Jabari Asim is the author of the critically acclaimed The N Word. He is editor-in-chief of The Crisis-the magazine of the NAACP-and former editor at and frequent contributor to the Washington Post, and his writing has appeared on Salon and in Essence, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He divides his time between Maryland and Illinois with his wife and five children.

Tara Nicole Whitaker's education in art began early, from classes at Pratt in her youth to more formal training at RISD and California Institute of the Arts. She has designed for Dreamworks, Nickelodeon, Fox Animation, PBS, CBS, Cartoon Network, and Disney.