Alumni Spotlight: Shola Gbemi ‘16

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I got into storytelling when I was nine years old and wrote poetry throughout middle school and high school. Writing came very natural for me and it was my closest experience to therapy before I knew what therapy was. By my senior year of high school, I knew I wanted to write a book, but I wasn’t yet sure what I wanted it to be about.

Where did the idea for They Were Chosen come from? What do you hope readers will walk away with after reading this story?

Growing up, I wasn’t exposed to any Black literature in my English classes. At Binghamton, I learned about classics by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Richard Wright and Bell Hooks, but the only modern authors I knew were Ta-Nehisi Coates and Chimamanda Adichie. Prior to college, most of the modern Black literature I heard about hypersexualized and hyper-criminalized Black characters without much depth. In real life, not every Black person grows up exposed to crime, or in a low-income neighborhood. Not every young Black person is sexually active either. I wrote They Were Chosen to challenge these stereotypes.

The story follows two Black students juggling friendships and family pressures at a Historically Black College in New York City. As they navigate difficult choices, they both face uncomfortable truths about themselves and their campus community. The story showcases diverse Black experiences, and a vibrant picture of New York City life. Readers will walk away with laughs, tears, and a deeper awareness of Black culture and history. They’ll walk away feeling inspired to be bold when advocating for change.

Could you talk about any experiences as a student here at Binghamton that were particularly impactful for you?

During my senior year, I got very curious about Historically Black Colleges, especially since I was writing a fictional one in They Were Chosen. As I flipped through different books, I learned about the history of racism in American higher education. I also learned about the averse psychological experiences of Black students who enrolled at predominantly white colleges that desegregated in 1964. Provost Don Nieman met with me once a week to help me draft an academic article on those experiences for the Spring 2016 issue of Alpenglow: BU Journal of Research and Creative Activity. The article felt like a great way to combine content from my psychology, education and Africana studies courses, while building more knowledge for the story I was writing.

While studying at Binghamton you were already actively trying to educate and make a difference. How has your activism evolved and what does the future look like for you?

When I was on campus, meetings with the Black Student Union, the African Student Organization and other organizations were great spaces to co-create new thoughts around different aspects of the Black experience. But at a certain point, I wanted to create impact beyond those meetings. Understanding the power of film as a viewer made me curious about filmmaking as an advocacy tool. When I produced my first documentary, I had zero filmmaking experience. I wanted it to explore rape culture on college campuses, which I didn’t feel like an expert on. My thought process as I produced each clip was to be creative, intentional, and to give it my best while learning along the way. When Resident Life started using it as learning material for first-year orientation events, I felt encouraged to take more creative risks.

The future is unpredictable, but it feels a lot clearer than it did when I was at Binghamton. I now know that my impact doesn’t have to look like one thing or be tied to one job, and there’s a lot of freedom in that.

Could you explain your role as a manager of strategic initiatives at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and how your passion for outreach and activism plays a part?

During the Bill DeBlasio administration, I started managing a $9 million investment in racial equity programs focused on increasing healthy food access, entrepreneurship education and vibrant physical spaces in public housing communities throughout New York City. I also advise nonprofit leaders who run gun-violence prevention programs

in low-income neighborhoods. Each of these nonprofits hire formerly incarcerated individuals in their communities with the street credibility to prevent young people from being shot and from shooting others. It’s challenging work, but it’s taught me a lot about people, organizations and walking the walk when it comes to investing in social impact. Even though my passion for activism got me this far, I don’t really consider myself an activist. I see myself more as a leader who designs solutions for individuals and organizations working to empower Black people and Black communities.

Black History Month is so important because it promotes an incentive for learning and representation. Do you have any advice for students who want to get involved and make a difference?

My first piece of advice is to figure out what you’re passionate about, then spend a lot of time developing that passion. If you’re interested in Black youth development, Black health or Black representation, consistently devote a chunk of your spare time to videos, books, podcasts, events and other content that’ll increase your knowledge in that area. Over time, that knowledge will position you to spot opportunities for impact in those areas.

My second piece of advice is to identify your gifts and embrace them unapologetically. Your natural ability to connect with people, sell ideas, create concepts or crunch numbers will give you a unique set of tools. Practice using them. As your knowledge grows and your passion develops, you’ll discover ways to elevate your impact with those tools.

Third, don’t hesitate to take the path less traveled. Opportunities to develop our gifts are often hidden in places we overlook. Strongly consider that class, internship or extracurricular activity that isn’t so popular on campus. Take a chance on that independent study with the professor your friends haven’t heard of. Build a relationship with someone you wouldn’t typically approach. You’ll be surprised at how much these experiences can prepare you to make a difference.