Vershawn Ashanti Young is a scholar in black studies, English language and writing, and communications.
Young has taught at multiple universities, teaching Black studies, English language and literature, communication, and theater.
Aside from being an educator, he is also a performer and an artist, most notably doing a one-man show tour called Your Average Nigga.
[5] Young has written nine books, including Your Average Nigga, in which he discusses how black men have to give up their masculinity and way of speech to sound and act whiter to get an education.
He also researches masculinity in this book and compares Tyler Perry to former President Barack Obama to see what performances they needed to do to be as successful as they had become.