Daughter of a single mother , Folayan grew up in South Central Los Angeles , as well as spending five years living in a rural area in Hawaii . In Los Angeles , she attended the private , all-girls Marlborough School for middle school and high school and has described the contrast between that environment and the poverty and systemic racism she witnessed her own neighborhood experiencing as akin to growing up " between two worlds . " After graduating from Marlborough in 2009 , Folayan went on to Columbia University where she was pre-med and earned a degree in biology . She also pursued writing , although without the expectation anything would come of it
systemic racism
Institutional racism
Sabaah Folayan