Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Clothilde Ewing. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Clothilde thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Hands down, saying out loud that I planned to write children’s books. I have been blessed with a good and varied career. I have worked in television news, for The Oprah Winfrey Show, in politics and now at The Chicago Community Trust, Chicago’s community foundation. While I have worked in high profile jobs; but one of the consistencies is that I have been able to stay comfortably behind the scenes. Pursuing a career as an author meant I had to put myself out there in a way that I hadn’t needed to before.

When I decided this is what I was going to do, I sent an email out to my friends and family letting them know. I put it out there intentionally so that people would hold me accountable and so I couldn’t quit on myself.

I still wonder if I knew then what I know now, if I would have sent that email and I think the answer is yes. On launch day for my first book, I was scheduled to do a number of book readings, kicking off with a reading for my daughter’s then 2nd grade class. Anyone who has a child that age knows that they can be brutally honest. If they like something you can see it in their eyes. If they don’t, you can read it on their face. The pressure was especially on because the main character was named after my own daughter. I thought she might be embarrassed. The teacher had Stella handle the introduction to which she announced to the class: “This is Clothilde Ewing. She is an author and a mother to me.” So, any time that doubt creeps in, I try to remember that to my daughter, I am an author and scary things are sometimes worth the risk.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have a hard time putting myself in a box or choosing one label or descriptor. At my core, I am a woman and mother who is doing the best to make the world a more welcoming place for my children and young women who will come up after me. If you asked me 10 years ago if I ever saw myself writing a book, I would have laughed. I love books. I read books, but people more creative, more talented, more fill in the blank write books. That changed when I read a New York Times opinion piece by my now-editor, Denene Millner, titled: “Black Kids Don’t Want to Read About Harriet Tubman All the Time.” It struck a chord. As a mother to two amazing children, who happen to be Black, I felt compelled to try and do my part to improve the landscape.I think that is why, more than anything, I credit my role as a woman and mother as the fuel that gives me the courage to try new things and to believe that my stories are worth telling and hopefully celebrating.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

There are for good reasons, a lot of books out there that are centered on Black excellence, overcoming struggle and about culture and identity. I have a lot of those books in my home and I encourage people supporting them. That said, I want to do my part to ensure that more children of color are represented in books centered on the joys and adventures of childhood and that these books are as common as books that are defined primarily by race, struggle and excellence.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I still pinch myself when I see my stories out in the world and when I hear about children who have connected with my main character Stella. I expect of course to see the books in my parents house, but when friends or readers send pics of the book spotted at their local library, bookstore or in one case, a reading corder at a federal courthouse, I am blown away. It helps confirm my belief that there is in fact a market for these books.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://clothildeewing.com
• Instagram: clothildeewing
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clothildeewing/
• Twitter: clo_ewing

Image Credits

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