Urban Call Briefs

By Lafayette Jones

Melanie L. Campbell

Civil and Women’s Rights Leader

LisaRaye McCoy

Actress and Producer

Melanie L. Campbell

Civil and Women’s Rights Leader

Melanie L. Campbell is the president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable Intergenerational Public Policy Network. Campbell has served

Melanie L. Campbell Civil and Women’s Rights Leader in the civil rights, social justice, youth and women’s rights movement for over 20 years. She is one of the hardestworking civil rights leaders in the social and economic justice movement and is known for her powerful ability to build diverse coalitions that bring people together for the common good.

One of her most rewarding accomplishments at the National Coalition has been creating an innovative, youth-focused leadership development program, Black Youth Vote! (BYV),for which she received the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Emerging Leaders Legacy Award. Highly successful coalition projects enacted under Ms. Campbell’s leadership include the Unity Diaspora Coalition Census Campaign, Unity Voter Empowerment Campaign, Women’s Coalition for Dignity and Diversity in the Media, Voices of the Electorate Election Reform Task Force; and the ReBuild Hope NOW Coalition to assist survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in rebuilding their lives in the Gulf Coast.

Campbell served as the Director of the Mayor’s Offices of Youth Services for the late Maynard Jackson in Atlanta, Georgia, in the 1990s, where she was responsible for working on issues related to youth violence, juvenile justice and youth leadership development. She was also responsible for coordinating the Mayor’s Scholarship Program and the Atlanta Dream Jamboree, a college and vocational opportunity fair targeting high school students in the Atlanta Public Schools. She also organized the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council and youth anti-violence initiatives.

She is a contributing writer in the 2008 National Urban League State of Black America, Election Reform: Protecting Our Vote from the Enemy Who Never Sleeps; 2006 Harvard University Journal on African Americans in Public Policy, “A Nation Exposed: Rebuilding African American

Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas

Singer, Actress and Dancer

April Mial Myatt Writer, Producer and Director

Communities,” the article on “Right of Return Means Access to the Ballot, Access to Neighborhoods, and Access to Economic Opportunity. She also contributed to the publication’s 2004 edition, “Politics & Progress: A Presidential Platform for 2004.” She has been featured in Black Enterprise Magazine articles on ‘Black Leadership: The Next Generation.’ Campbell is interviewed and featured on many occasions by television, syndicated radio, print and online news outlets across the country, including BET, C-Span, TV One, Bev Smith Show, Tom Joyner Morning Show, Washington Post, Gannett News, The New York Times and others.

Campbell is certified in non-profit executive management by the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute Executive Program. She is a nationally recognized expert in civic engagement, black voter participation, election reform, voting rights, census and coalition building. She is a member of the Inaugural Class of the Progressive Women’s Voices at the Women’s Media Center in New York. She was a resident fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics at Harvard University in 2003.

She also serves on the executive board of the Black Leadership Forum, a confederation of the leaders of the top African American civil rights and service organizations. She is a member of the NOBEL African American Women Technology Caucus and Communications Workers of America Speed Matters partnership. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Finance from Clark Atlanta University. She is a native of Mims, Florida.

LisaRaye McCoy Actress and Producer

LisaRaye McCoy

Actress and Producer

LisaRaye’s “The Real McCoy” reality show premiered in 2010 on TV One cable network and attracted more than 1.6 million viewers. Season 2 premiered in 2011 and followed the outspoken Chicago native as she kicked her acting career back into high gear. LisaRaye also launched The LisaRaye Collection by PZI, her new line of jeans, took on

by Lafayette Jones

the role of “mom-ager” for her daughter’s modeling career, raised money for charity and looked for love and spirituality. With much anticipation of a third season, viewers will see how the heroic LisaRaye has finally come full circle in her journey.

Voted one of the “Top Five Rising Female Stars” by Ebony Magazine and twice voted “Sexiest Woman of the Year” by Black Men Magazine, LisaRaye initially captured Hollywood’s attention through her breakout performance as ‘Diamond’ in Ice Cube’s directorial debut film, “The Players Club,” costarring Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx. She starred as the leading role in “Contradictions of the Heart” and continued to work with notable actors such as Queen Latifah in MGM’s “Beauty Shop,” Terrence Howard in the indie feature “Love Chronicles,” Omar Epps in Paramount’s “The Wood,” and Mos Def in “Civil Brand” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

In television, LisaRaye appeared in “The Parent ‘Hood,” “In the House” and was featured on Bravo’s “The It Factor” before she landed her starring role on the CW Network’s hit comedy series “All of Us.” Produced and inspired by the domestic adventures of Will and Jada Smith, the show focused on adults juggling ex-spousal relationships while maintaining a nurturing environment for their child. Since concluding her time in “All of Us,” LisaRaye has appeared alongside Jada Smith in her show “Hawthorne.” Off-screen, LisaRaye captured the hearts of hopeless romantics worldwide as she became a real-life aristocrat upon marrying the former Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands in an extravagant ‘royal’ wedding attended by celebrities and dignitaries such as former BFF Vivica A. Fox, Rapper Da Brat (McCoy’s sister), Ambassador Andrew Young and Perry Christie, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas. She wore a one-of-a-kind couture gown by Amsale and a Chopard tiara from the personal collection of the only other American actress to marry a royal, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco.

As the former Turks and Caicos First Lady, LisaRaye juggled her busy Hollywood career while serving as an ambassador for the British Overseas Territory, with official duties that included state visits with the Queen of England. She was the face of an extensive ad campaign for the TCI Board of Tourism and created industry-focused events to increase the island’s appeal as a playground for the rich and famous. Her successes include founding the Turks and Caicos Film Festival with fellow actress Jasmine Guy, as well as the island’s first Christmas Carnival; developing the island’s only movie theater, the state-of-the-art LRaye Cinema; and attracting stars such as Will and Jada Smith, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Star Jones, Gabrielle Union, Lil’ Kim, Donovan McNabb, Michael Clarke Duncan, Chris Tucker, Essence Atkins and Shaun Robinson for visits.

Later, rumors of her husband’s infidelity and political corruption brought the fairytale to an end, and LisaRaye persevered through a long, bitter and very public divorce.

With her Hollywood comeback firmly established and her career on the rise, LisaRaye continues to use her celebrity to highlight issues close to her heart. She is the Global Ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® foundation and passionate about the organization’s mission to promote early detection and screenings for women. In addition, she created the Miss Rayediant Jewels teen pageant to increase self-esteem and mentor girls aged 13-15. LisaRaye resides in Los Angeles, California, and is a proud mother to daughter, Kai.

Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas

Singer, Actress and Dancer

Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas Singer, Actress and Dancer

Atlanta native Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas is the embodiment of the term triple threat. The singer/actress/dancer is best known as Chilli, one-third of the iconic R&B group TLC. Comprised of Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes and Chilli, TLC is one of the greatest musical groups of all time, having several No. 1 singles, selling over 45 million albums worldwide and winning countless awards, including six Grammy’s and three American Music Awards.

TLC tackled self-esteem issues and blasted the industry’s often distorted standard of beauty. The group received a large outpouring of appreciation letters and videos from fans. The Grammy-award winning single “Waterfalls” aggressively tackled the stereotypes associated with AIDS/ HIV and solidified the group as leaders of the AIDS education/awareness movement.

Anyone who spends time in her presence knows that Chilli’s number one priority when it comes to charity is her non-profit organization, “Chilli’s Crew,” which works to empower middle and high school-aged females; but she also uses the events as an opportunity to empower the parents to be more vocal.

Her hit VH1 show, “What Chilli Wants,” offered a glimpse into her life as a single mother raising a responsible son, juggling career and family while being open to the idea of finding true love. “What Chilli Wants” was the No. 1 show on the spring ratings for VH1.

She is beautiful, youthful, has an undeniable sex appeal and yet after a conversation with her, women find themselves confiding in her as if she were their best friend. Her ability to be transparent yet endearing is what continues to make her a fan favorite of all ages.

April Mial Myatt

Business Woman, Writer, Producer and Director

April Mial Myatt is the president of Rock, Groove and Jam! (RGJ!) concerts, web series and movies geared towards empowering women both in front and behind the camera. RGJ! presents relative,

April Mial Myatt challenging, and inspiring stories with women in main character roles. Myatt

Writer, Producer and Director learned early on about the importance of proper makeup, wardrobe and appearance of everyone in front of the camera.

Prior to RGJ! in 2001, Myatt started Lilac Films- a faith-based company that produced projects relevant to real-life situations for and about women

while offering thought-provoking discussions or solutions in the process. For years, she worked as the president and executive producer. The motto for the company is Do Dream. Have Faith. Do Work. Fulfill Purpose. Her background and experience include television and film production, as well as published writings. She has a B.A. in English from North Carolina State University.

Myatt’s television experience began in Public Affairs at WRDC-TV (UPN 28) and in television production at WLFL-TV (WB 22) and WNCN-TV (NBC17). Living in New York, she interned with Spike Lee’s film production company, Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks, as well as publicist Terrie Williams, and worked as the PR Coordinator at Sara Lee Hosiery.

Under Lilac Films, she has produced several shorts, a full-feature, a gospel production and a television series. Her credits include “Boy Bye” (music video), “Who Is Felicia?” (short/comedy), “Fall From Grace” (short/ drama), “Am I Your Favorite?” (short/drama), “Revelation” (short/drama), “Torn” (full feature/drama) and “Butterfly Wings” (full-length theatrical production). She has partnered with Third Edge Productions to produce “Down South” (full feature/comedy) and “Directed By Zahra” (television sitcom series). She recently partnered with the Every.Black Entrepreneur Podcast Network to produce podcasts.

As past president of the Women Empowering Women In Networking organization, she helped women change their perspectives about Networking and Sisterhood. She is also the author of “Out on a Limb… and Still Standing,” which details her journey of becoming a filmmaker in a male-dominated arena. Following the success of her first book, Myatt has completed its follow-up, “Failure Is Not An Option,” to be released next year.

In addition to doing her own thing, April gives back to the community by volunteering for different organizations, either with her time or money. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, Keith.

Each month, Urban Call Briefs covers subjects that provide readers of OTC Beauty Magazine with information on multicultural consumers, Hispanics and African Americans, who are the fastest growing consumer segments in the U.S. The mission of this column is to build a bridge of communications and information between manufacturers and retailers and the ethnic consumers they wish to serve better. The column offers resources covering marketing, retail merchandising, consumer research, purchase behavior, fashion and beauty trends, industry events and people, trade association news, new product launches and a potpourri of information designed to help the readers make intelligent decisions about the customers they serve. Urban Call is a registered trademark of Segmented Marketing Services, Inc. (SMSi). For more information, call 336-759-7477 or visit www.segmentedmarketing.com.

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