The 2023 Black History Month Lecture will be held on February 22, 2023, featuring Zion Clark, an All-American wrestler, and wheelchair racer.
Zion Clark was born September 29, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio with a rare birth defect called Caudal Regression Syndrome which caused him to be born without legs. Given up for adoption at birth with a mother not fit to take care of him and no father, Zion had to fend for himself from a young age. His childhood was a recipe for disaster–he bounced around in the foster care system and was labeled a problem child causing the system to give up on him early. Zion didn’t let his stop him from learning new skills, he picked up wrestling and music as at a young age which became his outlet from an abusive living situation. Through resiliency and consistency, Zion continued to figure out his way of approaching some of these passions and earned his position as an All-American wrestler and lead drummer of his church. He continues to defy all odds with his optimistic approach and "no excuses" mentality he embodies.
Zion was recruited by several colleges to wrestle and chose to attend Kent State where he spent the following two years steadily improving his skills and finding success at the varsity level. With his confidence and national ranking on the rise, Zion decided to embark on his toughest mission to date...becoming the first American athlete to compete in both the Olympic (wrestling) and Paralympic (wheelchair racing) Games in Tokyo (2020).
This event is co-sponsored by the Georgia Tech African American Student Union (AASU).