Shola Alani Gbemi is a Queens, New York native of Nigerian descent. His articles on popular culture have been featured in Blavity and 21Ninety. He has also been featured on Pix11 and CBS for partnering with small businesses and nonprofit organizations to activate public spaces in New York City neighborhoods of color. His debut novel, They Were Chosen, began as a screenplay he imagined while studying at SUNY Binghamton. When Shola’s not writing, he’s using his platform, Vision Speaks, to promote purpose driven living.