Grammy Award winner who suffered backlash from Trump Inaugural gig to speak at CSU

Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Chrisette Michele, who regrets performing at President Donald Trump’s Inaugural Ball, will speak during this year’s Columbus State University Diversity Forum.

CSU announced Tuesday that tickets for the March 15 event are now available for purchase. Along with Michele, the 2018 forum’s other keynote speaker will be award-winning poet, speaker, actor and author Carlos Andrés Gómez.

Tickets are $40 and include admission to the conference and the Legacy Celebration. Tables of eight are available for $320.

“This year’s forum is going to be unlike any other, because the speakers will lead breakout sessions that challenge participants to think through real-life scenarios,” Johniqua Williams, development specialist for diversity programs at CSU, said in the news release. “Carlos Andrés Gómez is a powerhouse who will empower us with the tools we need to be more inclusive in our everyday lives, while Chrisette Michele has a powerful message of self-love and being courageous to do the right thing.”

Gómez is the author of the memoir “Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood,” released by Penguin Random House. He has starred in HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam,” TV One’s “Verses and Flow” and Spike Lee’s movie “Inside Man with Denzel Washington.” His poems “Where Are You Really From?” and “What Latino Looks Like” have garnered millions of views online. Gómez recently partnered with singer and songwriter John Legend for Senior Orientation, a program to counteract bullying and champion inclusive masculinity among high school students.

Michele’s singles have ranked on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200, and U.S. Billboard 200 charts. With her single, “Be OK”, she received a 2009 Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance, and her album “Better” was nominated for a 2014 Grammy award for Best R&B album. She has starred on “R&B Divas LA” and the CW’s “Girlfriends.” Her fifth album, “Out of Control,” will be released in April. She performed at Trump’s inauguration last year and says the stress she felt from her fans’ backlash caused her miscarriage.

Presented by CSU’s Office of Diversity Programs and Services, the forum is a daylong conference and evening banquet that “showcases successes in inclusion on CSU’s campus and fosters discussions on a broad range of relevant issues to discover best practices for a better future. Attendees will take part in inclusive active learning exercises that can be repeated in their own workplaces or with team or community group members,” the news release says.

For more information, see diversity.columbusstate.edu or contact Williams at 706-507-8594 or Williams_Johniqua@ColumbusState.edu.

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Grammy Award winner who suffered backlash from Trump Inaugural gig to speak at CSU."