Kevin Powell is a civil and human rights activist, poet, entrepreneur and author of 13 books, including his critically-acclaimed autobiography, The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy's Journey into Manhood. Born into poverty and a single-parent home in Jersey City, Powell attended Rutgers University with the help of New Jersey's Educational Opportunity Fund, a program that provides opportunities for higher education to underserved youth. Powell has since gone on to write on a variety of topics for The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, The Nation, NPR, ESPN, Essence, Ebony, Rolling Stone, Esquire, HuffPost and The Guardian, among others. In 2020, Powell will be debuting a new podcast called "The Session with Kevin Powell" and launching a political organization committed to voter education and empowerment.
Powell will deliver the keynote address at the second annual Cheryl Irving Student Diversity Conference on Saturday, March 7.