Black History Month 2014 - Kelli Wakili

Kelli Wakili. I met this girl in 2011 and haven’t forgotten her ever since. She is that awesome. She is talented, kind, compassionate, and beautiful (inside and out). I met Kelli at a wonderful event in Kansas City, MO called “Night of Love” where talents of all types came together to put on a show all about love. Kelli and her now husband, chief waKiL, were performing a song together and it was magic. Magic, I say. Here is her story.

Kelli is from Bowie, MD. She made her way across the big ‘ole United States and has placed her feet firmly on the ground in LA. She is a singer/songwriter/actress and more.

Her work has been featured on the E! Network. She is the writer and performer of the theme song for “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills” and has also been featured on and musically written for the E! Network programs "Total Divas" and "Eric and Jessie". Check out the first episode of "Rich Kids of Beverly Hills" here.

On the acting side Kelli is a principal character in the upcoming independent film titled “Assassination of a Citizen” by Reflektiv Films. She has also been featured in multiple TV shows and commercials.

On an even more creative side, Kelli is currently working on publishing her body of children's books and recording her own music project in 2014. Could she get any more awesome? Oh yes she can. Aside from all of that she is also a math tutor and spends her days teaching and mentoring everyone from troubled youth to child actors and actresses.

This woman has been inspiring me with her positive energy and all the wonderful work she is doing since I met her that cold February day. Be on the lookout for more from this soon to be household name.

Want to know more about this awesome lady? Check out her blog: kellimykelli.tumblr.com

Black History Month 2011 - Days 17-21

Hello everyone, first and foremost, Happy President’s Day! Today also marks the 46th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X. I would also like to apologize for the absence of emails the past few days. I have been a bit under the weather and have been resting up to recoup. We will do some quick facts to catch us up for the past few days, courtesy of biography.com.

• Macon Bolling Allen was the first African-American to pass the bar and practice law in the United States in 1845.

• Writer and performer Maya Angelou worked as the first black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco, California, before graduating from high school.

• Deford Bailey was a wizard at playing the harmonica, and was most notable for mimicking the sound of locomotives. He was the first African-American to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and one of the first African-American stars of country music.

• Barbara Brandon was the country’s only black female cartoonist to be nationally syndicated. Her strip was named “Where I’m Coming From.”

• Actress Diahann Carroll won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series in 1968 for her role on the sitcom Julia. Carroll was the first African-American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker.