DeShuna Spencer is the founder and CEO of KweliTV, a Black owned video streaming service that showcases indie films, documentaries, web shows, as well as news and children’s programming dedicated to the stories, issues, and culture of the global Black community. In this interview, David Morgan, President of The Multicultural Media & Correspondents Association sits down with DeShuna and her partner, acclaimed actor and comedian Lil Rel Howery, to discuss their entrepreneurial journey and the importance of consuming diverse Black stories. DeShuna and Lil Rel will also share candid insights into the challenges KweliTV faces trying to achieve sustainability and scale in the competitive streaming industry still bereft of culturally diverse content and content creators. Sponsored by MMCA.
Diversity Reboot Summit
One Woman’s Quest to Change the False Narrative of Black Inferiority
Meet The Speakers
DeShuna Elisa Spencer is the Founder & CEO of kweliTV. She’s a former radio host and producer of emPower Hour, a show that examined social justice issues affecting people of color, on Washington, DC’s 89.3 FM WPFW. Spencer graduated from Jackson State University where she studied communications and journalism. She has written for The Clarion-Ledger, The Oakland Tribune and the Crisis Magazine. She is a Halcyon Incubator Fellow, a Voqal Fellow and a Google NexGen Policy Leader. Spencer was first place winner of the 2017 Harvard Business School African Business Conference Pitch Competition. She is featured in the book, “How We Fight White Supremacy” as one of the more than 60+ black leading organizers, artists, journalists, entrepreneurs, etc., combating white supremacy through their work. In 2019, the Digital Diversity Network named Spencer the Innovation & Inclusion Social Entrepreneur of the Year. She’s an advisory board member of Full Color Future and the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association.
Mr. Morgan is managing partner of D. Morgan & Partners, a government relations and public affairs firm at the center of business and the political system. Prior to launching the firm, Mr. Morgan served for almost ten years as Vice President Government Affairs for the American Express Company. Notably, Mr. Morgan is President and co-founder of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization committed to moving the needle on media diversity. In addition, he is co-founder of the National Infrastructure Investment Alliance, a coalition comprised of investment and development industry leaders helping local governments secure financing and technical assistance for their priority public-private-partnership and Opportunity Zone projects.