Born in Jackson, Mississippi, author Shonda R. Rushing attended Tougaloo College, established on one of the largest former slave plantations in central Mississippi. This gave her a keen sense of self-awareness. Standing on campus one day while staring at the auction blocks with shackles still attached where former slaves were bought and sold helped shape how she would see the world and understand how the world would see her. Shonda states, "We are only 56 years removed from Jim Crow, yet we are experiencing the same pathological traumas. We are creating the same experiences of pain and poverty and passing them on to our children. Becoming a mother to black sons and raising them in this climate is what made this uncomfortable conversation, and first book, Don't Be Afraid: A Letter to a Black Son necessary."