Shaka Senghor Explained

Shaka Senghor
Occupation:College lecturer, Author
Nationality:American
Citizenship:American
Birth Date:21 June 1978

Shaka Senghor is an author, speaker, and coach. He was formerly Vice President of Corporate Communications at Navan, an MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow, and Fellow in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Community Leadership Network.[1]

Involved in the drug trade at age 19, Senghor shot and killed a man in 1991, for which he served 19 years in prison. His book about his experience, Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death and Redemption in an American Prison (2016), became a New York Times best-seller.[2] His second book, Letters to the Sons of Society, collects letters written to his sons Jay and Sekou.[3]

Biography

Senghor was raised in a middle class family in Detroit during the 1980s.[4] He ran away from an abusive home at the age of 14, after which he was persuaded to join the illegal drug trade by older, more experienced dealers.[5]

In the summer of 1991, Senghor shot and killed a man, after which he spent 19 years incarcerated in different prisons in Michigan, seven years of which were in solitary confinement.[5] Of these seven years, four and a half were consecutive.[6] He was released from prison in 2010.[7] In his book Writing My Wrongs, Senghor discusses rehabilitation and accountability while in incarceration.[8]

In addition to his positions at Navan and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Community Leadership Network, Senghor has taught classes at University of Michigan and the MIT Media Lab.[9]

Books

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Q&A with Shaka Senghor, TripActions' New Head of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion . 2020-12-23 . TripActions . en.
  2. Web site: July 24, 2024 . Writing My Wrongs . July 24, 2024 . Penguin Random House.
  3. Web site: July 24, 2024 . Letters to the Sons of Society . July 24, 2024 . Penguin Random House.
  4. Web site: Shaka Senghor Website . 22 March 2016.
  5. Web site: Once 'Seduced' By Drug Trade, Former Inmate Now 'Honors My Second Chance' . NPR . 16 March 2016 . 22 March 2016 . Johnson, Carrie.
  6. Web site: What it's like to spend four and a half years in solitary confinement . Fusion . 19 October 2015 . 22 March 2016 . Tolan, Casey.
  7. Web site: It's Time for Tech to Embrace Prison Reform . Fast Company . 9 February 2015 . 22 March 2016 . Thurston, Baratunde.
  8. Web site: 8 March 2016 . "Writing My Wrongs": Convicted killer on life transformation . 22 March 2016 . CBS News.
  9. Web site: 12 October 2015 . St. Lawrence University guest lecturer Shaka Senghor to discuss self transformation . 22 March 2016 . Watertown Daily Times.
  10. Web site: Detroit Native Shaka Senghor is Seeking Stories About Fatherhood. 7 February 2022.
  11. Book: Writing My Wrongs. 31 January 2017 . 978-1101907313. Senghor. Shaka. Crown Publishing.