Kendis Gibson is one of the fortunate few. He won’t tell you that, but I will.

Landing significant assignments and face time as a Black journalist is tough in an industry that sometimes marginalizes us, but Kendis kept working and paying his dues. He ascended through the journalism ranks of local and national networks as field reporter, correspondent, and anchor to land the coveted spot of hosting his own show on MSNBC, which airs on weekends from 2-4pm ET. .

Prior to MSNBC, Kendis worked as a correspondent at ABC, covering everything from the Obama presidency to natural disasters. This self described operational insomniac was then named the co-anchor of ABC’s "America This Morning" and "World News Now," ABC’s overnight/early morning newscast which delivered a unique mix of the latest headlines and quirky, one-of-a-kind signature segments which quickly became a fan favorite.

As any veteran news reporter will tell you, life as a journalist isn’t as glamorous as “lights, camera, action.” It takes its toll on your life, and the assignments aren’t always fascinating. Kendis has covered multiple severe storms, the Santa Barbara oil spill, the shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer in South Carolina.

Kendis spills the TEA about the highs and lows of his career, the importance of people of color having a seat at the table in order to set the media agenda, maintaining his integrity in this 24 hour news cycle and fake news when so many seem to have lost their way, keeping his sanity when traveling from city to city to further his career, challenging bigots on air, and how he couldn’t outrun or meditate his way out of depression. .

He keeps it real and you don’t want to miss this edition of TheLegaliTEA podcast