“Am I F***ing Black or am I F***ing White?” asks Michael Fosberg. “F***ing Hell,” said Russell upon first hearing the story of Michael Fosberg from his own lips. A Chicago native, Michael has spoken at nearly a thousand high schools, colleges, government agencies, corporations, law firms and not-for-profits since 2005. He uses his award winning autobiographical story – the journey to find his biological father and the discovery of his Black heritage – told in the form of a one-man play, as an entry point for meaningful dialogues on race and identity.
Biography
Chicago native Michael Fosberg has been working to create a national dialogue on race and identity since 2001 when he launched his one-man autobiographical play Incognito. The author-activist has used the unique presentation, along with engaging interactive training sessions and speeches, to embrace diversity in an effort to change corporate and organization cultures.
He has been a frequent guest in the national media speaking as an expert on race and identity issues. His travels have taken him across the country facilitating meaningful conversations at educational institutions, corporations, government agencies and military bases. His highly praised memoir; Incognito: An American Odyssey of Race and Self Discovery was published in 2011 and his newest book, Nobody Wants to Talk About It: Race, Identity, and the Difficulty in Forging Meaningful Conversations addresses his efforts to provoke conversations about race over the past fifteen years.
His work with organizations such as United Way Worldwide, the FBI, The Boeing Company, The Dept of Homeland Security, Harvard College, Purdue University and others, is reshaping the way organizations converse about race, identity, diversity, and inclusion. He has given Keynote addresses at conferences, conducted workshops and trainings for the “C” suite, and has spent time in classrooms modelling courageous conversations with students and teachers.
His early career work in the fields of acting, writing, teaching and directing prepared him expertly for a life of prolific storytelling. He has worked at a number of prestigious theatre companies including the Chicago-based Goodman and Steppenwolf Theatres, and has had small roles in film and television over the years. In addition he has taught theatre-based classes at Northwestern and Carnegie Mellon University, as well as an assortment of high schools across the country.
References:
- Nobody Wants to Talk About It: Race, Identity and the Difficulties in Forging Meaningful Conversations
- Incognito: the Podcast
- Michael’s website: IncognitoThePlay.com
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I Need To F***ing Talk To You! | The Art of Navigating Difficult Workplace Conversations – Amazon | Owl’s Nest Books| Shelf Life Books