Kevin Quinn ’01 will describe his experience as a Pentecostal child minister who arrived at Yale fully intent on remaining a devout Christian. His freshman year was a terrifying collision with the so-called secular world, eventually resulting in the dissolution of all his religious beliefs and a guarded acceptance of his sexuality.

After graduation, Kevin taught at a well-known New England prep school, where he encountered and dealt with other forms of white privilege, then spent 7 years teaching in Hong Kong, where he encountered yet another set of human rights issues.

Kevin will use his experience to put the issues of systemic racism and class privilege into a broad, worldwide perspective.  Kevin is currently working on a novel that captures this experience.

This program will be co-sponsored by the Yale Black Alumni Association and the Yale Club of San Francisco.

About the Speaker

Kevin Quinn hails from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and grew up in a religious household.  He attended University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe and Cass Technical High School.  Encountering Yale with an evangelical religious background involved real culture shock, leading Kevin to question his beliefs and self-identity.  He finally found at least a partial niche in music and singing (Shades, Whiffenpoofs).  Teaching at an exclusive New England prep school then seven years in Hong Kong brought home the complex reality of cultural clashes and change.  At a time of cultural upheaval around the world and in our own country, this experience would seem relevant to our time.

Support the Yale Club of Washington, DC