KIT Spotlight On Keah Brown

The next staff member to shine the KIT spotlight on an influential Black person to acknowledge and celebrate their accomplishments for Black History Month is Content & Curriculum Director, Anna Luther.

Anna joined KIT full-time in December of 2012. Anna began working with individuals with developmental disabilities in 2002 as a personal assistant and teacher assistant in a public school program for young adults. This was the start of a now long-felt passion for providing support and services for children, families and educational programs designed for inclusiveness in her community. Anna holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is an avid Tar Heels fan!

Black History Month Spotlight:

I would like to highlight Keah Brown. She is a writer, journalist, activist and speaker. In 2017, Keah’s #DisabledandCute went viral. Since then, she has shared her journey of self-love and worked to ensure there is representation of Black women and people with disabilities, and those with intersecting identities, in the media. Keah’s influence was noted in 2018 when she was included on The Root 100, which is an annual list of the most influential African Americans.

As a writer, Keah has shared her message in international publications, that reach a wide variety of audiences. In 2018, her article What It’s Like to Be a Disabled Model in the Fashion Industry, was the cover story for Teen Vogue.

I have to admit, as a teenager I kept up with the world through my subscription to Seventeen magazine and recognize the influence an article like Keah’s could have on the young people of the world and open their eyes to topics like intersectionality, representation, and equity. Keah’s book, The Pretty One, was published in 2019.

It’s a collection of essays where she tells her story of learning to love herself by exploring all of her intersecting identities including being black and disabled. In an interview she said she hoped her book would leave a legacy about the value of difference and said, “I want people to feel like they belong in the Earth, on the Earth, alive and well…”  You can watch her video “You Can Be Disabled and Cute” by clicking here.

You can follow Keah on social media.

• Twitter:  @Keah_Maria
• Instagram:  keah_maria
• Facebook:  KeahBrown4