Michael Fletcher and Wayne Lawrence
FOR BLACK MOTORISTS, A NEVER-ENDING FEAR OF BEING STOPPED For a report on drivers’ experiences of racial profiling, National Geographic collaborated with the Undefeated, an ESPN website that explores the intersection of race, culture, and sports. “The Stop” is the work of (above, left to right) writer Michael Fletcher and photographer Wayne Lawrence. Fletcher, a senior writer at the Undefeated, previously was a reporter at the Washington Post covering education and race relations. He is co-author of the 2007 book Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas. Lawrence is a widely published documentary photographer whose stated focus is “communities otherwise overlooked by mainstream media.” His work has been exhibited at galleries and institutions including the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Lawrence also shot the photos for this month’s story on interracial marriage.
Photograph by REBECCA HALE, NGM STAFF
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Meet the Team Behind Our Special Issue on Race

Award-winning historians, journalists, and photographers partnered with us to explore the complicated subject.

March 12, 2018
11 min read
This story is part of The Race Issue, a special issue of National Geographic that explores how race defines, separates, and unites us.
This story helps launch a series about racial, ethnic, and religious groups and their changing roles in 21st-century life. The series runs through 2018 and will include coverage of Muslims, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans.
Wendi C Thomas
WHERE THE STREETS HAVE MLK'S NAME Wendi C. Thomas is editor and publisher of the website MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. She also writes for ESPN about racial and economic justice.
Photograph by MARCI LAMBERT
Andrew Esiebo on a white background
WHERE THE STREETS HAVE MLK'S NAME Photographer Andrew Esiebo (based in Lagos, Nigeria)
Courtesy Andrew Esiebo
Philomène Joseph on a green background
WHERE THE STREETS HAVE MLK'S NAME Photographer Philomène Joseph (Port-au-Prince, Haiti)
Photograph by Tatiana Mora Liautaud
Martin Roemers
WHERE THE STREETS HAVE MLK'S NAME Photographer Martin Roemers (Delft, Netherlands)
Photograph by Koos Breuke
Ian Teh
WHERE THE STREETS HAVE MLK'S NAME Photographer Ian Teh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Photograph by Vignes Balasingham
Elias Williams
WHERE THE STREETS HAVE MLK'S NAME Photographer Elias Williams (New York City)
Photograph by Geoffrey Berliner
Elizabeth Kolbert
THERE’S NO SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR RACE—IT’S A MADE-UP LABEL Elizabeth Kolbert has been a staff writer at the New Yorker since 1999. Her most recent book is The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History.
Photograph by BARRY GOLDSTEIN
Robin Hammond
THERE’S NO SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR RACE—IT’S A MADE-UP LABEL Robin Hammond took photos of nine-year-olds around the globe and asked them about gender for the Geographic’s January 2017 issue on the topic.
Photograph by MADS NØRGAARD
David Berreby
WHY DO WE SEE SO MANY THINGS AS ‘US VS. THEM’? David Berreby’s award-winning latest book, Us and Them: The Science of Identity, explores the human instinct to separate into groups.
Photograph by SOPHIE LAIR-BERREBY
John Stanmeyer
WHY DO WE SEE SO MANY THINGS AS ‘US VS. THEM’? John Stanmeyer, who has worked for National Geographic since 2004, uses his photography, writing, and filmmaking to explore issues around the world.
Photograph by ROB BECKER
THESE TWINS, ONE BLACK AND ONE WHITE, WILL MAKE YOU RETHINK RACE Patricia Edmonds is the senior director for short-form editorial content for National Geographic. She wrote about Sweden’s parental-leave policies for the magazine’s January 2017 Gender Issue. She also wrote this month’s story on interracial marriage.
Photograph by Claire E. E. Everett
Nina Robinson
WHY HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES ARE ENJOYING A RENAISSANCE Nina Robinson’s photography unites personal, documentary, and fine art styles. Her work spurs viewers to see past race, class, age, and gender.
Photograph by NINA ROBINSON
Clint Smith
WHY HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES ARE ENJOYING A RENAISSANCE Writer and educator Clint Smith focuses on racism and inequality in the United States. His first book of poetry, Counting Descent, was published in 2016.
Photograph by KENDAL THOMAS
Ruddy Roye
WHY HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES ARE ENJOYING A RENAISSANCE Brooklyn-based photographer Radcliffe “Ruddy” Roye uses portraiture and photojournalism to tell real stories of real people, especially fellow Jamaicans.
Photograph by SION FULLANA
Michele Norris
AS AMERICA CHANGES, SOME ANXIOUS WHITES FEEL LEFT BEHIND Journalist Michele Norris started the Race Card Project to spark discussion about race. Her book, The Grace of Silence, is about her complex family.
Photograph by STEPHEN VOSS
Gillian Laub
AS AMERICA CHANGES, SOME ANXIOUS WHITES FEEL LEFT BEHIND Gillian Laub drew on more than a decade of photographing lingering racism in the U.S. South for her 2015 book and documentary, Southern Rites.
Photograph by TAHL RAZ
Omar Victor Diop
THESE REENACTMENTS PUT A PERSONAL FACE ON THE HISTORY OF BLACK PROTEST Omar Victor Diop produces fashion and advertising photography as well as fine art photo projects. He is based in Dakar, Senegal.
Photograph by OMAR VICTOR DIOP
Maurice Berger
THESE REENACTMENTS PUT A PERSONAL FACE ON THE HISTORY OF BLACK PROTEST Maurice Berger is a cultural historian. He writes a series of essays, “Race Stories,” that appears on the Lens Blog of the New York Times.
Photograph by MARVIN HEIFERMAN
Katie Couric
HALLOWED EARTH In a National Geographic television series, America Inside Out With Katie Couric, the veteran journalist looks at the issues shaping our nation today.
Photograph by VALERIE MACON, AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Debra Adams Simmons
WHY WE’RE DEVOTING AN ENTIRE ISSUE OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TO RACE Debra Adams Simmons is National Geographic's executive editor for culture. She was the supervising editor for the Race Issue.
Photograph by REBECCA HALE, NGM STAFF