Craven was born in Chicago in 1944, and grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Her father, William Sylvester White, was the first African American commissioned as a Navy officer; he later became a juvenile court judge. Her mother, George White, was a school teacher and Chicago library board member. Craven also had a twin sister, Sala.
The family often discussed politics around the dinner table. They had many Jewish friends, and celebrated both Christian and Jewish holidays. According to her sister, Craven later converted to Judaism.
Craven graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1962. She attended Goucher College in suburban Baltimore for two years. She and her boyfriend (later husband) Eric Craven then left to work for the Students for a Democratic Society. She later graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in African and Afro-American Studies.

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