Sarah Valentine, PH.D
Sarah Valentine is a widely published author and translator whose interests include Russian literature, poetry, mixed-race experience, mystery, horror, true crime, folklore, and ghost stories. In 2013 she was a Lannan fellow and has taught literature and creative writing at Princeton, UCLA, UC-Riverside, and Northwestern University. When I Was White (St. Martin's, 2019) is her memoir about growing up in Pittsburgh as a mixed race African American in a white family; she explores the process of unearthing family secrets, breaking deep-rooted taboos, and how to construct an identity that is made of contradictions. She currently lives in Northern Nevada.
Speaking Topics:
Race & Identity
When I Was White: Sarah Valentine is a mixed-race African American who was raised to believe she was white. Valentine talks about her remarkable experience of changing her racial identity from white to black after learning at 27 that her biological father was African American. She’ll talk about how to claim your own identity and the lessons she learned about race in America.
Diversity & Inclusion
Race at Work: Every workplace affirms its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion but organizations often find it difficult to implement strategies designed to advance those goals. As a higher education professional specializing in diversity and inclusion, and as a mixed-race African American who has had the unique experience of changing her racial identity from white to black, Valentine shows us how to have difficult, honest conversations about race without alienating each other in order to move our organizational goals forward.
Endorsements:
“One of the most impressive things about Sarah is how she handled the questions about her book. It’s obviously a very personal story, and she opened up with frankness, poise, and honesty in response to difficult questions, and our community really appreciated that.” – Carnegie Mellon University