Kierna Mayo

Kierna Mayo is an American writer, editor, and media executive. She started her journalism career as a member of the original writing staff for The Source. Mayo co-founded the lifestyle magazine Honey in 1999, and was later the editor-in-chief of Ebony. Mayo is the vice president and executive editor of Random House and Roc Nation's imprint Roc Lit 101.

Kierna Mayo
Born
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Writer, editor, media executive
Years active1990–present
Known forEbony (editor-in-chief)
Notable workHoney magazine (co-founder)

Life and career

Early life

Mayo was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She was a fan of hip-hop music during her adolescence, and attended high school at Murry Bergtraum High School with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (of A Tribe Called Quest fame).[1] She received her bachelor's degree from Hampton University.[2]

Journalism and editing

Mayo was an original staff writer and editor at The Source, where she worked for four years.[3] Her writing frequently pushed back against sexism in the music industry and blanket criticism of hip hop.[4]

In March 1999, she co-founded and was named the inaugural editor-in-chief of Honey, a bimonthly lifestyle and fashion periodical geared toward young multicultural women.[3][5] She and her co-founder Joicelyn Dingle sold the magazine and ultimately shuttered it one year later due to creative differences with the new owner.[6]

Mayo worked as Ebony's editorial director beginning in 2011 and was promoted to editor-in-chief in 2015.[7][8] A few months into her tenure she attracted both praise and condemnation for a cover depicting the fictional Huxtable family of The Cosby Show in a smashed picture frame.[9][8] The accompanying article, written by Goldie Taylor, contextualized Cliff Huxtable's legacy in light of the scores of women that accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault and misconduct.[10]

In 2016, Mayo resigned from her position after Ebony's owners sold the publication to ClearView Partners.[11] Later that year she was named senior vice president of content and brands for Interactive One.[12]

As of 2021 she is the vice president and executive editor at the publishing imprint One World/Roc Lit 101.[13]

Other work

Mayo wrote the foreword to Joan Morgan's cultural history book, She Begat This: 20 Years of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (2018).[14] She also contributed the essay “Hip-Hop Heroines” to the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hip and Rap (2021).[15]

Mayo appeared as a commentator for On the Record and We Need to Talk About Cosby.[16][17]

She was previously a part of the human rights organization, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.[18]

Accolades

References
  1. Hicks, Kenneth (2016-03-24). "4 Gems from Kierna Mayo's Interview on the Combat Jack Show". Blavity.
  2. Ogunnalke, Lola (23 May 1999). "PULSE: HERS; Young, Urban And Glossy". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  3. Lustig, Jessica. "A Taste of Honey". New York Magazine. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. Anderson, Joel (2020-02-14). "Slow Burn Season 3, Episode 4: Against Those Thugs". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  5. Fern, Aneya. "Ebony.com's Kierna Mayo on Digital vs. Print". Adweek. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  6. "7 Business Lessons We Learned From The History Of Honey Magazine". Essence. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  7. "White Cover Girl On A Black Magazine?". NPR.org. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  8. McAfee, Melonyce (16 October 2015). "Ebony 'Cosby Show' cover causes a stir". CNN.
  9. "Kierna Mayo and the Maverick Legacy of Ebony". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  10. Puente, Maria (16 October 2015). "'Shattered' Bill Cosby on 'Ebony' cover enrages, gratifies Twitter". USA Today. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  11. Kelly, Keith (2016-06-22). "Former Ebony editor slated to become exec at Interactive One". New York Post. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  12. "Kierna Mayo Named SVP Of Content & Brands At Interactive One". HelloBeautiful. 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  13. "People, Etc". Publishers Lunch. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  14. She begat this : 20 years of The miseducation of Lauryn Hill. OCLC 1041212001. Retrieved 1 February 2022 – via Worldcat.
  15. White, Brooklyn (2021-08-24). "Ladies First: Smithsonian Hip-Hop Anthology Honors Women's Contributions To The Genre". Essence. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  16. Brown, Jeffrey (28 January 2022). "New documentary explores America's 'complicated' relationship with Bill Cosby". PBS. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  17. Lee, Shanon. "How 'On The Record' Is About More Than Russell Simmons". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  18. "Why We Work to Free Political Prisoners of the Black Power Era". Hammer & Hope. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  19. "The Root 100 - 2015". The Root. January 2015.
  20. Lee, Janet W. (4 December 2020). "Meryl Streep Pays Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Equality Now Gala". Variety. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
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