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The San Antonio Book Festival proudly presents DANIELLE PRESCOD—fashion and beauty veteran and author behind the memoir, TOKEN BLACK GIRL—in conversation with Cynthia Freeman Gibbs in the Legacy Room at Palo Alto College’s Ozuna Building. Author signing to follow with book sales provided by Nowhere Bookshop. This event is free and open to the public. No registration required.
“Incendiary… an essential read”— Gabrielle Union, NYT-Bestselling author of You Got Anything Stronger?
A convergence of racial identity, pop culture, and delusions of perfection, Token Black Girl is a frank memoir from longtime fashion and beauty insider, Danielle Prescod. The book charts how Prescod’s upbringing as a Black girl in an overwhelmingly white community influenced by whitewashed media and beauty standards determined the course of her life. Shaped by cultural conditioning and prejudice, Prescod turned toward cultivating a controlled and impeccable image by venturing into the belly of the beast. In her new memoir, Prescod critically reflects on her experiences in the fashion and beauty world and how they have shaped her life, career, and the culture.
About the Author & Moderator
Danielle Prescod is a fifteen-year veteran of the beauty and fashion industry and graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. A lifelong fashion obsessive, she was most recently the style director of BET.com. With Chrissy Rutherford, Danielle cofounded 2BG Consulting, which aids fashion and beauty brands and influencers on their anti-racism journeys. She dedicates her time to researching how feminism and social justice intersect with pop culture. An avid reader and writer, Danielle also loves TikTok, the arts, staying active, horseback riding, and exercising at any hour of the day.
Cynthia Freeman Gibbs is a writer based in San Antonio, Texas and a native of Lansing, Michigan. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and her MBA from Florida A&M University. Her writing career began in 2016 after twenty-two years spent in Corporate America working at various Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies. Cynthia has written two books in her Dr. Olivia C. Maxwell novel series. She co-authored Writing Is Essential which was published by United Black Writers Association in 2019. Currently, Cynthia is working on a screenplay for an educational film.
