Rebecca Diane McWhorter (born November 1, 1952) is an American journalist, commentator, and author who has written extensively about race and the history of civil rights.

Among McWhorter's elementary school classmates was Mary Badham, who portrayed "Scout" Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird.

[3][4] She is also the author of A Dream of Freedom, a young adult history of the civil rights movement (Scholastic, 2004).

[5] She is a long-time contributor to The New York Times and has written for the op-ed page of USA Today and for Slate, Harper's, Smithsonian, among other publications.

[2] She is a member of the Board of Contributors for USA Today's Forum Page, part of the newspaper's Opinion section, and has been managing editor of Boston magazine.