How Three Young Women of Color Took on Power

Jun 26, 2024

What happens when young people are confronted with serious social and political problems that they know are not being tackled by grown-ups? Sometimes they become activists and warriors for justice. In a new book aimed at young readers, journalist Sonali Kohli profiles three courageous young women of color whose activism spurred change in their communities.

Kohli was the Los Angeles Times education reporter for six years and was named the top education journalist in the nation by the Education Writers Association in 2020. She spoke with her namesake, YES! Senior Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on YES! Presents: Rising Up With Sonali, about her new book .

Sonali Kolhatkar joined YES! in summer 2021, building on a long and decorated career in broadcast and print journalism. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and host and creator of聽YES! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated television and radio program airing on Free Speech TV and dozens of independent and community radio stations. She is also Senior Correspondent with the Independent 麻豆社事件 Institute鈥檚 Economy for All project where she writes a weekly column. She is the author of聽Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice聽(2023) and聽Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence聽(2005). Her forthcoming book is called聽Talking About Abolition聽(Seven Stories Press, 2025). Sonali is co-director of the nonprofit group, Afghan Women鈥檚 Mission which she helped to co-found in 2000. She has a Master鈥檚 in Astronomy from the University of Hawai鈥檌, and two undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. Sonali reflects on 鈥淢y Journey From Astrophysicist to Radio Host鈥� in her 2014聽聽of the same name.