Topic: Representative Malcolm Kenyatta - Pennsylvania State Representative for the 181st district – joins Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey for a conversation about midterm elections and his latest efforts to call out MAGA Republicans.

Bio:

Representative Malcolm Kenyatta currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Philadelphia Delegation, as a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Suicide Prevention, and on a host of committee leadership positions. As the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color and one of the youngest members elected to the PA General Assembly, he is deeply committed to creating an equitable and inclusive society. As a legislator, he has championed proposals to address generational poverty, raise the minimum wage, protect workers' rights, increase access to mental healthcare, stem the rise of gun violence, and protect our digital infrastructure.

In 2016 and in 2020, he was elected as Delegate to the Democratic Convention, both times garnering the second-highest vote total of any delegate in the Commonwealth. He has also appeared on local and national media outlets to discuss systemic poverty, affordable education and childcare, and making government more accountable to citizens. He was the subject of an award-winning short documentary about his election run, ‘Going Forward’ produced by Seven Knot Productions, which premiered on ‘The Atlantic Magazine Selects’ in 2018. In 2020, he was chosen by President Joe Biden to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention along with a group of other ‘Rising Stars.’ He was one of twenty Electoral College votes cast for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, in Harrisburg on December 14, 2020.

Malcolm was deeply involved in fighting for his neighbors from a young age—as a community activist and junior block captain, a former board member of Smith Playground, and a leader of the Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Malcolm lives in the same neighborhood he grew up in North Philadelphia with his partner, Dr. Matt.