Her mission in life, she says, is "unlearning racism inside and outside the classroom". That has kept her energized whether she's been in front of a worldwide TV audience on the Oprah Winfrey Show or a summer-school class in Beijing.
The veteran educator and author has spent three months here teaching sophomore-level American studies in a recently developed program for Chinese students who are studying in the United States. After a year abroad, such students are under two competing pressures: the desire to return home for a summer break with their families and the determination to make the most of their educational opportunity at a US university.
