Athens community organizer, activist, teacher and poet Lemuel LaRoche, AKA Life The Griot onstage in Athens-Clarke County Library’s Appleton Auditorium; Life is a social worker, poet, chess enthusiast, and activist on a mission. His inspirational words entertain and touch thousands with a simple truth: if we want to see better, then we have to do better.
Mr LaRoche is the founder and executive director of Chess and Community Conference, Inc., a nonprofit youth empowerment organization dedicated to developing strategic leadership skills in young people. Known in the communities that he serves as Life the Griot, he fuses chess with conventional therapeutic methods to curb impulsive behavior amongst youth with delinquent pasts. Life has over fifteen years experience in adolescent and community development and brings a fresh innovative approach to counseling.
The full-length documentary Life the Griot, directed by Matt DeGennaro and produced by Kathy Prescott & Grady Thrasher, may be seen HERE.
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