Jabari Asim (born August 11, 1962) is an author, poet, playwright, associate professor of writing, literature and publishing atEmerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and since August 2007, has been the Editor-in-Chief of The Crisis magazine, a journal of politics, ideas and culture published by the NAACP and founded by historian and social activist W. E. B. Du Bois in 1910.
In welcoming Asim to The Crisis in August 2007, then publisher Roger Wilkins said: “Mr. Asim is a seasoned editor, a fine writer and author of a new best selling book. He is a gentleman devoted to the cause of racial justice, is excited about his new role with the NAACP and we are energized by his joining our ranks.”
Asim was chosen by the National Book Foundation to serve on the nonfiction panel for the 2013 National Book Awards. Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the foundation, “lauded Asim’s ability to approach difficult topics with humility.” In April 2009, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded Asim a fellowship in nonfiction, one of 180 fellowships awarded to artists, scientists and scholars in 2009 selected from a group of almost 3,000 applicants. From 2008 to 2010, Asim was Scholar-in-Residence in African-American Studies and in the Department of Journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Asim spent eleven years (1996–2007) at The Washington Post as deputy editor of the book review section, children’s book editor, poetry editor, and editor of the Washington Post′s Education Review. For three years he also wrote a Washington Post Writers Group syndicated column on political and social issues for the Post. Asim is a former vice president of the National Book Critics Circle.
Prior to his stint at The Washington Post Book World, Asim was book editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, during which time he was the only African American to supervise book/publishing coverage at a major metropolitan daily. His experience at the Post-Dispatch also included copy editor of the daily editorial and commentary pages, and arts editor of the weekend section.
Jabari Asim lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife Liana and their five children.
Asim is the author of What Obama Means (William Morrow, January 20, 2009; ISBN 978-0-06-171133-6), as well as The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, And Why(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; ISBN 978-0-618-19717-0). The Road To Freedom, Asim’s first novel for young readers, was published in 2000. Other children’s books include Whose Toes Are Those, Whose Knees Are These, and Daddy Goes to Work. Girl of Mine and Boy of Mine were published in 2010 by Little Brown.
Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington was published December 4, 2012, by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The book was on the School Library Journal2012 Editor’s Choice List, was a Kirkus Best Children’s Books List Selection, was the Fall 2012 Parent’s Choice Silver Award Winner, and was an NAACP Image Award Nominee.
Here are some selections of his books:
- Whose Toes are Those? by Jabari Asim and LeUyen Pham
- Whose Knees are These? by Jabari Asim and LeUyen Pham
- Girl of Mine by Jabari Asim and LeUyen Pham
- Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington by Jabari Asim and Bryan Collier
- Daddy Goes to Work by Jabari Asim and Aaron Boyd