Shani Raine Gilchrist

Shani Gilchrist is a writer, strategist, and advocate based in Columbia, SC. In writing, the bulk of her focus has been on diversity, equity, and inclusion as they pertain to interpersonal and community relationships and their wider contexts. Her strengths lie in analysis, forming strong arguments based upon solid research, personalizing current domestic and international events for readers, and identifying trends and context in culture, policy, and politics. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Charleston City Paper, Literary Hub, Longreads, The Daily Beast, Garden & Gun, and more.

Gilchrist is an alum of the VQR Writers’ Conference, the Russell Sage Foundation Social Science Institute for Journalists, and has spoken at many conferences and events on topics ranging from equity, policy, writing craft, and literature. She has appeared on MSNBC and NPR for her perspectives on race and politics, and her work has been cited in The State of Racial Disparities in Charleston County, South Carolina 2000-2015 and the curators of The Charleston Syllabus.

Besides writing, Gilchrist has applied her skills toward advocating for causes including refugee assistance, global food security, and the arts. She has utilized a lifetime of contacts in various levels of state and federal government, legislators, donors, and activists, bringing attention and action to some of the world's most pressing issues.

Gilchrist currently serves on the board of trustees for the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts Foundation, is a volunteer with the AfghanEvac Coalition, and has served on the advisory board for the ONE Campaign’s Girls and Women initiative.

Sub-specialities:

Humanitarian – aiding women and girls escaping Afghanistan before and after the United States’ withdrawal, from Aug. 2021 – present; factors contributing to present and future international mass migration, the importance of public attention and engagement regarding these topics

Diplomacy - legitimizing United States positions on international human rights abuses by addressing systemic racism, reproductive rights, and misogyny within the national culture as well as through domestic policy.

Journalism - coverage of the Dylann Roof trial while living across the street from Mother Emanuel A.M.E., mental health/PTSD for journalists covering hate crimes or mass murder trials, threats against Black and female journalists and writers

Online harassment and free speech - harassment of women journalists on social media, social media threats that become real, racism in social media, personal attacks from white supremacist groups

Race and ethnicity - Systemic and societal racism as a human rights issue, critical thinking in social justice movements, reaching beyond racial differences; race, ethnicity, and policy in the South

Women and women's issues - women caught in the middle of political polarization, coordinated attacks on reproductive rights

Mental Health: PTSD and secondary PTSD related to profession