Kevin Powell
Kevin Powell is widely considered one of America's most important voices in these early years of the 21st century. Legendary feminist Gloria Steinem asserts that "as a charismatic speaker, leader, and a very good writer, Kevin Powell has the courage...to be fully human, and this will bring the deepest revolution of all." Of Kevin Powell the writer Asha Bandele says "When you consider the intelligence and breadth of Kevin Powell's writing and activism, you come to the conclusion that there may be no better spokesperson and representative for a generation that has too long been counted out."
Next up for Kevin is Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and The Ghost of Dr. King: Blogs and Essays (Fall 2011); and his long-awaited memoir of childhood and youth, The Education of Kevin Powell (Fall 2012). Indeed, Kevin has written numerous essays, articles, and reviews through the years for publications such as Esquire, Newsweek, The Washington Post, Essence, Rolling Stone, The Amsterdam News, huffingtonpost.com, and Vibe, where he was a founding staff member and served as a senior writer, interviewing and profiling, among many others, General Colin Powell and the late Tupac Shakur. Additionally Kevin has been a Writing Fellow for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, as well as a Phelps Stokes Fund Senior Fellow. A gifted and sought after public speaker, Kevin has lectured on multiculturalism, building corporate responsibility, American and Black American history, the life of Dr. King, civil rights, American politics and civic engagement, sexism from a male perspective, leadership, social activism, the state of hiphop, redefining American manhood, and being Black and male in America, among other topics, at hundreds of colleges and universities, community centers, prisons, religious institutions, conferences, and festivals, as well as in corporate settings. Furthermore, Kevin routinely offers his insights on a variety of matters, to TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, and internet outlets in America, and globally. A fixture on the pop culture landscape the past several years, Kevin was a cast member on the first season of MTV's "The Real World"; has hosted and produced programming for HBO and BET; written a screenplay; hosted and wrote an award-winning MTV documentary about post-riot Los Angeles; and was the Guest Curator of the Brooklyn Museum of Art's "Hip-Hop Nation: Roots, Rhymes, and Rage"-which originated at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, and of which Kevin was the exhibition consultant-the first major exhibit in America on the history of hiphop. As a result of his own past personal struggles, contradictions, growth, and a commitment to therapy and healing, Kevin has become a very outspoken critic of violence against women and girls, of violence in general, and he has been at the forefront of the movement to redefine manhood away from sexism and violence. Kevin also plays a key role in the Black male development arena, having produced, the past few years, among other things, a 10-city State of Black Men Tour, numerous Black male think tank sessions, and Black and Male in America, a 3-Day national conference. Kevin has taught, mentored, and counseled in schools, camps, prisons, and on the streets of urban America. He has produced an annual holiday party and clothing drive every December in New York City that benefits the needy since 2001. Also, Kevin was a central figure in Gulf Coast disaster relief efforts, facilitating the delivery of goods and services to the affected regions, and being a cofounder of "Katrina on the Ground," an initiative that sent over 700 college students to work in the devastated region. Most recently Kevin has been very active in Haiti relief efforts, helping to ship thousands of pounds of supplies to that Caribbean nation. Finally, Kevin is launching, with other American leaders of his generation, BK Nation, a new organization in early 2012. BK Nation will be both a strong online advocate for civic engagement and social change, and also offline in American communities nationwide, working to empower people to empower themselves. Of his life work Kevin Powell says, simply, "My life-calling is to be a servant for the people, period. Money, fame, status, personal achievements, and all that means very little to me when pain and suffering are still real on this planet. I am interested in the powerless becoming powerful."
What he presents:
The Leadership We Are Waiting For Is Us: How to Become An Effective Leader in Corporate America
How to Build Corporate Responsibility and Trust in the 21st Century
Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and The Ghost of Dr. King: Freedom and Democracy in Our Global Community
Ending Violence Against Women and Girls
How Do We Achieve Peace In A Violent World?
A Radical Revolution of Values: Morality and Spirituality in the Bush Era
And many others...