Rachel L. Swarns is a journalist, author, and associate professor of journalism at New York University, who writes about race and race relations as a contributing writer for The New York Times.
Her articles about Georgetown University’s roots in slavery touched off a national conversation about American universities and their ties to this painful period of history. Her work has been recognized and supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, the Leon Levy Center for Biography, the Biographers International Organization, the MacDowell artist residency program, and others.
Her latest book, The 272: The Families who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church, was published by Random House in June. In 2023, she was elected to the Society of American Historians.
Books in order of publication:
American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama – 2012
Unseen: Unpublished Black History from The New York Times Photo Archives – 2017
The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church – 2023
Oak Lawn Library Friends 