Happy SUPERCHARGED Year!

January has always been about that fresh start energy. But a fresh start requires you to make moves, and this year, I’m taking “moving” literally. (More on that in a moment.)

For this first edition of the Kwanza Jones Chronicles, I’m doing things a little differently. Instead of our usual format, I’m sharing a bit of a personal manifesto, a journey through the past that is fueling the “movement” I mentioned above. Here’s a teaser video of what’s to come.

More About The Event Here

Some of my earliest lessons about taking action, communication, and making moves came from my parents.

My father had a law office and an employment agency in Harlem. He was in the business of powering possibilities, and some of my earliest lessons about culture and civic responsibility were shaped there. He believed in showing up for the community, so helping to provide opportunities for people was something he did.

Although I grew up in DC, I remember going to work there during the summers. While there, Daddy would always take us to The Apollo.

The LESSON

Years later, while I was at Princeton, I performed at Amateur Night at The Apollo. Anyone who knows that stage knows it’s sink or swim. You don’t get a do-over. You either win or you don’t.

I was there to win.

And I did.

But more than anything, it was about empowering myself to be comfortable with the unknown. To step onto a stage, and beyond facing the audience, to face myself, my fears, my insecurities. In so doing, I knew that regardless of the outcome, the lesson was in the learning.

The LEGACY

Fast forward years later, when I returned to that same stage, not as a performer, but as a board member of The Apollo Theater. It felt like coming home.

But this year, we’re bringing the stage to you.

We’re living in a time where arts funding is being reduced. Culture is at a crossroads. Communities are underserved. And yet creativity has never been more alive.

My life mission is to boost a billion lives, and I know we can’t get there by playing it safe or staying stationary. To boost humanity, we need culture, community, and capital to intersect.

So we move.

Not away from our roots but outward from them.

The Apollo is a space and place that created, and continues to create, opportunities for a diversity of voices to be heard, and conversations to continue. And, in the hearing and sharing, there can be learning and growth.

Now it’s time to extend that energy beyond Harlem.

The LAUNCH

Legacy is on the move, and you’re invited.

Culture In Motion™ is taking what The Apollo represents, bringing the spirit, artistry, and cultural conversations into cities across the U.S.

This was what I meant when I said I was taking “moving” literally.

On January 31 in Los Angeles, Culture In Motion begins its journey at The Beehive.

This is the beginning of something bigger.

A movement of culture, community, and shared responsibility.

It’s free.
It’s community-centered.
And if culture has ever shaped you, this is your invitation.

RSVP here

Who loves you? I do!

Bye for now,

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P.S. Culture In Motion kicks off January 31 in Los Angeles. It’s free, open to the community, and rooted in connection, creativity, and shared responsibility. Join us at The Beehive if you’re in LA on Saturday. RSVP here.