Shaka Senghor

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Shaka Senghor
Shaka Senghor - Flickr - Knight Foundation.jpg
Born21 June 1972
OccupationCollege lecturer, Author
NationalityAmerican
Website
www.shakasenghor.com

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]

Contents

Involved in the drug trade at age 19, Senghor shot and killed a man in 1991, for which he served 19 years in prison. [2] His book about his experience, Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death and Redemption in an American Prison (2016), became a New York Times best-seller . [3] His second book, Letters to the Sons of Society , collects letters written to his sons Jay and Sekou. [4]

Biography

Senghor was raised in a middle class family in Detroit during the 1980s. [5] He ran away from what he claims was an abusive home at the age of 14, after which he claims he was persuaded to join the illegal drug trade by older, more experienced dealers. [2]

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. [2] 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]

Senghor appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast in July 2025. [10]

Books

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Q&A with Shaka Senghor, TripActions' New Head of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion". TripActions. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  2. 1 2 3 Johnson, Carrie (16 March 2016). "Once 'Seduced' By Drug Trade, Former Inmate Now 'Honors My Second Chance'". NPR. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Writing My Wrongs". Penguin Random House. July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Letters to the Sons of Society". Penguin Random House. July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Shaka Senghor Website" . Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Tolan, Casey (19 October 2015). "What it's like to spend four and a half years in solitary confinement". Fusion. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Thurston, Baratunde (9 February 2015). "It's Time for Tech to Embrace Prison Reform". Fast Company. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  8. ↑ ""Writing My Wrongs": Convicted killer on life transformation". CBS News. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "St. Lawrence University guest lecturer Shaka Senghor to discuss self transformation". Watertown Daily Times. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Joe Rogan sparks backlash over new interview—"I've heard enough"". Newsweek. 2025-07-25. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  11. ↑ "Detroit Native Shaka Senghor is Seeking Stories About Fatherhood". 7 February 2022.
  12. ↑ Senghor, Shaka (31 January 2017). Writing My Wrongs. Crown Publishing. ISBN   978-1101907313.
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