Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.

Author / Youth Activist / Educator

Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. is an author, advocate, and Kentucky Teacher of the Year. He has a B.A. in French and in English, an MAT in French and in English, a Rank 1 in French Linguistics, and is currently finishing a Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky.

Willie speaks and writes on the subjects of education, marginalization, and identity, and his story has been featured on and in ABC, CBS, PBS, NPR, The Washington Post, Le Monde, and Good Morning America. His advocacy has led him to engage President Biden and testify before the United States House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. He is a board member of the Kentucky Youth Law Project, the author of Gay Poems for Red States (a Book Riot Best Book of 2023 winner), and believes that all people deserve equal rights and dignity.