Kathleen Cross is an author and speaker who has been a guest on numerous television and radio shows including Oprah, Montel, Dr. Phil, Phil Donohue and Michael Baisden.

The daughter of a black father and white mother, Cross writes and speaks about race and racism through the eyes of an ethnically mixed woman who is often perceived to be white.

Ms. Cross was named an expert by California Superior Courts on issues of race and cultural sensitivity, was featured in EBONY magazine in an article she penned about her experiences as a “white-looking biracial black woman,” and is included in Bruce Caine’s photo-essay book, Our Common Ground: Portraits of Blacks Changing the Face of America, (Crown, 1994) for which she wrote the forward.

Cross has taught at the elementary, secondary and university levels, and after over a decade of work as an education consultant working to improve teaching and learning for urban students of color, she now divides her time between writing, speaking and community service.

 

Skin Deep
Click to order via Amazon

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: William Blue Publishers (April 14, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0976098806
ISBN-13: 978-0976098805
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches

Winner of the Black Writers Alliance Gold Pen Award for exploration of race, colorism and ethnic identity

Nina Moore never thought of herself as a white woman. Sure she was pale with eyes bluer than a windswept sky. But until her move from metropolitan Los Angeles to small-town Glendale, Arizona, it didn't bother her when people perceived her as anything other than what she was: a proud black woman.

Now she is forced to face several painful truths: her color struck fianci is suffering from jungle fever; Ahmad, the handsome, intriguing, and recently released ex-convict and struggling single father won't give her the time of day; and a terrifying nightmare seems to be taking over her life. And a disturbing family secret that no one will talk about is threatening to unravel her identity—an identity she is not prepared to live without.

Yet neither Nina nor Ahmad realize that the tumultuous circumstances that are forcing them together are about to unlock mysteries form the past—which, in turn, can open doors to a future they never thought possible.

Skin Deep has been required reading in colleges and universities around the country for its unique exploration of the concept of race and ethnic/cultural identity.

 

Schooling Carmen
Click to order via Amazon

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Avon A (August 17, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060936452
Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches

Carmen DuPrè; knows she’s one fine-looking woman and any man who insists on making a fool of himself over her deserves the heartless treatment she's so good at dishing out. As far as Carmen's concerned, being gorgeous entitles her to anything she wants: an undeserved promotion, expensive gifts, courtside Lakers tickets, and more.

But the results of a routine medical exam threaten to knock this beauty off her pedestal.  She might have to trade her looks for her life. Is a life without beauty worth living?  Carmen's not so sure which is why she's risking hers by ignoring her doctor's advice. Then one day a very sexy stranger walks into her world, insisting there's a whole lot more to Carmen DuPrè; than what's on the surface and he's dishing out some serious schooling in a few subjects Carmen knows little about — like faith and hope… and love.

 

Related Links

Official Website

More Kathleen Cross on AALBC.com