BIOGRAPHY
Shadrack Boakye:
Speaker. Director. Actor
Born in war-torn Liberia, Shadrack immigrated to the United States, where he faced immense academic struggles.
However, a single teacher changed his life, igniting his passion for writing. This spark led him to win a national writing contest, receive a letter from Muhammad Ali, and earn a life-changing scholarship.
Today, Shadrack is an actor featured on Netflix, Apple TV, and ABC. He has been featured in films with Top industry stars like Spike Lee and Tom Holland. His company has spent over 15 years inspiring audiences nationwide, earning recognition, including a NY Emmy in 2017.
For over a decade, he has traveled the country with Scholastic and Harcourt, sharing his story with students and educators. In 2014, Scholastic published Unstoppable, a biography about his journey, which is now part of schools’ READ 180 and System 44 literacy programs.
Earning multiple national awards: a signed boxing glove accompanied by a personal letter from the heavyweight boxing icon Muhammad Ali and winning two Gold medals on the NAACP-ACT-SO playwright and performance competitions which were judged by a distinguished Harvard graduate and a Columbia University Professor. His acting credits include a role in Spike Lee’s You Gotta Have It Netflix Series.
Shadrack Boakye was born in Liberia, Africa, amidst the tumultuous throes of a devastating civil war that claimed the lives of over 200,000 citizens in the early 1990s. Growing up in such harrowing circumstances shaped Shadrack's resilience from a young age. Alongside his mother, he navigated through the chaos and danger, becoming one of the fortunate few to escape the war-stricken country's ravages. Fleeing with little more than hope and determination, their journey was fraught with peril, yet they held onto a belief in a brighter future beyond the conflict-ridden horizon.
When not performing or writing, Shadrack is an official Motivational Speaker for HMH and Scholastic, Inc. His audiences include Educators, School District Administrators, middle and high school students. Scholastic has published a book about his story called "Unstoppable" for System 44 students all over the country. He has been a panelist on NBC’s Education Nation with Anne Curry to discuss what he thinks needs to be done to ensure that every student receives a world-class education.