Jonathan Capeheart: "Yet Here I Am"

Pulitzer Prize winning writer, editor and TV host Jonathan Capehart recounts powerful stories from his life about embracing identity, picking battles, seizing opportunity and finding his voice to speak up for others—and himself.

MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart is one of the most recognizable faces in cable news. But long before that success, Capehart spent his boyhood growing up without his father, shuttling back and forth between New Jersey and rural Severn, North Carolina, contemplating the complexities of race and identity as they shifted around him. It was never easy bridging two worlds; whether being told he was too smart or not smart enough, too black or not black enough, Capehart struggled to find his place.

Then, an internship at The Today Show altered the course of his life, bringing him one step closer to his dream. From there, Capehart embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Yet Here I Am takes us along that journey, from his years at Carleton College, where he learns to embrace his identity as a gay, black man surrounded by a likeminded community; to his decision to come out to his family, risking rejection; and finally to his move to New York City, where time and again he stumbles and picks himself up as he blazes a path to become the familiar face in news we know today.

Honest and endearing, Yet Here I Am is an inspirational memoir of identity, opportunity, and of finding one’s voice and purpose along the way.

About the Author:

Jonathan Capehart is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and Associate Editor at the Washington Post, where he is also an opinion writer and an anchor for Washington Post Live. He is also anchor of The Saturday Show and The Sunday Show on MSNBC. His MSNBC special A Promised Land: A Conversation with Barack Obama was nominated in 2021 for an Emmy for Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis. He is also an analyst on The PBS NewsHour.

About the Program:

• Doors will open to registered attendees at 6 pm.
• Seating for registered attendees in Central Hall is first come, first served.
• All registered in-person attendees will receive a free copy of the book.
• There will not be a book signing following the program.
• Free parking vouchers are available to program attendees who park at the Franklin Street Garage (15 W. Franklin Street) after 4pm. Ask Pratt event staff for your parking voucher prior to or after the program.
• All bags, backpacks, briefcases, etc. entering and exiting the library will be subject to inspection by security personnel. No large bags.

Host or Publisher Enoch Pratt Free Library