Special Guest-Darnell Leatherwood is a doctoral candidate, Institute of Education Sciences (IES) fellow, and Illinois Board of Higher Education (DFI) fellow at the University of Chicago in the School of Social Service Administration. He holds a M.A. in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and a B.S. from the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he double majored in Management (concentration in Entrepreneurship) and Business Process Management. Before starting his doctoral program, Darnell taught algebra 1 at the Urban Prep Academies and was the civic engagement coordinator & an assistant teacher at the Montessori School of Englewood in Chicago.
Black Boys Shine is a campaign to illuminate the extraordinary, positive, and often unrecognized character and contributions of Black boys and men nationally and internationally. The strengthening of the Black male image is paramount to this cause. That said, we take back control of the Black male image/narrative and showcase a truth that is often obscured, Black Boys are brilliant, Black Boys are innovative, Black Boys are exceptional...Black Boys Shine!
Black Boys Shine was founded by Darnell Leatherwood and co-founded by Chad Lyles.