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In 2018, Clothilde Ewing was reading her Sunday copy of The New York Times, something she didn’t often have the chance to do even though it arrived at her doorstep each week. She came across an editorial titled, “Black Kids Don’t Want to Read About Harriet Tubman All the Time.” Struck by its message, she immediately cut out the story and stuck it to her vision board.

“I walked by it for a little while, not entirely sure why I cut it out,” she said. “Then I realized (it was) because I was meant to try and do something about it.”

Now, the editorial’s author, Denene Millner, is Ewing’s editor and publisher. Together, the two have published three children’s books in the “Stella” series that tells everyday stories of Black children, filling a gap they saw in children’s literature.

Inspired by Ewing’s daughter, the series follows a quirky, spirited young Black girl through hijinks from schemes to keep the sun up to investigating a missing tooth. Millner called Stella “Elosie meets Fancy Nancy, but a Black girl version.”

Ewing is a former goalie who played on Syracuse University’s first Division I women’s lacrosse team, which began during her sophomore year in 1998. Being on the team was a core part of her college experience, she said. They formed a tight-knit group and appreciated each win and progression.

Ewing still holds SU women’s lacrosse program-records for single-game saves and career goals against average. In 2023, she became the first SU women’s lacrosse alumna named a Syracuse Letterwinner of Distinction.

“She packs a lot into a tiny body,” Lauren Brady, Ewing’s former teammate, said. “She’s short but she has this larger than life personality. She was one of those friends that you were always impressed by.”

Ewing aims to write stories that consider her childrens’ realities. She said finding books that reflected her family without focusing on history or overcoming struggle was harder than it should’ve been.

“When I looked at my children, they were just kids who liked to play, who had wild imaginations, who were adventurous and who maybe had some anxieties about certain things,” Ewing said. Their everyday focuses are not centered around race or “being excellent one day,” as most books with Black characters are, she said.

Ewing hopes the children who read her books, no matter their race, will feel represented by Stella’s character, whether by her creativity, determination or hairstyle.

Courtesy of Clothilde Ewing

Children in a class sit and listen to author Clothilde Ewing read her book aloud. She based the book’s main character, “Stella,” off of her daughter.

Ewing has seen concrete evidence of the impacts her books have had. She received messages from parents across the globe sharing photos of their children dressed up as Stella. At elementary school book readings, young girls come up to her, excited to report, “She looks like me!”

Ewing said she loves that everyone, from children in Australia to Chicago, sees themselves in the character she has created. She recently received a video of her neighbor’s 3-year-old son reciting the book at breakfast.

“He is a little white boy and thinks nothing of the fact that he thinks Stella is awesome,” Ewing said. “It’s important for kids that look like mine to see themselves in literature, but it’s also important for kids who look nothing like mine to see a friend in Stella.”

Ewing never imagined she’d be writing children’s books. After graduating from Syracuse with dual degrees in broadcast and digital journalism and political science, she worked at CBS News, The Oprah Winfrey Show and as a member of the press team for former President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign. She now works for The Chicago Community Trust, a nonprofit organization that focuses on narrowing the city’s racial and ethnic wealth gap.

“Clo has a vision of the things she wants in her life,” Joanna Moel, Ewings’s former co-worker at The Oprah Show, said. “I’m so impressed by her excitement and tenacity for the things she wants to do in life. She has that drive, she puts things into action.”

Ewing said her time at SU, both on the field and in the classroom, set the foundation for herfuture, affecting how she shows up in the workplace and what she chooses to pursue.

Millner, publisher of the Denene Millner Books imprint at Simon & Schuster, looks for stories that speak to the everyday experiences of Black children. All children need and deserve to see the humanity of Black children and read stories about them that aren’t rooted in hardship or struggle, she said. She called publishing Ewing’s books a “no brainer.” The Stella character fit exactly what Millner was looking for, as she was impressed by her authentic perspective.

“Clothilde has the gift of being able to tap into the voice and imagination and humor of children and tell it with respect and grace,” Millner said. “She tells a great story in a way that appeals to children and gives it the complexity it commands.”

Moel enjoys reading Ewing’s books with her son. She said as a white mother, she appreciated having a book that normalizes diversity for her son, instilling in him that kids don’t all look or think one way. The books are lighthearted and fun with an intentional purpose, she said.

“She’s so creative and so funny. I feel that when I’m reading the books of Clo’s imagination,” Moel said of Ewing. “She sees life in color and it’s so bright.”

Published on March 4, 2025 at 11:40 pm

Contact Eliana: ehrosen@syr.edu