Let’s Get Real about Resilience & the Black Student Experience
Being Black at a PWI can feel like an Olympic sport. Being Black in the real world can feel just as exhausting. In environments that demand so much of Black folks, how can they secure the bag & secure themselves? Shola Gbemi, Penn GSE ’18, will host an honest conversation about purpose & adversity over food and autographed copies of his novel They Were Chosen.
Bio:Shola Gbemi is a social impact entrepreneur from Queens, NY who uses literature & unique programs to promote purpose and innovative thinking. His debut novel, They Were Chosen, is an exploration of race, gender, and higher education through the lens of two New Yorkers during the Black Lives Matter movement.As a Manager of Strategic Initiatives at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice at the NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, Shola oversees a $9M investment in community-based racial equity programs. He’s been featured on Pix11 for collaborating with nonprofits to activate disinvested public spaces. His articles on race and popular culture can be found in Blavity, 21Ninety, and BTheChange. His debut novel, They Were Chosen, is an exploration of race, gender, and higher education through the lens of two New Yorkers during the Black Lives Matter movement.