Jonathan Capehart | Yet Here I Am: Lessons from a Black Man's Search for Home
The Author Events Series presents Jonathan Capehart | Yet Here I Am: Lessons from a Black Man's Search for Home
In Conversation with David Brooks
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, editor, and TV host Jonathan Capehart on growing up, coming out, finding his voice, battles lost and won, and the path to a meaningful life
Before meeting with success as a journalist, Jonathan Capehart struggled with his identity. Capehart grew up without his father and, as a child, lived with his mother in New Jersey and spent his summers living with relatives in North Carolina. Whether in the North or the South, Capehart had to contend with being told he was too smart or not smart enough, too black or not black enough. His was a struggle to identify and become.
Yet Here I Am takes us along Capehart’s journey, from his years at Carleton College, where he learns to embrace his identity as a gay, black man surrounded by a likeminded community; to his decision to come out to his family, risking rejection; and finally, his move to New York City and where he landed his first break in television news. Capehart, gaining confidence, eventually found his singular voice – as a writer, editor, and broadcaster – and used it to propel himself and the causes of others. Indeed, it was his voice that helped him find his place in the world, contemplating the complexities of race, place, reporting, and home. Honest and endearing, Yet Here I Am is an inspirational memoir of identity, opportunity, and purpose.
PRAISE FOR JONATHAN CAPEHART’S YET HERE I AM
“Powerful. Bold. Heartfelt. Jonathan takes readers on a journey of self-discovery that both enlightens and emboldens. His book will inspire readers for decades to come."―Michele Norris, New York Times bestselling author of Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity
Behind the rise of one our most thoughtful journalists is his lifelong search to know—and see—his late father Capehart, who died just four months after he was born. Yet Here I Am is an inspiring memoir, beautifully rendered. -- Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
David Brooks is a columnist for The New York Times and a contributor to The Atlantic. He is a commentator on “The PBS Newshour." His latest book is “How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.” His previous three books were “The Second Mountain,” “The Road to Character,” and “The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement,” all #1 New York Times bestsellers. Mr. Brooks has taught at Yale and Duke and now teaches at the University of Chicago. He has received over 30 honorary degrees from American universities and is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Follow him on Twitter @nytdavidbrooks
The 2024/25 Author Events Series is presented by Comcast.
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Parkway Central Library
1901 Vine Street (between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway)
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-567-4341