Saturday Mornings With Joy Keys

Actress/director/playwright & Golden Globe winner Regina Taylor is best known to television audiences for her role as Lily Harper in "I'll Fly Away.” She received a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, 3 NAACP Image Awards and two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role. Her recent guest starring credits include “The Blacklist,” “Elementary,” and the upcoming CBS drama “Red Line” while other television roles include “Dig,” “The Unit,” “The Education of Max Bickford," "Feds,” “Strange Justice,” Masterpiece Theatre’s "Cora Unashamed," "Children of the Dust," "I'll Fly Away: Then and Now" and "Howard Beach: Making a Case for Murder.” She most recently recurred in the HBO critically acclaimed series “Lovecraft Country” and starred in the Netflix feature All Day & A Night opposite Jeffrey Wright and Ashton Sanders. In addition to her film and television work, she holds the honor as being the first Black woman to play W

Ayana Gray is a New York Times and Indie bestselling author of speculative fiction and a lover of all things monsters, mythos, and #MelaninMagic. Originally from Atlanta, she now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas where she reads avidly, follows Formula One racing, and worries over the varying moods of her adopted baby black rhino, Apollo, and her mini goldendoodle, Dolly. Her debut novel, BEASTS OF PREY, is being adapted for film by Netflix. Penguin Young Readers is excited to present the most anticipated young adult novel of the year from breakout debut author Ayana Gray. BEASTS OF PREY (G.P. Putnam’s Sons BFYR; On Sale September 28, 2021) is the thrilling series opener that begins in the way all the best YA novels do: by striking a deal. Two teens agree to work together to track down a dangerous, ancient creature who plagues their city before they themselves become the hunted. Inspired by African mythology, Gray has woven a fast-paced fantasy filled with monsters, mythos, and a slow-burn romance that will lea

Emerging actress LaToya Tonodeo stars in Power Book II: Ghost, the spin-off series to the STARZ original drama Power. LaToya portrays the intelligent and beautiful Diana Tejada, the daughter of Mary J. Blige’s character. Produced by series creator and showrunner Courtney A Kemp and Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, Power Book II: Ghost was renewed for a second season. LaToya’s previous television credits include recurring roles in the SONY/CRACKLE crime drama The Oath and FREEFORM’s romance drama The Fosters. In 2016, LaToya co-starred in the LIONSGATE film The Perfect Match. 

CHIBUNDU ONUZO was born in Lagos, Nigeria and lives in London. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and regular contributor to The Guardian, she is the winner of a Betty Trask Award, has been shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Commonwealth Book Prize, and the RSL Encore Award, and has been longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and Etisalat Literature Prize. Her first novel was The Spider King’s Daughter. The author of Welcome to Lagos, Sankofa is her third novel.

Nadine Ellis is an in-demand actress who currently stars in the FOX series, Our Kind of People.  In the soapy and thrilling drama, Nadine plays Leah Franklin-Dupont, a strong, confident, elegant businesswoman who sits at the top of the food chain of the wealthy, long-standing Black elite in Martha’s Vineyard.  The show follows a single mom, Angela Vaughn, who risks it all and moves her family to Martha’s Vineyard with hopes of reclaiming her family’s name by taking her natural hair care line to the next while infiltrating the African American elite in Oak Bluffs.  Leah is wary of Angela and will do anything to protect her family’s reputation and name.    Prior to Our Kind of People, Nadine was a series regular on BET’s comedy Let’s Stay Together as Dr. Stacy Lawrence and Netflix’s The Greenhouse Academy as Judy Hayword; and recurred on Showtime’s Shameless as Dr. Brenda Williams.  Earlier this year, Nadine starred in the backdoor pilot for the upcoming CW series All American: Homecoming, playing Ms. Sims, th

Rémy Ngamije is a Rwandan-born Namibian writer and photographer. He is the founder, chairperson, and artministrator of Doek, an independent arts organization in Namibia supporting the literary arts. He is also the cofounder and editor in chief of Doek! Literary Magazine, Namibia’s first and only literary magazine. His work has appeared in AFREADA, The Johannesburg Review of Books, Brainwavez, American Chordata, Azure, Sultan’s Seal, Columbia Journal, New Contrast, Lolwe, and many other publications. He was shortlisted for the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing in 2020 and 2021. He was also longlisted for the 2020 and 2021 Afritondo Short Story Prizes. In 2019, he was shortlisted for Best Original Fiction by Stack Magazines. More of his writing can be read on his website, RemytheQuill.com.

Sherrill Mosee from Philadelphia, PA was crowned the winning entrepreneur after selling out of her product, the MinkeeBlue Mariah Backpack, and earning the highest dollar sales during the show’s buying window.  Sherrill received deal offers from Macy’s and QVC & HSN, and then struck a life-changing purchase order deal with Macy’s representative Durand Guion (Vice President, Macy’s Fashion Office), valued at $100,000. You can watch Sherrill pitch her product HERE and strike her deal HERE. Brittany Cribbs from Philadelphia, PA was crowned the winning entrepreneur after selling more than $25K worth of her product, the Cloud 9 Easy Go Rollable Memory Foam Seat Cushion, earning the highest dollar sales during the show’s buying window.  Brittany met with the retail panel consisting of Lowe’s, Macy’s and QVC & HSN and ALL retail titans made purchase order offers. Having been inspired by Joy Mangano for years, Brittany chose to go into business with QVC & HSN.  Watch her pitch her product HERE and stri

Music has always been a passion for Washington, D.C. native, Kevin Ross. He attended a performing arts high school and went on to earn a degree from Berklee College of Music. His career began as a songwriter, getting his first placement with Jamie Foxx, which was followed by Ross writing and producing songs for such artists as Trey Songz, Toni Braxton, & Tank. In 2017 Kevin released his long-awaited debut full length album, The Awakening. The album’s first single, “Long Song Away” peaked at #1 on Billboard's Adult R&B Song chart and at Urban Contemporary Radio with the follow up single, “Don’t Go”, cracking the Top 15. The chart-topping success of The Awakening led to Ross receiving several award nominations: Best New Artist (Soul Train Awards), Outstanding New Artist (NAACP Image Awards), and New R&B Artist (iHeartRadio Awards). Ross continues to make a significant mark on the contemporary music scene as he kicked off 2020 debuting at #3 on iTunes R&B Albums chart with Audacity Vol 1. “

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month Special Guest: Natasha Coleman, MPH is the Senior Director of Cancer Control Strategic Partnerships for the American Cancer Society, Inc. Northeast Region. Natasha provides strategic direction to a team of cancer control managers who oversee a portfolio of integrated health systems, primary care networks and state health system partnerships.  The team is responsible for the implementation of evidence-based strategies to address the cancer burden and advance cancer control priorities. Natasha joined the American Cancer Society in 2001 and held previous roles as the health educator for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ.  She received her graduate degree from Rutgers University, School of Public Health and her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University in biological sciences.  

C.J. FARLEY was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Brockport, NY, with stops in Middle-earth, Xanth, Earthsea, and Narnia. Farley’s biography Aaliyah: More Than a Woman was a national best seller. A former editor of the Harvard Lampoon and a former music critic for Time, Farley is a blogger, columnist and senior editor at the Wall Street Journal. Game World is Farley’s first novel for young readers.  Farley's newest book- Zero O'Clock: In early March 2020 in New Rochelle, New York, teenager Geth Montego is fumbling with the present and uncertain about her future. She only has three friends: her best friend Tovah, who’s been acting weird ever since they started applying to college; Diego, who she wants to ask to prom; and the K-pop band BTS, because the group always seems to be there for her when she needs them (at least in her head). She could use some help now. Geth’s small city becomes one of the first COVID-19 containment zones in the US. As her community is upended by the virus and stirred up by

Actress Michole Briana White can currently be seen as part of the four main leads ensemble on the highly anticipated series, “Black Mafia Family.” From executive producer Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson (“Power”/ “Power Book II: Ghost, For Life”) and writer/executive producer and Detroit native Randy Huggins (“Star”/ “Rebel”/ “Power”). “Black Mafia Family” is produced through Jackson’s G-Unit Film and Television in association with Starz and Lionsgate Television.  The show is inspired by the true story of two brothers who rose from the decaying streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980’s and gave birth to one of the most influential crime families in this country. On the show, Michole portrays ‘Lucille,’ the strong-willed, dignified mother of Demetrius and Terry Flenory. “Black Mafia Family” premiered on September 26th, 2021 on Starz. The show has already been renewed for Season 2. Michole can also be seen as part of the main ensemble principle cast in James Wan’s rated R horror film Malignant. Finally, Michol

Marita Golden attended public schools in Washington, D.C. and graduated from American University and the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. She has been a faculty member in the MFA Creative Writing Programs at George Mason University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the MA Program in Creative Writing at Johns Hopkins University and a Writer-in-Residence at the University of the District of Columbia and Prince George’s Community College. She has lectured and taught internationally, at universities in Israel, Turkey, and Spain. Her many awards include the Barnes and Noble Writers for Writers Award presented by Poets and Writers, Distinguished Service Award from the Authors Guild, Maryland Author Award from the Association of Maryland Librarians, Award for Fiction from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and induction into the International Literary Hall of Fame of Writers of African Descent at the Gwendolyn Brooks Center at Chicago State University. The Strong Black W

Gregory S. Cooke is a career educator, documentary filmmaker, and World War II historian, dedicated to helping "relocate African Americans from the margins to the main pages of American and global history.” He is the Founder and President of the Basil and Becky Educational Foundation, a recipient of the Congressional Black Caucus, Veterans Braintrust Award (2019). Gregory is the creator of Invisible Warriors: African American Women in World War II, a critically acclaimed feature-length documentary that explores the wartime experiences of 600,000 “Rosie the Riveters”- “hidden figures” - pioneers who courageously triumph over racism and sexism to create job opportunities in industry and government for themselves and future generations of African American women. Invisible Warriors is an inaugural recipient of the Better Angels/Lavine/Ken Burns Fellowship (2020), and also received the Congressional Black Caucus, Veterans Braintrust Award (2019). Gregory is also the driving force behind the historical docum

Andrea Freeman is a Professor of Law at the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law. She is the recipient of the 2020-21 Fulbright King's College London Research Scholar Award. She writes and researches at the intersection of critical race theory and food policy, health, and consumer credit. She is the author of Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race, and Injustice (Stanford University Press 2019) and over a dozen book chapters and law review articles, many of them exploring her pioneering theory of food oppression.    Born into a tenant farming family in North Carolina in 1946, Mary Louise, Mary Ann, Mary Alice, and Mary Catherine were medical miracles. Annie Mae Fultz, a Black-Cherokee woman who lost her ability to hear and speak in childhood, became the mother of America's first surviving set of identical quadruplets. They were instant celebrities. Their White doctor named them after his own family members. He sold the rights to use the sisters for marketing purposes to the highest-bidding formula

Rhashidah Perry-Jones, MPA, is an award-winning writer, communications strategist and parent education and coach. She is vice president and chief communications officer at SELF, Inc., a human services organization providing emergency and permanent supportive services and housing to individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. Through her firm RPJ Global Enterprises, Rhashidah and her team design integrated communications and engagement strategies to help businesses and nonprofits deepen client relationships and connect with diverse communities. And through Lit Coaching, Rhashidah helps individuals and families create the lives they want through personal development. As a parent educator and coach her focus is providing strategies for family members raising children with ADHD. Michelle Harris Price serves on the Board of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association for adults (ADDA).  She leveraged her early internet fascination into a digital marketing agency that launched her first clie

T. L. Huchu (he/him) has published previously (as Tendai Huchu) The Hairdresser of Harare and The Maestro, The Magistrate and the Mathematician, which have been translated into multiple languages and his short fiction has won awards. His newest book The Library of the Dead is just out in the UK and the US, and will be followed by a sequel, Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments, in early 2022. Huchu grew in up Zimbabwe but has lived in Edinburgh, Scotland for most of his adult life.   Follow him on Twitter @TendaiHuchu.

Shugri Said Salh was born in the Somali desert. In 1992, she immigrated to North America after civil war broke out in her home country. She attended nursing school at Pacific Union College and graduated with honors. Although The Last Nomad is her first book , Salh has been storytelling since she could talk. From her grandmother and the nomadic community in which she was raised, she heard stories and learned of their power to entertain, teach, and transform. When she isn't writing or telling stories, she works as an infusion nurse. She lives in Sonoma County with her husband and three children.

  Myeloma survivor, and single father of three, Oya of Philadelphia, PA won’t let anything stand in his way as he prepares his kids for another challenging school year. “Myeloma is the most prevalent blood cancer among people of African descent and it is also one of the hematologic malignancies with the greatest racial disparities,” said Oya. “This population is not only twice as likely to develop this rare and incurable cancer when compared to white Americans and other racial groups, but they are also more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age.” Jennifer Wilson LCSW-R, has been a Sr. Information Specialist at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for 13 years. She responds to enquiries from patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals seeking information and support on blood cancers by providing accurate and up-to-date disease and treatment information, information on clinical trials, and providing financial and support resources. Jennifer is passionate about ensuring that all blood cancer pati

Yejide Kilanko was born in Ibadan, Nigeria. Her debut novel, Daughters Who Walk This Path, a Canadian national bestseller, was longlisted for the 2016 Nigeria Literature Prize. A writer of poetry and short fiction, Kilanko is also the author of a novella, Chasing Butterflies, two children’s picture books, There Is An Elephant In My Wardrobe, and Juba and The Fireball. Her next novel, A Good Name, is forthcoming in November 2021. Kilanko lives in Ontario, Canada, where she practices as a therapist in children’s mental health.

Special guests: Lizbeth Rodriguez serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Philadelphia Women’s Center, Delaware County Women’s Center and PA State Infrastructure Project. Lizbeth Develops and maintains positive relationships with state and community members in efforts to achieve Abortion Liberation.  Lizbeth also has direct patient care by serving as a Bilingual Phone Advocate for The Women’s Centers, a group of independent abortion providers specializing in first and second trimester abortion care in CT, GA, NJ, and PA. Website: https://www.thewomenscenters.com