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RAQIYAH MAYS
Author, Journalist, Radio Personality, & Activist With
2015 marking her 20th year in the media business, Raqiyah’s influence goes back
to Newark, NJ. Born to a teen mother and domestic abuse survivor, Raqiyah’s
climb from mastering a speech impediment to being bullied in school, led a shy,
insecure, girl into becoming the confident, outspoken, success she is today.
Featured in The Limited clothing store’s 2015 nationwide “New Look of
Leadership” campaign, she’s been chosen and honored as a female leader for her
passionate work as an author, journalist, radio personality, stepmother, and
activist.
A writer at heart, Raqiyah’s debut fiction novel, “The Man
Curse,” out now chronicles the
world of Meena, a young women who spends her life trying to break The Man Curse
and become the first woman in her family to marry. No stranger to the book
world, Raqiyah contributed a chapter to Gil Robertson’s anthology “Where Did
Our Love Go: Love & Relationships in the African American community.” She
was a featured profile in Thembisa Mshaka’s book of entertainment industry
professionals, “Put Your Dreams First: Handle your entertainment business” And
Raqiyah was a reporter at large for Cheo Hodari Coker’s VIBE book
“Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of The Notorious B.I.G,” which
was turned into the critically acclaimed feature film, Notorious.
Raqiyah’s work in journalism goes back to the Quincy Jones
owned days of Vibe Magazine. As an intern in the mid-90s, she became Executive Assistant
to then Editor in Chief, Danyel Smith. And later, editorial coordinator
assisting the managing editor. Moving on to pursue an early career as a
freelance hip hop journalist, Raqiyah’s bylines graced cover stories for
publications like XXL, The Source, and Billboard. Expanding her beat to report
on everything from women and R&B to politics and radio, she scored covers
for Black Elegance magazine, profiles, and features for The Associated Press,
VIBE, Essence, and Complex. She later became a founder and executive editor of
“The Ave” Magazine, dedicated to coverage combining social issues with the
intellect and outlook of the hip hop world. Today she writes for Ebony, using
her journalism and Hollywood interviews to humanize celebrities through open discussions
on real life and the world.
In 2009, named one of VH1’s “Future Leaders of Black History,” Raqiyah
was featured in their black history month TV commercial campaign. A trained
actress, she performed off-Broadway for five years, touring the country and
appearing on stages nationwide as a cast member with the hit play “Platanos
& Collard Greens.” Her numerous TV appearances have included correspondent
work on Black Enterprise’s TVOne/ABC news show “Our World,” being a regular
guest co-host on Arise TV’s film review show “On Screen.” And MTV, BET, VH1,
the Fuse Network, and Fox News have all had Raqiyah as a guest.
Raqiyah is a passionate activist for issues affecting women,
children, and African Americans. As a child, Raqiyah was a girl scout who became
president of Edison, NJ’s NAACP Youth Council. In college, she helped create the
Diversity Union on Penn State University’s Altoona campus after acts of racism
toward black classmates. Participating in student politics, she regularly
represented the campus during Penn State’s gathering of student government
officers. After moving to New York, Raqiyah organized community and youth
events in Brooklyn. While spending time in Los Angeles, she coordinated
fundraising events for non-profits along with training canvassers and managing
outreach campaigns in both LA and NY for organizations like The Southern
Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood, and the ACLU. Today, she continues her
penchant for activism. From marching in Ferguson, MO to Baltimore and attending
protests in NYC, Raqiyah’s activism spans from events to social media with
regular updates on nationwide cases of injustice on Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram. She uses her journalism and celebrity interviews to humanize the
entertainment world with shared superstar views on real life, social issues, and outlooks on making change today.
