Genoa M. Barrow joins Sac Poetry to discuss Daddy Issues: Black Women Speaking Truth & Healing Wounds -- an anthology featuring the voices of 15 women exploring the impact of fatherlessness on their lives. Genoa will also give us a little background on her journey as a writer.

Genoa Barrow is the senior staff writer and Calendar of Events editor for the Sacramento Observer newspaper, where she writes a variety of news and feature articles. She also works as a proofreader/editor, helping her colleagues and other authors shine. Her most beloved job, however, is that of mother to her 16-year-old daughter. 

Barrow is a former student state president of the JACC and is a proud alum of The Advocate, Contra Costa College’s nationally acclaimed student paper. After serving as The Advocate’s Editor In Chief, she went on to serve as Executive Editor of The Spartan Daily at San Jose State University.

Barrow’s work as a professional journalist has been recognized by International Women of Color Day, the Sacramento Valley Section of the National Council of Negro Women, SacCultural Hub magazine, the Father’s Resource Center, and the Sacramento Chapter of the Black American Political Association of California (BAPAC).

Barrow has received a number of awards over the years, but her most coveted certificate came from Sisters of Nia in June 2016, when she was named Parent of the Year, for supporting the mentoring program and the teen girls it serves. She’s also proud of raising money through Pretty In Pink, an annual fundraiser she coordinates with her daughter to provide direct assistance to local breast cancer survivors. 

She’s the creator/editor of the new anthology, Daddy Issues: Black Women Speaking Truth & Healing Wounds which tackles the subject of absentee fathers and their impact on their daughters.