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A candid and gentle aura accompanies Kenyatta. She speaks her words softly with a confidence and poise that is not to be mistaken for timidity but rather associated with elegance and grace!
When you hear the name Kenyatta Victoria, we want you to think of someone who trusted the process, but still put in the work needed to make sure she got where she was going. Think of a woman who knows how to forge her own path and leave a trail for others to follow. Picture someone using their talent and gift to mobilize a generation of young women of color. The personified voice exemplifying, compelling, and unifying Generation Z girls and women around the world! All while simultaneously being a testament to the promises of grit and hunger.
The Georgia native shared with us her origin story along with the experiences that have sculpted her into the professional she is today. As our conversation endured, her humorous side began to peek through as she shared a few of her funny memories with us. Exuding nothing but pure passion for her craft, Kenyatta made it clear that she knows exactly what she wants for her future in journalism and writing!
It's safe to say that avid ESSENCE Girls United (GU) readers and supporters already know exactly who we are talking about and are familiar with her work. But for those of you who may not, we’re happy to be bringing you the good fortune of becoming familiar with this eloquent writer on a more personal level! When we asked the Lead Writer at Essence Girls United to give us her a description of who Kenyatta Victoria is as a person, her immediate response was someone who found pleasure in being a helping hand for and to others, and an individual who found out early on that she enjoyed storytelling.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Completing her very first short story called "Astro Chicken" in fifth grade, Kenyatta Victoria began her journey as a writer at a very tender age. The writer recalled the process and unveiling of the story to friends and family as being very invigorating: “writing that story and seeing my friends and family’s reactions to it... they were just like, ‘oh my gosh like, you’re really good at this, like you could really do that!’” The GU writer opened.
Kenyatta, a naturally introverted individual, found that writing was the best way for her to adequately articulate her state of mind and convey her feelings exactly as she wanted! “That […] kind of helped me figure out who I am... figure out my personality... writing helped me grow into my own.” Kenyatta expressed her appreciation for writing primarily because the art form not only facilitated her ability to voice herself thoroughly but also still assists Kenyatta in further exploring who she truly is as an individual.
Years later, there was absolutely no doubt in Kenyatta’s mind that she and writing went together real bad! Even before her intimate debut of ‘Astro Chicken’, she knew that she wanted to tell stories with her writing and become an author. She also knew that pursuing higher education in journalism would be a key factor in the trajectory of her journey. By high school, she realized something that shifted her perspective on her aspirations.
Around this time, Kenyatta enjoyed watching interviews and conversations with her favorite artists. She was also appropriately obsessed with one of the industry's earliest teen entertainment magazines, J-14, which often provided its teenage audience with the inside scoop on some of the hottest and newest celebrities! Kenyatta found that she was particularly intrigued by conversations and articles that kept her up to speed on industry news. Especially when they offered insight into who these talents were and allowed her to ultimately peer beyond their surface persona.
Initially, her perception of journalism, similar to many others, was being an anchor on a news station’s channel, giving hard news and providing political updates. Similar to the nature in which CNN provides its news to its audience. Although she did not mind that beat, that was a form of journalism that did not ignite any form of fire in her.
After digging further into her love of J-14 and other modes of entertainment and industry news, Kenyatta Victoria realized that entertainment journalism was a thing! She further realized soon after that she wanted to write about things relevant to pop and entertainment culture! She explained to us that although her original aspiration was to become an author—something she is definitely still working to add to her resume, by the way—she feels like journalism is a way to “hone in on your craft as a writer, and then […], as you build your stripes, you're like, Oh, okay, I can definitely expand on like fictional storytelling later.”
Kenyatta went on to graduate from Clark Atlanta University with a bachelor’s in the fine art of journalism, then from Northwestern University with a master’s in journalism before turning 24! Admirable feats accomplished over the course of a trying but life-changing journey.
JOURNEYING THROUGH UNDERGRAD
In her first and second years at Clark Atlanta University (CAU), Kenyatta learned that she still had a few more misconceptions about journalism. She intended to attend entertainment and industry events like concerts, screenings, and red carpets to ultimately write reviews of them. She quickly learned as she advanced in her studies that event reviews were not the heart of journalism but rather the surface; the true essence was in reporting! Conversing with others, learning more about their story, and transforming it into one cohesive body of work for others to consume was something that ignited the fiery passion that she had been searching to feel earlier, and she ultimately discovered that it was what she enjoyed most!
During the first half of her undergraduate journey, Kenyatta felt like she was falling behind because she had not yet been able to secure an internship, whereas her peers had already been able to get their feet wet and garner credits through their internship experiences. She candidly divulged to us that she questioned herself frequently during this period to understand whether she was doing something wrong. Then junior year came around, and Kenyatta chose to take matters into her own hands! Mixing together her determination, creativity, and passion with a pinch of black girl magic, Kenyatta made something shake! She decided to create a website and YouTube channel. She then strategically used both of these platforms to showcase her talent and personality!
From interviews, entertainment and pop segments to vlogs and audible poems, Kenyatta Victoria’s channel and website were both spaces for the young writer to supply a coherent portfolio of her work and contributions to journalism. Her content and work at the time were heavily centered around the phrase “create your own impact.” Her commitment to this mantra helped her find the keys she needed to open the doors she wanted. Kenyatta stated that her journey through self-publication and content creation during her third year at CAU aided in solidifying her certainty of pursuing entertainment journalism!
SECURING THE ESSENCE BAG
Kenyatta started writing for Essence Girls United during her time in graduate school, and this was all thanks to a class project! Her school’s program required the completion of a course dedicated to the skill of storytelling, specifically through magazine publications. The professor of the class decided to teach students to pitch as part of the course’s curriculum. Thus, Kenyatta and her peers were asked to compose four stories. The end goal was to have the students pitch a story to a magazine publication of their choice once their work had been graded. Kenyatta excitedly recalled the memory of concluding which story she wanted to pitch and to what company.
Pressure by Ari Lennox had just charted on Billboard’s Hot 100 list at number 94 around that time, so Kenyatta decided to interview the song’s co-writer, Jai’Len Josey, for her assignment. She was able to complete the process and submit her work! Kenyatta earned an ‘A’ on the story and decided to pitch it to ESSENCE! “I knew I was going to get it on Essence somewhere... I pitched it to literally every Editor— like I followed and emailed every Editor who worked at Essence and I’m like, somebody’s gotta see this.” Kenyatta reminisced, giggling at the memory. "Really, […] structure-wise, you really not suppose to do that,” the GU writer cautioned, as the proper practice is to identify and email the appropriate editor who specializes in publishing stories that correlate with your work’s genre, once at a time. However, Kenyatta was resolute and did what she could to ensure that her work was seen!
Unwavering, she continued her quest with follow-up emails until one beautiful day before spring break, when she received an email from D'Shonda Brown, an Associate Editor for Essence Girls United (GU) at the time, while on her way back to her apartment. Brown responded to Kenyatta’s pitch with reception and interest, confirming that the Jai’Len Josey story would be a good fit for GU and that she would love to hear more! Kenyatta recalled calling her friend in excitement to share the news. After celebrating a bit on the phone with her friend, she composed the story and submitted it to D’Shonda as requested. Days of anticipation turned into weeks. Soon, Kenyatta wondered if there was something wrong with her submission. She had not shared the news with anyone other than her close friend, since she intended to surprise her family with the published article, but she eventually let it go.
A month later, while riding the bus to campus, she casually opened Twitter to discover that her Jai’Len Josey article had been published! She told us that she remembers screaming “It’s out, the article is out!” during her ride to class and eventually becoming tearful. Little did she know that this would be the beginning of her career at Essence.
Kenyatta continued writing for the team periodically throughout her studies while in graduate school. September came around. Kenyatta had graduated and was preparing to go home to Atlanta when D'Shonda reached out to ask if she would be interested in writing a few more pieces for Girls United, which was an absolute no-brainer for Kenyatta. “I was like girl duh! You didn’t have to ask me!” she recited with laughter. This led to a mentor-mentee-styled relationship between Kenyatta and Brown, who began working together more frequently.
Soon, preparations for Essence’s Girls United summit were underway, and Kenyatta was asked to be the summit’s content writer. The summit was set to take place in her home city that year, so her mom had encouraged her to ask if the summit team needed any help with ground stories. Agreeing with her mother’s great idea, Kenyatta decided to inquire, and the team was happy to have her! During her time assisting with the summit, she was able to meet more of the team and engross herself in the ESSENCE-sphere.
Weeks later, Kenyatta was asked if she would like to write for the holiday season. By the end of January, Nandi Howard, the Vice President of Content at ESSENCE, offered Kenyatta a full-time position with the company, and Kenyatta was happy to accept the offer and become part of the Essence family! “So that’s kinda like how all of that happened which has kinda been like the craziest thing ever [...] Essence has always [been] one of my top two companies to work with after graduating, so [...] it feels very surreal still that [...] I’m at one of my dream places,” Kenyatta exclaimed!
So that’s kinda like how all of that happened which has kinda been like the craziest thing ever [...] Essence has always [been] one of my top two companies to work with after graduating, so [...] it feels very surreal still that [...] I’m at one of my dream places.
ROLLING OUT INTERNSHIP
Prior to her full-time position with Girls United, Kenyatta was an intern with Rolling Out, an entertainment and media company, during her senior year. At this time, the pandemic had made many positions remote, a switch that was stressful for the emerging journalist and reporter. Kenyatta revealed that she often found herself working extra hard during her senior year due to her feelings of unpreparedness for the remote work world. To curb this feeling, she sought out as many opportunities to gain experience as she could. This included applying for internships while applying to her graduate program!
A friend encouraged her to consider applying to Rolling Out for an internship opportunity, and the rest became history. Her time at Rolling Out prepared her for remote work and allowed her to sharpen her communication and relational skills. Rolling Out also exposed Kenyatta to a more concise style of writing that she was not too accustomed to. The media company regularly published stories in a question-and-answer format rather than a storytelling article format. Kenyatta expressed that she could only recall composing about two complete, in-depth articles for the company during her time there. However, her six-month tenure with the entertainment, music, and urban lifestyle-focused media company taught her about resilience and work ethic. “I was paying my dues over there, for real,” she laughed. "It just helped me realize, like, okay... If you really want this… you’re gonna have to work hard and like you can’t skip around the process— […] you're a new journalist, you gon’ have to earn your stripes [...] and that’s just what it is.” Kenyatta stated, further expressing that she still uses her experiences from Rolling Out to this day even as a lead writer.
HIGHER EDUCATION & CAREER READINESS
When asked if she felt college adequately prepared her for the workforce as a journalist, Kenyatta's immediate response was “Oh my God, yes!” before she proceeded to tell us one of her favorite stories from her years as a journalism student. “This is like my origin story! My first article that I had […] in undergrad, my professor at the time, he literally ripped me a new one. Like, he dragged me so bad, in an email,” she laughs briefly before continuing, “and it was just red all over my article…and I thought I did […] so well, I was like ‘yeah[…], this is […] how I write,’ but [...] he was just like ‘This isn’t how you write’ like [...] you need to— basically, you need to get it together, like get on your zoom and get it together.”
Kenyatta maintains that nobody could have hurt her feelings the way that professor did, but she believes it was a necessary growing pain she had to experience. Now Kenyatta is frequently praised for the cleanliness of her writing, and she attributes this trait to her professor. “I wasn’t like always checking for stuff. It would be like the simplest things, and I would miss it and [...] he would literally be like that’s minus fifty, that’s minus twenty-five. So now it's like ‘Oh I have an F? Oh, okay cool.’ [...] So I think like, that really gave me just the foundation.” She believes that, had that professor not corrected her and stayed on her case while she was an undergraduate student, as any professor or mentor should, the quality of her writing would not be as spotless.
THE CURRENT STATE OF JOURNALISM
It seems corporate America has been struggling for some time, due to budgeting and emerging technological advances, which has resulted in a harsh wave of layoffs that began materializing during the early stages of the quarantine era. Now the wave has begun to crash down on millions of workers around the country. Of course, writers and journalists have also been caught in these dangerous tides. Heavily influenced by the current economic state of the country and the long-term impacts of the pandemic, countless writers have expressed their exasperating circumstances. Still, as summer reaches its climax, writers are struggling to find work and secure permanency, leaving the livelihoods of many creatives and their families negatively affected.
Fresh in the industry with the vital job of representing the voice of Black Generation Z girls, we had to know Kenyatta’s take on the current state of journalism. A frequent thought for the young writer, Kenyatta voiced that she finds the current state of her industry to be both unfortunate and strange. She recalled the nerve-wracking feeling of witnessing journalists being forced to revert to freelancing due to layoffs while she was still studying for her master’s in journalism! Understandably, this made her very nervous about her future and unsure of what to do. Explaining that freelance writers without adequate connections and reputability often struggle to make a viable living off of their work due to the uncertainty of freelancing.
Naturally, she decided to discuss this topic with her mentor, D'Shonda, to see how she was dealing with everything and gain her perspective on the matter. Kenyatta disclosed that the gist of their conversation was that writers should not be afraid to pivot or explore the full spectrum of their potential and creativity! This led Kenyatta to the realization that social media and other platforms can still be used to showcase work, similarly to the way she used them during her undergraduate years.
Hence, her advice to students in journalism is to surround themselves with a like-minded community with which they can converse about these topics and gain insight. Stressing the importance of learning how to properly utilize all your skills and also trying to think outside the box. “Are you good with video? Are you good with photography? Are you, you know…there are many avenues in journalism and communications, so don’t be afraid to like, experiment, and […] try out other skills because you just never know.”
Kenyatta also advised against getting caught up in rejections since, unfortunately, the economy is just in a very poor state, which has made finding employment even more challenging. She expressed that it is important to understand that you’re not a failure because you don’t already have an offer upon graduation! Adding that it is okay to take a breather and meditate on what you want for yourself moving forward, as well as take time to understand what success looks like for you.
Once you start working, [...] that’s it [...]. You have to be an adult, you have to work, you have to pay bills, you have to get the job done. So, I think, my advice for college students is like, take your time and don't get so worked up about the end goal. Just enjoy the process, enjoy the journey cause [...] that's a very big shift from [...] full-time student to like full-time adult.
THE GIRLS WHO GET IT, GET IT!
Women, their history, and their power are topics of relevance regardless of what time of the year it is! Though girls and women have often been a demographic overlooked by society due to stereotypes and dictations, they have continually proven why they are some of the world’s most beautiful creations! Kenyatta pointed out that her favorite thing about being a woman and about women, in general, is their gift of awareness and intuitive nature. “They just get it! I feel like women are just very in tune with themselves and each other.” Due to this, Kenyatta stated that it makes it easy to build community among women. Further expressing that it's cool working at Essence, a magazine dedicated to women, because she and her colleagues often have casual conversations that stem into storylines that can potentially be used to help other young girls and women within their audience!
When questioned on the importance of a woman’s mindset in today’s world and what young ladies should keep in mind, the girl's girl expressed that she feels as though “society always tries to come at women when we are being, quote, unquote, emotional. But I feel like being emotional is really like a superpower, especially in like journalism, because I think that's where like the heart comes from in a lot of these stories. I think a lot of times like, people tell women, […] you need to be a boss; you need to be like this and like that; but I think when it comes to like, just being in tune with your emotions, […] that is also like really boss-level type stuff. Like you’re very aware and you’re very— you know what you want and what you don’t want and like what you will and won’t accept.” Kenyatta openly told us that she strives to uphold this sort of attitude and consciousness in both her personal and professional life as she navigates early womanhood. The entertainment journalist also emphasized the importance of instilling this type of mindset in younger girls because it helps them learn how to adequately identify and eliminate distractions from their environment as they move through early womanhood and eventually adulthood!
A TOAST TO THE LADIES
The commonly recited saying “It takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb that has held true for centuries and one that many of us can attest to. Without figures like parents, guardians, mentors, and advisors who we trust and often care for, many of us would not be where we are today. So, we thought it was only right to give Kenyatta the floor to highlight a few of the women within her village who have helped her get to where she is now!
First on her list of many is D'Shonda Brown, whom she thanked for allowing her to receive her first big byline. Though the GU writer had prior bylines, she believes that her story with GU was her breakout byline in the field of entertainment and culture reporting, which was a huge deal to her! Brown is someone Kenyatta still talks to, as Brown has created an open and welcoming space that the young writer will always be appreciative of!
Next up, we have Brooklyn White-Grier, a writer whose work Kenyatta admires, and the woman who spearheaded Essence Girls United five years ago in 2019. “Her pen is just insane! She literally—if you don’t know she wrote the Beyoncé cover for Essence, which is super cool [...] and I just really appreciate like her voice as a writer.” Kenyatta expressed that Grier talks about, and reports on, several topics that she finds interesting. Further expressing that she is grateful to have had her edit some of her GU content, Kenyatta expressed a lot of gratitude towards Grier, specifically for her voice and guidance as a writer!
Last on this abbreviated list of women, but certainly not least, is Danielle Wright, the Content Editor for Girls United and Kenyatta’s favorite partner in crime! “We really fostered [...] a new voice, a new era for GU, and [...] it’s just been very cool to like grow with her [and] see the growth of the brand.” The journalist expressed that witnessing the growth between herself and Danielle, in addition to watching how much people gravitate towards the Girls United (GU) brand, has been refreshing and reassuring that they are doing something right with the new trajectory they’ve carried out for GU.
A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
Trying to look five years into the future was a bit odd for Kenyatta to picture because she would be at the beginning of a new decade. However, by then, she hopes to have already published her first book and to have it be a New York Times Best Seller. The Clark Atlanta University alumna also has the desire to tap into her interest in animation through animated storytelling! “Also, by the time I’m thirty, hopefully, I’m hoping to have had like [...] more like an Editor position under my belt [...] helping young writers [...] find their voice like the Editors that I’ve worked with have done for me.” Our conversation with the Lead Writer at Girls United and Voice of Gen Z Girls ended on an affirmative note as she further elaborated on her future aspirations. Her ultimate goal is to give back and provide opportunities for those who may be in the same shoes she was in a few years ago while in college. “So definitely more of [an] Editor-Mentorship-Author type of position by the time I'm thirty.”
STAY CONNECTED:
You can keep up with Kenyatta Victoria by following her on Instagram @KenyattaVictoria and supporting Girls United @EssenceGU! Don't forget to keep up with XBlaze Magazine via Instagram, Twitter, and our YouTube Channel!
Written by Torera of XBlaze Magazine
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