By Aniya Greene
For the final stop on her book tour, Natasha Alford, Vice President of Digital Content and a correspondent for TheGrio, traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss her debut book, American Negra, with April Ryan.
Despite its release in February of this year, the book has already begun to receive acclaim. It was entered on ELLE’s list of the best and most highly anticipated books of the year and featured on Essence’s ‘Must Read’ list.
The memoir is a coming-of-age story about Alford’s experience as an Afro-Latina and the exploration of her intersecting identities.
The final tour stop was an opportunity for Alford to return to D.C., a place that “means so much.”
The event, hosted by Mahogany Books, a Black-owned independent bookstore, brought together community members, friends and former students of Alford.
“I remember asking myself, ‘How do we make Black books accessible?’” Ramunda Young, co-founder of Mahogany Books, said.
Young founded the bookstore with her husband in 2007 to foster readership among Black audiences.
“Every time we host these events, it means something deep to me,” Young said.
As part of the event, Alford spoke about her experience growing up with a Puerto Rican mother and an African-American father in New York. Her parents, she said, instilled in her the importance of academic success as a means of elevation.
“A lot of times, we think that if we send our kids to a certain school, then we’ve done enough,” Alford said.
After receiving her college acceptance, Alford said she had to make the difficult decision of choosing among different highly ranked schools to attend. The most difficult choice, she said, was between Harvard and Howard University.
“At the time, I felt that if I wanted to change the trajectory of my family’s life, I would have to go to Harvard,” Alford said.
Instead, her father wanted her to attend Howard University, a historically Black institution, because of its student body and history. She said the two struggled with their relationship because of her decision to attend Harvard.
April Ryan, journalist and the longest-running Black woman White House correspondent, moderated the event. Like Alford, she said she had similar disagreements with her father about her career path.
“My father did not want me to go into this career. I wanted to prove him wrong,” Ryan said.
As a moderator, Ryan allowed audience members to engage with Alford through questions. One asked Alford how she manages labels in relation to her identity.
“Having people question where you come from can be exhausting. I wrote this book to reclaim my story and to say I’m not ashamed,” Alford said.
Alford said she is focused on resting during this part of her life.
“A lot of my self-worth was contingent on performing. I am shifting from a performance-based journey to one that is about appreciating where I’m at,” Alford said.
