"The Power of a Hopeless Cause" - John Blake, Author and Religion Reporter at CNN
John Blake, a senior writer and producer with CNN, will talk about how growing up as the son of a Black father, and a White mother whose family rejected him at birth, shaped his faith. He'll share specifically how the relationship with his mother, who he did not meet for the first time until he turned 17, became an unexpected source of inspiration. She convinced him that no cause for social change is truly hopeless.
John Blake is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. He is a graduate of Howard University, and he is a senior writer and producer with CNN who writes about race, religion and politics. He has been honored by the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press. His memoir, "More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew," is being published by Penguin Random House on May 2, 2023.