"Activism, Joy, and Supporting Black Mental Health" Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still lives in Jackson, Mississippi. A former teen rapper, she holds a BFA in creative writing from Belhaven University. Her award-winning, acclaimed debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and major motion picture from Fox 2000, starring Amandla Stenberg and directed by George Tillman, Jr. Her second novel, On the Come Up, is a #1 NYT bestseller as well, and a film is in development with Paramount Pictures with Angie acting as a producer. In 2020, Angie released Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal to Writing Your Truth as a tool to help aspiring writers tell their stories. In 2021, Angie will return to the world of Garden Heights with Concrete Rose, a prequel to The Hate U Give that focuses on seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter. To register for this event, click the link down below https://sjsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FaDCV3-aRS6QIwedylN7wQ