Delicia Tiera Greene Interviews Award-Winning Author Tiffany D. Jackson

“Yo, Malcolm X said it best. The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.”
                                                                                      -Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“I don’t always feel good about myself. I try to focus on all the good qualities I have, even though the Internet doesn’t seem to think I have any. The world HATES Black girls. I struggle with how I see myself and the things the Internet say about us. I’m always targeted with hateful, racist comments about my kinky hair, facial features, and my body type.” -Denise, participant

                                                                                      -Delicia Tiera Greene, (W)rites of Passage

On December 2, 2021, children's and young adult scholar-educator Delicia Tiera Greene will be featured with author Tiffany D. Jackson on The Write Time, a production of the National Writing Project. The virtual series pairs scholar-educators and authors who have a passion for children's and young adult literature.

Ms. Jackson is the NYT Bestselling, award-winning author of YA novels including Monday's Not Coming, Allegedly, Let Me Hear A Rhyme, Grown, White Smoke, Santa in The City, and co-author of Blackout. A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book and Coretta Scott King—John Steptoe New Talent Award-winner and the NAACP Image Award-nominee, she received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University, and a master's degree in media studies from the New School, and has over a decade of experience in the television and film industry.

Dr. Greene is an assistant professor in the Department of Literacy Teaching and Learning in the School of Education at the University at Albany, SUNY. Her teaching agenda focuses on enhancing teaching and learning in the urban secondary literacy contexts. Dr. Greene teaches children's and young adult literature courses. Her research is situated at the intersection of digital literacies, urban literacies, young adult literature, teacher education, and Black girlhood studies. She has worked as a school librarian and English teacher with the NYC Department of Education and a young adult public librarian with The New York Public Library.

Dr. Greene and Ms. Jackson’s work overlap as both center the experiences of Black girls in their writing. Dr. Greene focuses on Black girls' literacy and language practices in out-of-school spaces, while Ms. Jackson focuses on narratives that center the experiences of Black girls. They also share similar Black girl geographies—Delicia is a Bronx native, and Tiffany is a Brooklyn native.

“When Tiffany Jackson agreed to be on the show, I immediately reached out to Dr. Kelly Wissman, site Director for the Capital District Writing Project,” reported Dr. Bryan Ripley Crandall, cohost of The Write Time. “Immediately, Dr. Greene was her recommendation. It really is a perfect match, and I am grateful, as I worked closely with Dr. Greene during our time together at Syracuse University. She is a champion for great writers and books that need to be in the hands of young people.”

“I am eagerly anticipating what I know will be a dynamic and heartfelt conversation between Tiffany Jackson and Delicia Greene on The Write Time,” reported Dr. Kelly Wissman, Director for the Capital District Writing Project. “Ms. Jackson crafts novels where Black girls are not only complex and vulnerable, but also point us to the possibilities of a more just world. Dr. Greene’s scholarship invites us to come to know Black girls on their own terms and to create educational contexts worthy of their brilliance. We will all be enriched by the joining together of these two luminaries in conversation.”

The Write Time with Dr. Delicia Tiera Greene and Ms. Tiffany D. Jackson will debut on December 2 at 7 p.m. EST as a private Zoom event. The recording will be archived and made available to the public on December 14 at 7 p.m. on the NWP’s Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/writingproject/), Youtube page (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ddZntN48pE), or in the Write Now Teacher Studio (https://studio.nwp.org/).