Today we’d like to introduce you to Kennedy Moore.
Hi Kennedy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
As a native of Chicago in 2014, I began school at the University of Missouri (Mizzou) just a few weeks after the murder of Mike Brown. On campus, students were fighting like Ferguson activists, but instead of a murder, in response to various racial incidents that occurred, which the school administration was silent on. #ConcernedStudent1950 was a student-organizing movement and collaboration I joined in 2015. The movement and campus were on national news, mainly for the football team’s involvement. Concerned Student inspired me to add Black Studies as a major in addition to Communication and root myself in womanist ideology (see Alice Walker).
Following my commencement, I moved to St. Louis to pursue a public relations and engagement career. Still, my potential as an advocate was being utilized in a region that has ignited movements across the country, in addition to Ferguson. In 2020 I applied for the Action St. Louis Black Organizing (BOSS) fellowship program. This was a turning point in my life, and I finally found my purpose. I worked as an intern with ACLU Missouri. I had the opportunity to organize efforts for the MO Ho Justice and Privacy Watch coalitions and testify in opposition to spy plane surveillance legislation.
Following the fellowship, I worked as a canvasser with Meyers Okohson Political Consulting, knocking on over 3,000 doors for Mayor Tishaura Jones. Following the campaign win, I began working as a Reproductive Freedom Organizer with Pro-Choice Missouri. My father tells me that when you love what you do, you don’t need an alarm clock to wake up and do it. As time passes and my passion for the community organizing work I do makes me need an alarm clock less and less.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My struggles were rooted in my running away from what I was supposed to be and trying to fit in a box of who I was supposed to be. I was a church kid growing up, and many things were expected of me as an adult from folks back home. When I moved to St. Louis and was working in public engagement, it didn’t feel right for me, all while my belief in standing up for everyone was being rejected in those spaces. I felt trapped in a world where I couldn’t express my womanist beliefs and uplift marginalized women. It wasn’t until I came into advocacy work with Action St. Louis, MOPC, and Pro-Choice Missouri that life got easier and felt effortless.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In addition to organizing and policy work, I’m a vocalist. Growing up in a Baptist church on the Southside of Chicago led me to audition to become a Soul Children of Chicago member. As a member of the choir for 8 years, I traveled to Italy, Spain, and Sweden. Norway, and sing with people like Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah. The experiences I had in this organization are what a teen dreams of, all while instilling in me the principles of discipline and spiritual growth. Going to college meant leaving the Soul Children, and I thought I would lose this aspect of myself, but using music as a message has followed me since. I was honored when Mayor Jones asked me to sing for her first State of the City this past spring, and even more honored to sing the musical tribute for our fallen comrade, the Hon. Cora Faith Walker, at Pro-Choice Missouri’s 2022 Gala. From childhood until now, music has become more important to me. There is a song for every occasion and moment; if there isn’t, you can write one. I hope to continue using music to connect and inspire us because it is truly a powerful form of art.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
It is important for me to always be in a mindset of enlightenment and inquisitiveness. When you engage the world in an open and explorative way, you put yourself in a position to experience and understand various perspectives, not just your own. We are building the world we want to see, not just one person.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kennedy-xpressway.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/temitheewomanist
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/temithewomanist
Image Credits
Rosetta Okohson Phillip Deitch Brian Munoz
