Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead was born in 1969 to parents running an executive recruiting company. As a child Colson attended mainly white private schools, and only really spent time in an all-black environment during the summers, where he spent his holidays in an African-American beach enclave in Sag Harbor, N.Y. Colson, a true New Yorker, born and raised on the urban island of Manhattan, attended Harvard College and graduated in 1991. After his graduation he went on to work for The Village Voice, a free, weekly newspaper with focus on investigative journalism, music and the arts, and in-depth analysis of current affairs and culture.