Kevin Powell

Kevin Powell (born April 24, 1966) is an African-American political activist, poet, essayist, hiphop historian, public speaker, lecturer, and entrepreneur. He was a 2008 candidate for the United States Congress [http://www.kevinpowellforcongress.org/about_kevin/] , but lost his longshot bid to unseat longtime Brooklyn congressman Edolphus Towns in the September 9 Democratic primary.

He became famous when he appeared on the first season of MTV's reality television series, "" in 1992. He is the oldest member of "The Real World" cast. From 1992 to 1996, he was a senior writer for "Vibe magazine". Powell's scope as a writer includes an emphasis on historical and contemporary social issues, particularly those regarding race, gender, class, and politics in America.

Writings

Kevin Powell has written numerous essays, articles, and reviews through the years for publications such as "Esquire", "Newsweek", "The Washington Post", "Essence", "Rolling Stone", "New York Amsterdam News", and "Vibe", where he was a founding staff member and served as a senior writer. He interviewed and profiled, among many others, General Colin Powell and Tupac Shakur. Most recently, he has been a Writing Fellow for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, as well as a Phelps Stokes Fund Senior Fellow.

Since 1993, Powell has published eight books, including two most recent titles "Someday We’ll All Be Free" (Soft Skull Press, 2006) - a collection of essays on freedom, democracy, justice, and race in America (as inspired by Hurricane Katrina); as well as the 2004 presidential election and September 11th - and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" (Soft Skull Press, 2008), Powell’s second volume of poetry. An "Essence" best seller "Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?", was published in 2004. Powell’s latest book, "The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life" a “Must-Read” Guide and Call-to-Action for Black boys and men to redefine their manhood for the greater good of themselves, their communities and the world. "homeboy alone", Powell’s childhood memoir, is slated for 2010. To highlight Powell’s 20th anniversary as a writer, "The Kevin Powell Anthology" will be published in 2011.

Media, Popular Culture, and Lectures

Powell 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 in 2001 was the Guest Curator of the Brooklyn Museum’s “Hip-Hop Nation: Roots, Rhymes, and Rage”—which originated at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio (of which Powell was the exhibition consultant—the first major exhibit in America on the history of hip-hop).

As a public speaker, Powell has lectured in 48 states at hundreds of colleges, universities, community centers, prisons, religious institutions, conferences, and festivals, as well as in corporate settings (including Harvard University and The United Nations). He is frequently asked to discuss topics that range from 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.

Powell is also a frequent guest commentator on VH1, MTV, BET, and other media platforms, where he is asked to offer insights on a variety of popular culture, political, and social justice issues.

Activism

Beginning with his days as a teenager at Rutgers University, he participated in the student-led anti-apartheid movement - the drive to end racism in South Africa. Powell has worked on issues of police brutality and racial bias cases and he has worked for years around voting rights.

As a result of his own past struggles and contradictions, Powell has committed his life to personal healing and professional therapeutic counseling. He 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 American manhood away from sexism and violence.

Powell also produced the 10-city “State of Black Men National Townhall Meetings” tour (2004), numerous Black male think tank sessions, and “Black and Male in America, a 3-Day National Conference” (2007) (www.blackandmaleinamerica.org). Powell has taught, mentored, and counseled in schools, camps, prisons, and on the streets of urban America. He produces an annual holiday party and clothing drive every December in New York City that benefits the homeless teenagers of the SafeHorizon non-profit organization. He co-founded the grassroots community townhall series "Hiphop Speaks!" (with social entrepreneur, activist, and writer April Silver), which he describes as "a series of forums and MC battles geared toward using hip hop as a tool for social change." Powell also participated in Gulf Coast disaster relief efforts, facilitating the delivery of goods and services to the affected regions, and being a co-founder (with social commentator Jeff Johnson) of “Katrina on the Ground,” an initiative that sent over 700 college students to work in the devastated region.

Congressional Candidacy

In 2008, Powell ran for Congress to unseat Edolphus Towns in New York's 10th congressional district, located in Brooklyn. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/nyregion/28brooklyn.html?scp=8&sq=kevin%20powell&st=cse] . Ultimately, Powell lost this race 67%-33%, but achieved 11,046 votes throughout the district whose primaries has seen low voter turn out for many years. Still determined to bring change to Brooklyn, Powell has officially announced that he will run again in 2010 [ [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=23062] ] . Powell ran previously, in 2006, but discontinued his campaign in July of that year. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/nyregion/05campaign.html?scp=8&sq=jonathan%20hicks%20kevin%20powell&st=cse]

Kevin Powell's candidacy was not without a number of missteps. On July 9, 2008, the comedian David Chapelle failed to appear at a Powell fundraiser, despite promises to the paying guests. [http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.7273/title.dave-chappelle-to-appear-at-kevin-powell-rally] This was followed by Powell hosting an event at Brooklyn favorite haunt Junior's, where he invited the media to witness him respond to allegations of a violent past that have dogged his candidacy. [http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/30/31_30_politicrasher.html?comm=1] And as reported by "Page Six," at a dinner on July 28, 2008, Powell raised eyebrows when he told an audience of some "40 representatives of Williamsburg's ultra- Orthodox Satmar (Orthodox Jewish) community" that if elected, he would "bring home the bacon." [http://www.nypost.com/seven/08012008/gossip/pagesix/wrong_menu_122474.htm] Bacon is considered unclean and is therefore banned as part of a kosher diet. Kevin Powell also caused controversy after posting an official blog on his campaign website which was interpreted as an attack on his rival's campaign staffers. [http://www.kevinpowellforcongress.org/featured_blogs2/2008/08/13/i-got-a-story-to-tell] The posting was picked up by local online media and generated a heated exchange between Powell's campaign, several alleged members of Congressman Ed Towns' staff, and voters. [http://www.r8ny.com/blog/slothman8888/kevin_powell_likes_demeaning_teenagers_exclusive.html] [http://www.bildwyer.com/powell-mocks-teens-promoting-democracy/] [http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44882] After much negative publicity, the Kevin Powell campaign finally pulled the posting on August 19. [http://www.kevinpowellforcongress.org/featured_blogs2/2008/08/13/i-got-a-story-to-tell]

On September 3, several online and traditional media outlets reported that the Kevin Powell campaign had received a notice from the Federal Election Commission informing them that Powell was not officially registered as a candidate for Congress. [http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?_28039812601+0] [http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/35/31_35_bm_powell_towns.html] [http://www.r8ny.com/blog/slothman8888/exclusive_powell_violating_the_fec.html] As he was not a candidate, his continued fundraising efforts therefore constituted a violation of FEC regulations, and the Powell campaign was asked to disavow such activities within 30 days. It also appeared that as of September 4, the Kevin Powell for Congress campaign had not filed its mandatory Pre-Primary report of all campaign contributions to the FEC, though the report was due August 28.

The same day these stories broke, local periodical "The Brooklyn Paper" announced its endorsement of Powell over 13-time incumbent and sitting congressman, Edolphus "Ed" Towns. [http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/35/31_35_endorsements.html] But in light of these revelations, a "Paper" reporter broke news of the FEC letter and missed deadline and contacted the Powell camp for comment. [http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/35/31_35_bm_powell_towns.html] This paper noted, "Powell did not return repeated requests from The Brooklyn Paper for comment about the FEC letter and his missed filing." [http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/35/31_35_bm_powell_towns.html]

Books

* "In the Tradition: An Anthology of Young Black Writers" Edited by Kevin Powell and Ras Baraka (1993) (ISBN 0-86316-316-5)
* "recognize" Poetry by Kevin Powell (1995) (ISBN 0-86316-324-6)
* "Keepin' It Real: Post-MTV Reflections On Race, Sex, and Politics" Essays by Kevin Powell (1997) (ISBN 0-345-40400-9)
* "Step Into a World: A Global Anthology of The New Black Literature" Edited by Kevin Powell (2000) (ISBN 0-471-38060-1)
* "Who Shot Ya? Three Decades of Hiphop Photography" Photographs by Ernie Ernie Paniccioli, Edited by Kevin Powell (2002) (ISBN 0-06-621168-9)
* "Who's Gonna Take The Weight? Manhood, Race, and Power in America" Essays by Kevin Powell (2002) (ISBN 0-609-81044-8)
* "Someday We'll All Be Free" Essays by Kevin Powell (2006) (ISBN 1-933368-57-8)
* "No Sleep Till Brooklyn, New and Selected Poems" Poetry by Kevin Powell (2008) (ISBN 1-564538-67-8)

References

External links

* http://www.kevinpowellforcongress.org
* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-powell/open-letter-to-congressma_b_114068.html
* http://www.myspace.com/kp4c