Shaka Senghor
Shaka Senghor is director's fellow of the MIT Media Lab, college lecturer, author, and was convicted of murder in American courts. As of October 2015, he also teaches a class as part of the Atonement Project, a partnership between him, the University of Michigan, and the MIT Media Lab.[1] His memoir, Writing my Wrongs, was published in March 2016.[2] Senghor was named to Oprah's SuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders in 2016.[3]
Early life
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 convinced to join the illegal drug trade by more experienced dealers.[5]
Murder and imprisonment
In the summer of 1991, Senghor shot and killed a man, after which he spent 19 years 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]
References
- "St. Lawrence University guest lecturer Shaka Senghor to discuss self transformation". Watertown Daily Times. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ""Writing My Wrongs": Convicted killer on life transformation". CBS News. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- "Meet the SuperSoul100: The World's Biggest Trailblazers in One Room". O Magazine. 1 Aug 2016. Retrieved 5 Jul 2018.
- "Shaka Senghor Website". Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- Johnson, Carrie (16 March 2016). "Once 'Seduced' By Drug Trade, Former Inmate Now 'Honors My Second Chance'". NPR. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- Tolan, Casey (19 October 2015). "What it's like to spend four and a half years in solitary confinement". Fusion. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- Thurston, Baratunde (9 February 2015). "It's Time for Tech to Embrace Prison Reform". Fast Company. Retrieved 22 March 2016.