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The Kid Mero Comes Home to Lehman for a Bronx-Centered Conversation on Creativity and Authenticity
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The Kid Mero headlines the 2026 Lehman Lecture. From right, artists Rumarie Denizard, Tasheba Gallimore, and Estephanie Quiroz; Mero; and interviewers Julisha Evans and Molly Varillas<\/p>\n
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April 1, 2026<\/p>\n
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The Kid Mero returned to familiar ground on March 31, when he headlined Lehman College\u2019s Herbert H. Lehman Memorial Lecture and spoke directly to a student audience that, like him, largely comes from the Bronx.<\/p>\n
In a conversation titled\u00a0\u201cA Bronx State of Mind,\u201d\u00a0Mero joined Lehman students Julisha \u201cJuJu\u201d Evans, a film major and journalism minor, and Molly Varillas, a business administration major, for a candid discussion about storytelling, community, and building a career without losing sight of who you are.<\/p>\n
Mero\u2019s message resonated with much of the audience members, because of how closely his story reflects their own. He spoke about how growing up in the Bronx is a valuable education it itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour environment really shapes who you are, and if you\u2019re lucky enough to be born in the Bronx, you get a master class in how to hustle and shake\u2014and be independent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the conversation, Mero returned to the importance of staying true to your own vision, authenticity over imitation\u2014ultimately, it\u2019s a powerful way to break down stereotypes. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was about presenting myself as I am all the time, no matter what setting I\u2019m in or who I\u2019m with. I\u00a0don’t\u00a0code switch, I\u00a0don’t\u00a0change the way I dress. I am who I am, and I embrace all the stereotypes,\u201d he said. \u201cI embrace all that because it just lets people know that like, hey, it\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0matter what I sound like, what I look like.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The event also highlighted Mero\u2019s roots in Bronx hip-hop culture. Alumna Rumarie Denizard, and art students Tasheba Gallimore and Estephanie Quiroz, under the guidance of Associate Professor and Chair Gina Dominique Hersey, collaborated this past year on a large-scale mural for the event called \u201cAcademic Tags,\u201d which brought together different perspectives of the Lehman campus. As Mero added his tag and they added theirs, the mural became a collaborative work that connected student artists with one of the Bronx\u2019s best-known cultural voices.<\/p>\n
Working on the project challenged them to merge their individual styles into one cohesive piece. Denizard, who created the landscape elements, said the process was both demanding and rewarding. \u201cIt\u2019s been exciting and very challenging, and that made it so much more meaningful in the end, seeing what we created together,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
The final work demonstrates how different approaches can come together successfully, said Quiroz. Like a mirror of the campus community, \u201cyou can tell that each one of our styles is in there, but it all works.\u201d Gallimore added, \u201cI wanted to stay true to what Lehman is and what people envision when they think of Lehman.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mero described his Lehman visit as a kind of homecoming. A CUNY alumnus himself, his mother attended Lehman while he was a child. \u201cI grew up on this campus. My mother earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration, and then her master\u2019s degree in education, and I was in the day care,\u201d he said. Years later when Mero was attending nearby DeWitt Clinton High School, he would cut through the Lehman campus on his walk home for some respite from the hustle and bustle of Jerome Avenue.<\/p>\n
His parting gift was far more than a tag: it was a message that where you come from matters, your voice matters, and staying authentic is part of finding your way.<\/p>\n
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