Representative Malcolm Kenyatta is a third-generation North Philadelphia native, thought leader, and legislator, currently serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He earned a B.A. in Public Communications and a minor in Political Science from Temple University, a M.S. in Strategic and Digital Communications from Drexel University and completed the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executives in State and Local Government program.
He has been chosen for multiple prestigious fellowships and international delegations including: the Bertelsmann Leadership Fellow in the Digital Economy, the bipartisan Hunt/Kean Leadership Fellow in Education, and American Jewish Committee (AJC) Project Interchange.
Representative Kenyatta is a barrier-breaking public figure, becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color and one of the youngest members elected to the PA General Assembly in 2018. In 2022, he became the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color to run for the U.S. Senate in American history.
Representative Kenyatta has been a vocal proponent of protecting workers' rights, enacting common-sense gun safety policies, and rooting out government corruption and waste. He has multiple legislative leadership roles: member of the powerful State Government Committee with oversight on state agencies and elections, Minority Chair of the Subcommittee on Campaign Finance and Elections, Minority Chair of Automation and Technology in the Committee on Commerce, and a member of the Finance Committee. Since elected, he has additionally served on Governor Tom Wolf’s Suicide Prevention Task Force, and he has been a member of the Philadelphia Delegation leadership team.
In 2020, he was chosen by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention along with a group of other ‘Rising Stars’. Representative Kenyatta appears regularly on local and national media outlets including 60 Minutes, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News.
His political career and life have been the subject of two documentaries: an award-winning short, Going Forward and an Al Roker (Today Show)-produced feature length film, Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn. He lives in North Philadelphia with his husband Dr. Matthew Kenyatta and their dog Cleo.