Torrence grew up in Nashville. He received his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College, where he majored in English and minored in journalism, and received his graduate degree from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. He has worked with the University of Maryland’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism on multiple projects — including an investigation into historical newspaper coverage of lynchings and racial torture and stories about the risks and rewards of youth tackle football. His reporting has also appeared in the Miami Herald, Afro-American Newspapers and Capital News Service. He interned this past summer at U.S. News & World Report.
