University.

About American Negra

Award-winning journalist Natasha S. Alford grew up between two worlds as the daughter of an African American father and Puerto Rican mother. In American Negra, a narrative that is part memoir, part cultural analysis, Alford reflects on growing up as a Black Latina in a working-class family from the city of Syracuse.

In smart, vivid prose, Alford illustrates the complexity of being multiethnic in Upstate New York and society’s flawed teachings about matters of identity. When she travels to Puerto Rico for the first time, she is the darkest in her family, and navigates shame for not speaking Spanish fluently. She visits African-American hair salons where she’s told that she has “good” hair, while internalizing images from Spanish-language media that she has "bad” hair or pelo malo.

When Alford goes from an underfunded public school system to Harvard University surrounded by privilege and pedigree, she wrestles with more than her own ethnic identity, as she is faced with imposter syndrome, and a struggle to define success on her own terms. A study abroad trip to the Dominican Republic changes her perspective on being Afro-Latina and sets her on a path to better understand her own Latin roots.

Alford then embarks on a whirlwind journey to find her authentic voice, taking her across the United States from a hedge fund boardroom to a classroom and ultimately a newsroom, as a journalist.

A coming-of-age story about what it's like to live at the intersections of race, culture, and class, while staying true to yourself, American Negra is a captivating look at what it means to be both Black and Negra in the United States.

As a growing movement to embrace Afro-Latino identity gains recognition, American Negra illustrates the diversity of the Afro-Latin experience in the larger fabric of American society.

Praise for American Negra

"In her searing debut, Alford smartly and candidly examines what it means to be Black and Latina in America, and interrogates identity, class, race and success—on her terms. American Negra is required reading for anyone longing to understand the intricacies of intersectionality in this country, and be inspired in the process." —Sunny Hostin, 3x Emmy Award-winning co-host of ABC’s “The View” and New York Times best-selling author

"American Negra is one of those rare books that offers an eye-opening and entirely different perspective on not just the world around us, but our own identities and experiences. I read it in one sitting, compelled to keep turning pages by Alford’s accessible, engaging and insightful prose, and a story that is both distinctive and entirely relatable. Watching her navigate her multiple identities in a world that has always been keen to box her in, find her power and learn to put herself, her dreams and her wellbeing at the center was an inspiration." —Alisha Fernandez Miranda, author of My What If Year

Masking Policy

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.