Profile: Tonya Abari

Tonya Abari is an author, journalist, essayist, former high school English teacher, children’s book author and much, much more.

When Tonya started looking for books for her children to read, she noticed that they all featured white kids. At the same time, she wanted to get back into journalism and even considered writing classroom curriculum. Writing for the classroom didn’t work out, but writing children’s books that celebrate Juneteenth and a diverse range of Black hairstyles did.

Today, she joins us to talk about her journey to Nashville, becoming an author, culturally responsive education and the choice to homeschool her children.

This episode was produced by Elizabeth Burton.