About the Author

Martha S. Jones is an acclaimed historian and author of The Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir, a deeply personal exploration of identity, lineage, and race in America. She is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and  Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University.  A prizewinning author of Vanguard and three other books, Jones is a leading voice on race, law, and citizenship. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Politico. In 2025 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.