Kathleen Cross: Claiming Her Identity as a Mixed Race Woman

Kathleen Cross lives in spaces of intersectionality. As a woman of mixed racial heritage – the daughter of a White mother and a Black father – she was raised by her single mother in Pasadena, California on a street inhabited mostly by African American residents. 

It was within this loving and nurturing community that her identity as a mixed race black woman was formed.  

In her multidisciplinary professional practice, which includes writing, pedagogy, and public speaking, she unpacks the social complexity of being fair-skinned in a society where one’s proximity to “whiteness” often determines social mobility. Ms. Cross is the author of Skin Deep, an award-winning novel exploring issues of race and ethnic identity, which has been required reading in U.S. colleges and universities. She has been a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey show, Phil Donahue, Dr. Phil and National Public Radio. She presently works as a California Superior Courts expert on issues of race and cultural sensitivity. She lives in Southern California, is the mother of four daughters, and is a devoted Baha’i.  

Join me as we welcome Kathleen Cross to America’s Most Challenging Issue to discuss issues of race, identity, and the unifying teachings of the Baha’i Faith.