KEYNOTE: The Action of Hope - Achieving Through Believing in Our Students

Saturday February 19, 2022
12:45 - 2:00 PM
Great Hall

As we recommit to, renew, and reimagine the way that we nourish and cultivate the minds of our students, the educators of today must not only hope for a better tomorrow, they must put hope in action. What does the future look like for our disadvantaged students of all colors when we genuinely believe in their capacity for greatness? In his inspirational message, The Action of Hope - Achieving Through Believing in Our Students, Bakari Sellers poses this question and also extends the thought by asking America’s educators, what happens when we actually do the work that accompanies such radical love and transcendent hope? Drawing from themes unearthed in his documentary, While I Breath I Hope, and from his autobiography, My Vanishing Country, Bakari leads by example, showing us how hope and works must be inextricably joined together in our effort to transform the lives of America’s underserved youth.

Presenters
Bakari Sellers

Bakari Sellers made history in 2006 when, at just 22 years old, he defeated a 26-year incumbent State Representative to become the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and the youngest African American elected official in the nation. 

Earning his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College and his law degree from the University of South Carolina, Sellers has a tireless commitment to championing progressive policies to address issues ranging from education and poverty to preventing domestic violence and childhood obesity.

His impressive list of accomplishments in addition to having served on President Barack Obama's South Carolina steering committee during the 2008 election, Sellers is considered to be a leading voice for his generation and a rising star in American Politics. Some of his accolades include being named to TIME Magazine’s 40 Under 40 in 2010 as well as 2014 and 2015 “The Root 100” list of the nation’s most influential African-Americans.
 

Mr. Sellers debut book titled “My Vanishing Country” made the New York Times Bestsellers list.
  

Mr. Sellers will be releasing his debut children’s book titled “Who Are Your People” on January 11th, 2022.

Sellers practices law with the Strom Law Firm, LLC in Columbia, SC and is a Political Commentator at CNN. He is married to Dr. Ellen Rucker-Sellers and they are the proud parents of three children. 

 
type:
Lecture
theme:
leadership
audience:
building leaders
tags:
equity and excellence, cultural diversity