April Danielle Ryan was born on September 5, 1967 in Baltimore, MD. She is a reporter,
White House correspondent, radio jazz disc jockey, blogger, correspondent for The Grio
(a news and entertainment website focused on content for African-Americans), and author.
She has written at least three books.
At Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White was published in 2016. It is an
examination of race in America, focusing on how race relations are taught by mothers as
lessons given to their children. She explores this idea by talking to famous people to learn
about how they have been affected by their past. Baltimore Magazine called the
book ". . . an engrossing read, and Ryan's commentary is vital to understanding the
problems we face as Americans if we can ever expect to end our divisiveness."