He has worked for CNN and Good Morning America, and has contributed to New York Carib News and Columbia Journalism Review. He received an undergraduate degree from Morehouse College and a graduate degree from Columbia University, where he was named a Lynton Book Writing Fellow. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Shomari was born in Washington D.C. and grew up on 16th street aka the “Gold Coast”, an enclave of black professionals, artists, and politicians. His first book, Black Fortunes, is the untold story of America’s first black millionaires. It was in part inspired by his great-great Uncle John Drew a gilded age industrialist, Negro League baseball team owner, and one of the first Black millionaires in the Philadelphia area.