MEDIA

Loving Spoonful Newsletter: Is Courtship Dead? (Part I)

Loving Spoonful is a weekly newsletter from a hopeful realist responding to current events, life and love during end times (with a dry sense of humor).

Excerpt from "Is Courtship Dead?" : The commentary about New York City is usually that it’s a walking city, but traditionally it’s also a dating city. Some of the best romantic films have been set in NYC like When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Moonstruck, West Side Story, Frankie and Johnny, Maid in Manhattan, Serendipity, and Sleepless in Seattle (nevermind how painfully white most of those movies are for now, I’m driving towards a point).,,

Love Party Podcast

Global citizen and native New Yorker Agunda Okeyo executive produces & hosts an AU Productions podcast called Love Party. Beginning in December 2023, Okeyo hosts the bi-monthly conversation about love. The mission of the podcast is to expand, explore and challenge our
understanding of love as citizens of the world.

WMC Feature: What’s at Stake for Women of Color in the Hollywood Strikes

As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes grip Hollywood, the potential impact of this pause in production and the climate creating the work stoppage presents unique challenges for women of color, who continue to dream of full participation in a business that is structurally more and more elusive to learn and grow within. Some question whether anything remotely close to the level of success of Hollywood’s top-earning writers and actors is even possible in today’s Hollywood run by avaricious corporations and tech giants.

The Progressive OpEd: Why Karens Are a Threat to Racial Progress

I have white women in my life whom I like and love but, for some white women, a predatory element lingers just under the surface of their smiling faces. Because in many ways, white womanhood is the secret weapon in the perpetuation of white supremacy: When a white woman feels “unsafe”—particularly in situations that involve a Black woman conscious of an injustice or a Black male simply existing—whatever solution that follows cannot be questioned.

CBS This Morning -- "We, As Ourselves": Changing the dialogue around Black sexual assault survivors

me too. International, the Time's Up Foundation and the National Women's Law Center are partnering to launch a new campaign aimed at changing the conversation around sexual violence within the Black community. "me too." founder and executive director Tarana Burke and actress Jurnee Smollett join "CBS This Morning" to announce the "We, As Ourselves" initiative.

We As Ourselves: A Love Letter to Black Survivors

The Love Letter to Black Survivors is the centerpiece of the We, As Ourselves initiative — a collaboration powered by ‘me too.’ International., National Women’s Law Center, and TIME’S UP Foundation to reshape the narrative around sexual violence and its impact on Black survivors.

With the script written by 'me too.' International. founder, Tarana Burke, the Love Letter to Black Survivors video is a compilation of activists, actors, influencers, survivors, and political leaders as a call-to-action to center the voices and experiences of Black survivors and to create the cultural conditions for Black survivors to be heard and supported.

THR: 2019 Tribeca Jurors: Aaron Rodgers, Angela Bassett, Sheila Nevins Among Jurors ft. producer Agunda Okeyo

The Tribeca Film Festival 2019 narrative short jurors are Dowd, Grace, attorney Rosalind Lichter, Hamish Linklater, Lily Rabe, Phoebe Robinson and animator Jeff Scher. The short documentary and student visionary competition jurors are Dr. Kevin Cahill, David Krumholtz, Kathy Najimy, Nevins, writer-producer-activist Agunda Okeyo, Rodgers and HoopsNation founder Buster Scher.

Now This Interview: Activists Gloria Steinem and Agunda Okeyo on Women in Government

Jan 19, 2019 - a conversation with author/activist Gloria Steinem and Executive Director of Women's March NYC Agunda Okeyo on the 2nd anniversary of Women's March at Foley Square in NYC. On this day Women's March NYC cohosts the Women's Unity Rally with New York Immigration Coalition with a community of NYC organizations, unions, and activists in an inclusive rally celebrating social justic gains of recent years, the 2018 midterm elections that saw a record number of women elected to Congress and a vision for the work ahead in NYC.

Democracy Now Interview: Womens Unity Rally

Women took to the streets across the country and the world Saturday, two years after the historic 2017 Women’s March protesting President Trump’s inauguration. In New York City, Democracy Now! spoke to participants at the Women’s Unity Rally, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, feminist icon Gloria Steinem and Women’s March NYC Director Agunda Okeyo.

Sisters of Comedy at Afropunk Festival

August 25, 2018 Sisters of Comedy joins Afropunk Festival with an all star showcase at The Knitting Factory. For five years “Sisters of Comedy” creator Agunda Okeyo has made Black women’s voices in comedic performance her focus. On August 25, the showcase is teaming up with Afropunk at the Knitting Factory in New York City as part of its “Afropunk After Dark” series.

Sisters of Comedy at The Schomburg

This evening of stand-up comedy featured dynamic women of the Sisters Of Comedy series at The world famous Schomburg Center of Harlem, NY. Under the direction of Agunda Okeyo, Sisters of Comedy is an ongoing production formerly at Carolines on Broadway, showcasing a who’s who of black women in stand-up. Okeyo has worked with HBO’s Insecure Yvonne Orji, Two Dope Queen’s Phoebe Robinson, Def Comedy Jam’s Zainab Johnson, and many many more.

The show featured comedians Yamaneika Saunders (Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon), Gina Yashere (The Daily Show with Trevor Noah), Aparna Nancharla (Comedy Central's Corporate), and Chanel Ali (Night Train with Wyatt Cenac), hosted by Agunda Okeyo (Creator, Producer).

The show was followed by a conversation, moderated Angélique Roché (a journalist, attorney, content creator).

CCC OpEd: We been marching: Centering black and brown youth in the fight against gun violence

There have been at least 23 school shootings in America this year, so far. That’s an average of one school shooting a week.

While recent media coverage has focused on the young white victims of high-profile mass shootings like the Feb. 14 massacre at Parkland, Florida high school, for the black community, gun violence is nothing new. In fact, according to Million Hoodies, an organization building the next generation of leadership to fight anti-black racism and systemic violence, guns kill 10 times the number of black children each year than they do white children.

The Progressive OpEd: From African American Voters to African Nations, Cambridge Analytica Wages ‘Cultural Warfare’

Political firm Cambridge Analytica attempted to suppress voting in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, whistleblower Christopher Wylie told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on May 16.

Wylie, a former contractor who disclosed the company’s alleged misuse of private Facebook user data earlier this year, said it targeted African American voters in particular, waging “cultural warfare” for political ends.

Sisters of Comedy at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival

In response to the growing national movement, Tribeca Film Festival has partnered with TIME’S UP to host a day of conversations with the women who are playing a pivotal role in raising awareness about inequality in the workplace. Activists, storytellers, business leaders, filmmakers, lawyers, media figures, and more share their stories and seek next steps to establish the parameters for lasting change across industries and the pay spectrum. "Sisters of Comedy" was a featured segement of the production. The showcase featured MC Agunda Okeyo, Gina Yashere and Shaseer Zamata

Sway in the Morning Interview: Agunda Okeyo Introduces Sisters of Comedy at Caroline’s on Broadway

Producer Agunda Okeyo joins the legendary radio host Sway Calloway on his daily radio show on SiriusXM Sway in the Mornning to dicuss her ongoing comedy showcase "Sisters of Comedy" at Carolines on Broadway. The promoted showcase features as all start line up for SISTERS OF COMEDY: THE WAKANDA (BLK AF) EDITION. MC: Gina Yashere (Netflix’s Standups) and Featuring:
Dulce Sloan (The Daily Show)
Sasheer Zamata (SNL)
Nore Davis (Inside Amy Schumer)
Jon Laster (BET’s Comic View)
w/ Special Guest Black Thought (The Roots)

Curve Magazine Book Review: Revolutionary, Gifted & Black

Agunda Okeyo reviews the stirring Black Lives Matter Memoir "When They Call You A Terrorist" (2018) by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandale.

HB Exclusive: Q+A With Agunda Okeyo, Founder Of ‘Sisters Of Comedy’

Black women in comedy are finally having the coming out party they deserve as the last few years have brought forth several Black women who made major strides in the comedy arena, as well as breaking barriers set in place for decades.

The Progressive OpEd: Wakanda: A Nation Without Chains

The mythical African nation in ‘Black Panther’ is allowed to thrive on its own terms—offering a fascinating and rooted alternative to existing Western notions of nation-building.

Friends Like Us Podcast: February 14, 2018

This week, Erin Jackson, Agunda Okeyo, and Man-Of-The-Month Jordan Carlos stop by Friends Like Us to talk writing for comedy, Mike Pence at the Olympics, and the Super Bowl. Erin Jackson- Last Comic Standing, Exhale, Ellen, Herlarious, Standup in Stilettos. Agunda Okeyo- Activist. The Daily Beast, Okay Africa, NBC, Curve Magazine and O Magazine. Producer of Sisters of Comedy. The Laura Flanders Show. Jordan Carlos- The Colbert Report, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore...

Okay Africa OpEd: Your Ideology Is A Shithole

Trump is the figurehead for an international system that depends on an 'enfeebled' Africa in order to rob the continent it of its riches. Here's how it works.

Producer Agunda Okeyo in New York Times

Producer Agunda Okeyo and Sisters of Comedy featured in the New York Times for 4 year anniversary showcase (Jan 11, 2018).

Friends Like Us Podcast: December 6, 2017

This week on Friends Like Us: Marina Franklin, Christina Galston, MeMe Simpson, and Agunda Okeyo discuss uncomfortable conversations about sex, gender relations, Net Neutrality, and the GOP.
Featured guests: Christina Galston - MTV’s Guy Code vs. Girl Code, The Chisme Club, and Stand-Up 360: Muy Caliente. MeMe Simpson - toured with Michael Blackson, Damon Wayans and wrote for Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns. Agunda Okeyo - activist, writer, producer, and filmmaker. Her writing has been featured...

Huffpo OpEd: If Black Lives Don’t Matter, African Lives Don’t Exist

If Black lives don’t matter enough to say that #BlackLivesMatter, African lives don’t exist. Living in America is an exercise in frustrating tolerance of a people who fail to recognize their ceaseless exploitation of African lives, land and resources. Most Americans are ignorant of this country’s role in the assassination of the late great Patrice Lumumba of Congo, the colonization of Liberia in their attempt to rid themselves of free blacks beginning in the 1820s or the ongoing conflicts they endorse through the military program AFRICOM — exacerbating conflicts in Somalia, South Sudan, Congo, Mali and many other places to passively control African natural resources under the guise of “democracy building” and “security” against insurgents the U.S. birthed in endless middle eastern conflict...

The Elephant Essay: I Long For A Different August

Since I was a child, I have been acutely aware of conflict and deeply concerned with resolving contentious problems. That has made for an interesting outlook considering that since my birth in August 1982 until this day, my community in Nyanza, Western Kenya has been under regular attack from state forces because of the egalitarian values we seek to uphold, in stark contrast to the neocolonial, capitalist, patriarchal ideology steering government.

Read more at: https://www.theelephant.info/reflections/2017/11/08/i-long-for-a-different-august/
The Elephant - Speaking truth to power...

Friends Like Us Podcast: October 4, 2017

FLU with host Marina Franklin Judy Gold, Bonnie McFarlane, and Agunda Okeyo stop by FriendsLikeUs to discuss The march for Black Women on Washington, Taking a Knee, Whitney Houston, Palestine, Puerto Rico, and Hugh Hefner.

Essence OpEd: The March For Racial Justice - It's Time To Shift Power Away From White Supremacy

Published 2017: St. Louis police officer, Jason Stockley, was standing mere inches away from Anthony Lamar Smith when he shot and killed him. Earlier this month — on the 54th anniversary of the Birmingham 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing — Stockley was acquitted of all charges.”

VICE OpEd: If We Want to End White Supremacy, White America Needs to Step it Up

On September 30, 2017 anti-racism activists are convening in Washington D.C. for the March for Racial Justice. During the event, the support of white allies will be just as important as the protests from people of color.

HelloBeautiful Hosts Inaugural SpeakHER Town Hall On Black Women & State-Sanctioned Violence

On Thursday, August 17, 2017, Hello Beautiful hosted a dynamic town hall to discuss why Black women are removed from the conversation when we talk about state sanctioned violence.

HuffPo OpEd: Black Women on TV Living Best Selves

Up until several years ago, the daily rhythms and inner life of black women were rarely examined on television in the 21st Century. Thanks to the creative genius and tenacity of Oprah, Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, and now Issa Rae black women behind the scenes are sharing stories that finally do us justice. So after many years of one dimensional representation, we are living fully on the small screen again.
Like every 30-something black woman I know, I was watching HBO’s Insecure Sunday night.

Friends Like Us Podcast: August 9, 2017

Friends talk with James Altucher about taking care of self, college debt, five things one must have, and more! Featured Guests: James Altucher- Entrepreneur, author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book: “Choose Yourself, and host of his top rated podcast “The James Altucher Show.”; Agunda Okeyo- Producer of "Sisters of Comedy", writer, filmmaker, activist, in 2016 she was named a Progressive Women’s Voices fellow with Women’s Media Center and joined the NYC board of Women; Jenny Saldana - actor, writer, host, funny maker upper, Bon Vivant, Breast Cancer Rock STAR, and featured in Glamour Magazine;

Always hosted by Marina Franklin: "Trainwreck", "Louie Season V","The Jim Gaffigan Show", "Conan O'Brien", and HBO's "Crashing"

Black Women-Centered Comedy Show Holds ‘Night of Levity for Black Lives’

A black women comedy show hosted a “night of levity for black lives” to inspire “community” among black people, coinciding with the third anniversary of the death of 18-year-old black teen Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer in Ferguson, Mo.

NBC News OpEd: Comedy Can Lead to Inclusion in Divided Times

I’ve always been “woke.”
I attribute this to being the youngest with two big brothers who outpaced me and pushed me to think faster and play harder. Also being a Kenyan immigrant in growing up in NYC had the same effect. In the never ending oil spill of the 2016 election, we are all covered in this grimy substance that simply won’t wash out.

HelloBeautiful 'Chick Chat' Interview: Fighting Back Against The Patriarchy With Comedy

May 24, 2017 - Charise Frazier and Keyaira Kelly sit down with “Sisters of Comedy” series creator Agunda Okeyo and writer/ activist Michaela Angela Davis, to talk about the visibility of Black women in comedy.

PBS Video: Behind the Scenes with Sisters of Comedy

Published May 24, 2017 (recorded at 2016 NYCF) PBS goes behind the scenes at the world-famous Carolines on Broadway comedy club with the black female comics who are the “Sisters of Comedy.” Find out how they’re showcasing diversity both onstage and off.

PIX11 in NYC Panel Interview: ‘Black women at work’ hashtag highlights racism in the workplace

April 3, 2017 - Writer Agunda Okeyo and Chanda Gibson, executive director of the Council of Urban Professionals, discuss the viral hashtag #BlackWomenatWork.

The hashtag, created by educator and activist Brittany Packnett, is a response to the way Congressman Maxine Waters and White House Correspondent April Ryan were treated by Fox News Commentator Bill O'Reilly and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer last week. Many black women used this hashtag to talk about the discrimination and disrespect they experience in the workplace.

Feet in Two Worlds, WNYC Podcast: Between Fear and Hope

Dec 15, 2016 - A growing number of cities, college campuses and churches have declared themselves to be sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants. Some states – including California and New York, home to large immigrant populations – have said that they will resist Trump’s immigration policies. But no one really knows what will happen when Trump takes office. Feet in 2 Worlds invited a group of young immigrants to talk about their responses -in both words and deeds – to the incoming administration.

Oprah Mag Book Review: Noah's Memoir Raw, Real & Funny

December 2, 2016 - You'd be hard-pressed to find a comic’s origin story better than the one Trevor Noah serves up in Born a Crime. Noah, his little brother, and their mother are on the way home from church. After a dispute with their bus driver, Noah’s mother hurls herself and her boys out of the moving vehicle. Bruised and bloodied, they flee to safety, and Noah, then just 9, observes, “I know you love Jesus, but maybe next week you could ask him to meet us at our house.” (Dec 1, 2016)

OkayAfrica OpEd: Why We're Taking Our Protest Okay Africa OpEd - Against Racism and Misogyny To Trump Tower

Women of color have always been at the forefront of the fight for equality and will continue to do so under a Trump presidency says Agunda Okeyo.

Complex Mag: WOC Lead Post-Election Protest in NY

Nov 10, 2016 - via Complex Writer & filmmaker Agunda Okeyo offered especially affecting insight, taking hold of a megaphone as night set in and rain fell more heavily. Okeyo, who is from Kenya, said she has lived through dictatorships and likens the atmosphere in America right now to the start of a dictatorial regime. “You guys got bamboozled," she said, but her words were ultimately hopeful. She spoke of the need to empower black women to lead—because, she said, they are leaders...

Rewire.com: WOC Led Coalitions Launch #Our100

Nov 9, 2016 - via ReWire “Women of color-led coalitions are coming together in the first 100 hours after electing a new president to support an agenda for Black lives, immigrants, Muslims, Latinas … against rape culture and a sexist, racist, xenophobic policy,” said Agunda Okeyo, an activist, organizer, and African immigrant in New York City.

Democracy Now: Anti-Trump Rally @ Columbus Circle

On Nov 9, 2016- via Democracy Now! #GOPHandsOffMe held major rally at Columbus Circle in NYC, near Trump International Hotel calling for continued action to confront racist, sexist and xenophobic policy and practice. Agunda speaks on the election.

The Laura Flanders Show Interview: The Day After The Election 2016

Nov 8, 2016 - On The Laura Flanders Show, a special call to action against post-election complacency. Although many of us affected by this election will be embittered and jaded by the "nightmarish" election season, our guests this week, activists ranging from many backgrounds, communities, and ages have a thoughts on how we can continue to mobilize #AfterTheElection.

Women & Hollywood: “Sisters of Comedy” Joins New York Comedy Festival

Back in March, filmmaker and activist Agunda Okeyo announced a new monthly production called “Sisters of Comedy,” which is presented at Caroline’s on Broadway. “Sisters of Comedy” just booked a high-profile gig: Okeyo’s production will take the stage at the upcoming New York Comedy Festival...

PIX11 in NYC Interview: "Sisters of Comedy" at the New York Comedy Festival

Nov 1, 2016 - Agunda Okeyo and comedian Michelle Buteau appeared LIVE to discuss the Nov 2nd NY Comedy Festival production of Sisters of Comedy at Carolines on Broadway on PIX 11 with hosts Scott Stanford and Sukanya Krishnan!

Sisters of Comedy at New York Comedy Festival

Agunda Okeyo joins NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL w/ “Sisters of Comedy” at Carolines on Broadway Wednesday, November 2nd at 7:30pm. Hosted by Broad City’s Michelle Buteau, Zainab Johnson (Comic View), Gina Yashere (The Tonight Show), Sasheer Zamata (Saturday Night Live) Special guests Mark Normand (Inside Amy Schumer) and Judah Friedlander (30 Rock)! Okeyo is ft. as a rising producer & activist in Time Out NY The New Yorker, Essence, Black Enterprise, Hollywood Reporter, NY Times, NBC & HuffPost.

Ebro in the Morning Interview: Agunda Okeyo talks Sisters of Comedy & co-creating the 1st Trump protest group!

Oct 31, 2016 - Agunda Okeyo visited Hot 97 to discuss ‘Sisters of Comedy’ and creating the first Trump protest group. Watch the interview!

New York Times: "Millennials Protest Against Trump"

Oct 18th - via NYTimes Young minority women organized anti-Trump protests in cities across the country after multiple sexual assault allegations against him.

TIME Group Interview: Sex Assault Survivors Protest Trump

Oct 18th - via TIME Dozens of women, many of them sexual assault survivors, gathered in front of Trump Tower Tuesday morning to kick off a series of nationwide protests urging women to abandon the Republican Party and demanding that GOP leadership un-endorse Donald Trump. The gathering, led mostly by women of color, was half-protest, half-consciousness raising, featuring sexual assault survivors sharing their outrage at Trump’s recent comments about women and several musical performances.

BBC Group Interview: Women Protest Trump Across America

Oct 18th - Women in 15 cities across the US have gathered at Trump buildings to protest against the presidential candidate. One of the largest protests was at the Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York.

Ozy: Pussy Riots at Trump Tower

Oct 15th - Donald J. Trump, the presidential nominee of the Republican Party, has been dogged by so many accusations of sexual assault that we have lost the will to tally them up. And mind you, we are very good at math. Amid all this — his boasting about grabbing pussy, his alleged octopus hands (we’d hoped they were too small for that), the allegations of unwanted peeping, touching and kissing, and, yes, rape — we almost look fondly at August 2015. Almost...

New York Mag: Dozens of Women Are Protesting Trump

Oct 12th - via NYMag Dozens of women, including sexual-assault survivors, rallied outside Trump Tower in Manhattan on Wednesday morning to protest the Republican presidential candidate.

Approximately 50 protesters were holding signs, ranging from “Pussies in formation” to large pictures of cats, as they chanted, “Trump thinks he runs this town, pussy came to shut it down,” according to The Guardian. They also chanted, “We want freedom, tell the sexist GOP, we don’t need ’em.”

Rewire.com: ‘Pussies in Formation’ Against Trump

Oct 12th - “We made it clear our bodies are ours and that the GOP needs to back off,” said Agunda Okeyo, a New York City-based writer, filmmaker, and activist who took part in the protest.

The Gothamist: Women Form Human Chain Outside Trump

Oct 12th - A group of about 60 women linked arms across the entrance of Trump Tower on 5th Avenue this morning, blocking passage in and out of the building as they condemned Trump and the entire GOP for what they described as decades of "anti-women, anti-immigrant, and anti-black policies."

Why Do Funny Black Women Still Need To Be Trailblazers In 2016?

Social justice activist and former comedy club producer Agunda Okeyo hosts a quarterly stand-up showcase that exclusively features black women stand-ups called Sisters in Comedy at Carolines. “If you want to affect the industry, you should fight on the inside,” says Okeyo.

Rap Track by Agunda Okeyo: Snapshot '16

I was overjoyed to make this visual spoken word (rap) video over a few short days at an adult summer camp in 2016! Convened by the African American Policy Forum and held at Vassar College, I made this project in the midst of so many beautiful black women activists and allies. It's fundamentally a message of unity with all people and I hope we continue to make more and more empathetic and herstorically astute decisions about our future. Stop state sanctioned violence against black women.

Huffpo: Comedy Show to Fundraise for BLM

Agunda Okeyo celebrates blackness and explores how to heal pain with humor through her work as a writer, producer and activist. “Laughter is the most liberating emotion and it’s my joy to bask in it and share it with others,” Okeyo told The Huffington Post. Okeyo said that’s why she created “Sisters of Comedy,” a special stand up showcase that first kicked off in 2014 and features acts from talented black women comedians...

Newsone: ‘Sisters Of Comedy’ Event Helps To Ease The Pain Of Black Trauma

For over two years, activist, filmmaker, and writer Agunda Okeyo has added comedy curator to her entrepreneurial efforts, producing an all-woman-everything series in New York City entitled, “Sisters Of Comedy.” In July the event comes as the nation grapples with the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

The Interrobang: Jumping Around w/ Jeff Gurian covers Sisters of Comedy

Speaking of comics and cops, Agunda Okeyo, a comic and producer had a special show called The Sisters of Comedy at Carolines which was a predominantly black female show, except for Wyatt Cenac, and Judah Friedlander. It was a show co-sponsored by Black Lives Matter.

Okay Africa OpEd: American Dictator

Despite its claims, the United States of America is not exactly a great example of democracy. In fact, while pointing accusatory fingers at many African leaders, America is rife with dictator swag.

NBC News Broadway Review: Could Eclipsed be the Blackest Show?

"Eclipsed" may very well be the Blackest show on the Great White Way.

Led by an all-Black cast, director, playwright and producing team, the play explores the true to life, daily toil of women and girls confined to a rebel compound in 2003 Liberia. Eclipsed is African women's storytelling with gravity and humor.

Black Women’s Truth & Reconciliation: Black Women's Blueprint

Convened by black women's social justice organization Black Women's Blueprint. Commissioner: AGUNDA OKEYO serves on the 2016 Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a four day event from April 28-May 1, held as a part of the International Decade of People of African Descent at the United Nations. The Truth Commission reflects a continued process five years in the making, involving national grassroots activism, direct service healing practice and participatory action research...

Okay Africa OpEd: I'm Afraid of Americans

David Bowie’s video for the track, “I’m Afraid of Americans” opens on Christopher Street, NYC where Bowie is reading the paper. The headline refers to a white supremacist loner type named Jonny (editor’s note: pretty sure that’s Trent Reznor) who proceeds to chase Bowie through Manhattan. As Bowie runs, stumbling into Jonny again and again, a myriad menacing characters take his place, posing with their fingers as guns. The imagery is a play on Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver...

New York Times: A Roomful of Funny Women, Bonding Ov

And so on Saturday afternoon April 9th, despite the cold and rain, more than 200 female comedians gathered to have their photo taken together at a performance space in Brooklyn. Amid a festive, buzzing energy, some of the comedians were in formal wear and extravagant makeup, while a few were in full costume (an elderly woman with a walker, a Vine star with painted-on eyeglasses and crab claw hands). The motley looks could have come from the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album cover.

THR: Jane Fonda to Host Comedy Event for Women's Equality, ERA ft. producer Agunda Okeyo

Jane Fonda is set to emcee a comedy show in New York to raise awareness of women's issues, including pay inequality.
The veteran actress, who also is a member of the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition advisory council, will host "A Night of Comedy With Jane Fonda," presented by the Fund for Women's Equality and the ERA Coalition, at New York's Caroline's on Broadway.

Forbes: Humor for Good: A Night of

The inaugural event, produced by writer, filmmaker and activist Agunda Okeyo, will bring together supporters of women’s rights and equality, including Gloria Steinem, plus some comic relief. As a New Yorker of Kenyan descent lauded for her ongoing Broadway showcase “Sisters of Comedy”, Okeyo produces with a unique appreciation for humor, solidarity and social change.

Craine's New York Feature: 'A Night of Comedy with Jane Fonda'

'A Night of Comedy with Jane Fonda' from Feb 15, 2016 Issue - Page 29

Short: 'A Night of Comedy with Jane Fonda' (short) directed by Agunda Okeyo

'A Night of Comedy with Jane Fonda' Video directed/produced by Agunda Okeyo

The Root: Sisters of Comedy Is Proof That Black Women Need Entertainment That Truly Represents Us

Laughter has healing power. And with the violent climate plaguing not only our own country but the entire world, it’s obvious that we need healing right now. That’s where activist, writer and filmmaker Agunda Okeyo comes in. She understands that joy battles pain, and so she’s married her love of activism with dynamic black comediennes to create Sisters of Comedy.

WMC OpEd: Former Prison to be Transformed

Just a few years ago, Bayview Correctional Facility in New York City was a notorious women’s prison with the highest reported rate of staff sexual violence of any prison in the United States. This month it was announced that, thanks to a partnership between the NoVo Foundation and the Goren Group, a woman-owned and -operated real estate development company, within a few years the infamous site is going to be transformed into The Women’s Building.

Zambezi Press: 'Sisters' at Caroline's on Broadway

On November 18th 2015, Sisters of Comedy was premiered at Carolines on Broadway. It featured 5 outstanding comedians and a special guest - image activist, regular CNN commentator and brand manager for BET/Centric TV, Michaela Angela Davis. Amongst the line up was MC Chloe Hilliard, Erin Jackson, Ndidi Oriji, Hadiya Robinson and Michelle Buteau.

NBC Video: Black Women Telling Jokes

Sisters of Comedy is a one of the only showcases of its kind, featuring hilarious African American stand-up comediennes. It was started by Agunda Okeyo and she's taking the show to Caroline's on Broadway.

Black Enterprise: Agunda Okeyo Talks Laughter, Fear, Money and Broadway

Nairobi-born New Yorker Agunda Okeyo’s Sisters of Comedy show heads to Broadway. The only all-black women’s comedy show hits the stage at famed Caroline’s on Broadway, New York’s top stand-up comedy club. The show will feature some high-profile guests.

Essence: 'Sisters of Comedy' Showcase Features Black Comediennes to Watch

The monthly showcase, which highlights dynamic comediennes of color, aims to celebrate the humor Black women posses and share in the collective joy, power, and range found in laughter. This month’s special guest is image activist Michaela Angela Davis who will be speaking on the revolutionary power of laughter.

BK Live Interview: Agunda Okeyo, producer behind Sisters of Comedy

Agunda Okeyo is the producer of the New York standup comedy show, Sister of Comedy. She’s also a prolific writer and social justice activist. Watch her BRIC TV discussion of standup, race, and more ahead of Sister's Broadway Premier at Caroline's comedy club.

For Harriet OpEd: Naming 21st Century Racism

I am a huge admirer of Robert F. Kennedy. In learning American history as a youth, I was struck my RFK’s profound humanist transformation from a righteously conservative politician (dare I say, racist) to a truly revolutionary equal-rights activist. Undoubtedly the death of his brother and the racial complexity of the time motivated this change--and likely cost him his life.

Friends Like Us Podcast: June 24, 2015

June 24, 2015 "Black Stories Matter" (Part 2 of 2) - Friends discuss Identity, interracial dating gone wrong, Rachel Dolezal, Comedy and political correctness, White Men's problem with black men ..on an unconscious level.. or a conscious level. This week features: Godfrey (Bullseye on FOX, Hour Special - "Black by Accident" - www.godfreycomedian.com ), Agunda Okeyo (Producer of Sisters of Comedy), Sade Pilot (Young inspiring comedian) Always Hosted by Marina Franklin (Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show)

Time Out NY Feature: "To All the Haters: You're Welcome"

Agunda Okeyo, writer, filmmaker, activist interviewed in Time Out New York issue on July 22, 2015 about her successful career as a producer in NYC. Read full page interview here

Friends Like Us Podcast: June 17, 2015

June 17, 2015 "Godfrey visits FriendsLikeUS Part 1" (Part 1 of 2) - Friends discuss Identity, interracial dating gone wrong, Rachel Dolezal, Comedy and political correctness, White Men's problem with black men ..on an unconscious level.. or a conscious level. This week features: Godfrey (Bullseye on FOX, Hour Special - "Black by Accident" - www.godfreycomedian.com ), Agunda Okeyo (Producer of Sisters of Comedy), Sade Pilot (Young inspiring comedian) Always Hosted by Marina Franklin (Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show)

ANIMAL NY: Gloria Steinem Shuts Down ‘Politically Correct’ Critique of Comedy in One Quote

Feminist icon and women’s right activist Gloria Steinem will be hosting a night of “revolutionary laughter” that honors black women in comedy on Tuesday evening. The event is part of the “Sisters of Comedy” series, pegged as the only “all black women showcase at a top comedy club in NYC,” according to founder Agunda Okeyo (full disclosure: Agunda was an intern at Salon when I was a writer there).

Friends Like Us Podcast: March 9, 2015

Week of March 9, 2015:
Agunda Okeyo - Writer for Salon and Producer of Sisters of Comedy at Gotham Comedy Club. Pat Brown: Comedian, Writer, In the Movie "White Water" www.comedianpatbrown.com.
Sade Pilot: Young Comedian. Host Marina Franklin, NYC stand-up, writer, producer leads the discussion.

Short: Sisters of Comedy, Volume I

Africa underground is an ongoing event series showcasing artists from the African Diaspora and open to all. Join us for "Sisters of Comedy" - A Monthly Comedy Show at Carolines on Broadway. Sisters of Comedy features the most dynamic and successful comediennes of color in stand up! Produced and directed by Agunda Okeyo.

BWB Blog Talk Radio Interview: Sisters of Comedy: There Is Revolutionary Power in Women's Laughter!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014 7pm on Blog Talk Radio for Black Women in Conversation with Agunda Okeyo , African Feminist and Producer of Sisters of Comedy, for a provocative conversation on laughter, women, feminism and resistance.

Why is laughter wonderful, healthy and yet so fleeting for Feminists? Great scholars, feminists and womanists--Alice Walker for example, June Jordan, Pat Parker, bell hooks, and we can’t help but think of the great Maya Angelou when she said: "My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return."

WMC Doc Review: An Unflinching Look at the Realities of Domestic Violence—and the Women Who Work to End It

While domestic violence has received a great deal of mainstream attention recently, a documentary premiering this week on HBO that was twelve years in the making explores not only the depth of the problem but the longstanding work of women advocates who have been tackling the issue for years...

The Daily Beast OpEd: Comedians and Feminism Getting Laughs

In Astoria, Queens, nestled in a packed auditorium at the Museum of the Moving Image, I absorb an exciting retrospective on the late ‘60s sitcom That Girl with Marlo Thomas in conversation with Gloria Steinem and Debra Messing. Amazingly, Thomas was only twenty-four years old when she created, starred in, and produced the successful half-hour comedy about a young, independent woman pursuing a dream of acting in New York City.

Friends Like Us Podcast: October 18, 2014

Week of October 18, 2014 - This week's podcast from comic Marian Franklin features Liza Dye (UCB, Comedian)
Agunda Akeyo (Producer of Sisters of Comedy at Gotham Comedy Club)
Sade Pilot(Comedian)
Always hosted by Marina Franklin

Salon OpEd: Before Ferguson: America's disturbing legacy of white supremacy and guns

Continued anger over the death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has people questioning why an unarmed 18-year-old would be gunned down in the street. While Brown’s death has caused some Americans to begin to confront the dehumanization of black bodies and militarization of local police, the legacy of white supremacy and guns in this country remains tragically unappreciated. The United States has more guns and gun deaths than any other developed country. A recent study from the Pew Research Center indicates that there is one gun for every man, woman and child in the United States. The data also reveals that most of these gun owners are white men...

Friends Like Us Podcast: September 14, 2014

Week of September 14, 2014 - This week's podcast from comic Marian Franklin features Rachel Feinstein (Comedy Central Presents), Agunda Okeyo(Producer of Sisters of Comedy), Abbi Crutchfield(Producer at Living Room Comedy Show)and Sade Pilot(up and coming comedienne). We discuss Ray Rice, The victimization of women, Colorism, Women slut shaming women.

WMC Film Review: Humanizing What Choice Looks Like

Among the weapons used to attack women’s reproductive freedom, the stigmatizing of abortion and shaming of women who make that choice are among the more relentless and insidious. This summer’s unique romantic comedy Obvious Child offers a refreshing counterpoint to these tactics, embracing one woman’s abortion experience without apology but with plenty of hilarity...

Salon OpEd: Stop Calling Lupita Nyong'o Exotic

Lupita Nyong'o's anointment as People magazine's “most beautiful," mere days after she was revealed as the first black woman to become the face of Lancôme cosmetics, is clearly good news. These achievements have the potential to shift the rhetoric surrounding the actress from a lucky "Cinderella story" to that of a formidable African woman and power broker. But there's also a deeper question to be asked about what people really mean when they comment on Nyong’o’s looks...

Salon Doc Review: "Paycheck to Paycheck": Can this documentary help raise the minimum wage?

Last week Bill Moyers and his band of merry truthsayers issued a staggering report: Bonuses allotted by firms on Wall Street in 2013 could "cover the cost of more than doubling the paychecks for all of the 1,085,000 Americans who work full-time at the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.” Even more alarming is the reality that millions of Americans are still living paycheck to paycheck. And while President Obama has signed an executive order raising the minimum wage for employees under federal contracts to $10.10 an hour, Congress continues to drag its feet on wage increases nationwide. "Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert," a new HBO documentary that premieres Monday at 9:00 p.m. EST, reveals the consequences of such inaction -- and the disproportionate burden it places on women and children.

The Daily Beast Doc Review: New Alice Walker Doc Delivers Good Medicine

Women & Hollywood Film Review: Diana: A Dystopian Love Story

People prefer gossip, conspiracy, or drama over truth
because we’re cynical. The recent release Diana
about the final years of Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, is a controversial
attempt at rendering a portrait for the screen. The film is based on extensive research beginning with journalist/author
Kate Snell’s book Diana: Her Last
Love, interviews, news archives and Diana’s personal letters. From this
position, director Oliver Hirschbiegel, actors Naomi Watts and Naveen Andrews and screenwriter
Stephen Jeffreys create a lush and dystopian love story between a British royal
and a Pakistani heart surgeon...

THR: Jane Fonda to Host Comedy Event for Women's Equality, ERA ft. producer Agunda Okeyo

Women & Hollywood OpEd: The Women of 12 Years a Slave

As a child my mother, an anthropologist, informed me that my great uncle’s mother disappeared from the shores of Lake Victoria or Nam Lolwe, as we call it,
when he was a boy. My great great aunt was likely captured during the thriving East African slave trade. It’s sorrowful to consider what became of this
woman’s life and what she must have endured...

WMC OpEd: African Women Lead: A Pan African Dream

A week prior to the March 30th Kenyan Supreme Court decision affirming the first round presidential election of Uhuru Kenyatta, venerable Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe died at eighty-two. His writing has garnered numerous literary honors in his over fifty year career as a satirist of socio-political machinations in pre- and post-colonial Africa. Before the Nigerian Revolution of 1966, Achebe wrote an ominously prophetic novel entitled “Man of the People” about a fictional post-independence West African nation modeled on Nigeria. In his sardonic rendition of governance in post-colonial Africa, Achebe paints a chorus of sycophants pandering to the whims of a male-dominated authoritarian regime disguised as a republican democracy. “Man of the People” provides a compelling narrative to juxtapose against current politics in Kenya—not to foreshadow revolution so much as to emphasize the need for revolution...

WMC Doc Review: "My Brooklyn"—Prejudice, Policy and Gentrification

In the beginning of March 2013, Mashable posted a viral video exposing the extent of U.S. economic inequality. The narrator, Mashable senior editor Charlie White, recreates a chart by a Harvard Business School professor and economist that exposed a staggering revelation of what 5,000 respondents idealize, perceive and know about wealth distribution. White’s video runs about six and a half minutes and follows the research of Professor Michael I. Norton on how both ideals and perception of inequality lag far behind the shocking reality. The vast preponderance of American wealth—40 percent—is in the hands of the top one percent while “the bottom 80 percent [only] has seven percent [of wealth] between them,” White laments...

WMC OpEd: The Pot Calling the Kettle…

Black. Black is really what people mean when they say “sub-Saharan Africa” or rather Black Africa. In Black Africa people are very unpredictable and the only rhyme or reason to their erratic behavior is tribe. Now, tribe is a euphemism for irrational behavior based on uncivilized bonds...

WMC Film Review: The Good, the Bad, and Django

When I finally saw "Django Unchained" by writer/director Quentin Tarantino, I had been anxious to see it for some time. To me, as an immigrant, feminist and Pan-Africanist, the film seems uniquely American—a re-imagining of history as a singular moment on overdrive that ultimately makes America look great. Furthermore, in a nation that feeds on mediated information—see the 24-hour news cycle, 'reality' television, a film industry controlled by powerful corporations—"Django Unchained" offers itself as a risky opportunity to 'learn' something...