Building The Bench-- Meet Malcolm Kenyatta

Last month Malcolm Kenyatta won an open seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives against Republican Milton Street with 95.29% of the vote-- 21,382 to 1,050. This district includes parts of North Philadelphia, Feltonville, Francisville, Glenwood, Hunting Park, Kensington, Northern Liberties and West Poplar and, demographically, is 61.8% black, 25.5% white and 13.4% Hispanic. The win is being hailed as historic because Kenyatta, a third-generation activist just became the first openly LGBT candidate of color elected to the state legislature. He had a brush with fame in 2016 because of an ad Hillary Clinton's campaign made out of a passionate introductory speech he have when introducing her at her first Philly campaign rally of the 2016 election:



The video up top, though, was made by an old college friend of Kenyatta's, Tim Harris, who had, according to Emily Buder at The Atlantic "followed the activist’s trajectory since graduation. When he heard that Kenyatta was planning to run for the Pennsylvania state legislature, Harris knew he had to be there with a camera. His short documentary, Going Forward, depicts Kenyatta’s experience of Election Day, from his 5 a.m. wake-up call to his historic victory as the results are announced late that evening. Along the way, Kenyatta drives around his neighborhood to talk to voters and addresses tough questions about the realities of what he will face in office.

Harris told The Atlantic that he intended to capture “what Election Day is like for a lower-level candidate campaigning in a district that’s desperate for a solution.” Kenyatta has long been an outspoken critic of policies that negatively affect his community. The film makes evident his personal investment in the issues his potential constituents face. “Malcolm actually knows the people in his district,” Harris said. “We could have made a feature out of him saying ‘Hi’ and hugging people.”

While filming, Harris and his team took a fly-on-the-wall approach. “We interviewed Malcolm during the quieter, more introspective moments,” he said.

At one point during the day, Kenyatta catches wind of an adversary who is attempting to discourage people from voting for him due to Kenyatta’s sexuality. Harris said he was pleasantly surprised by the candidate’s reaction. “He didn’t hesitate in wanting to speak with that person, and when he did speak with them, he did it in such a respectful way,” Harris said. “His ability to laugh it off was incredibly admirable.”

“Malcolm basically rejected all forms of negativity while he was campaigning,” Harris added. “Everything was about what he wants to do to improve his community.”

The person whose political judgment I trust most in the legislature, state Senator Daylin Leach, is very enthusiastic. "Malcolm," he told me earlier today, "arrived on the scene with tons of talent-- he’s an inspirational speaker, and has a passion for public service. I could certainly see Malcolm becoming a progressive leader in Harrisburg. I’m looking forward to working with him and all the new Democrats joining us at the capitol in 2019." Before the anti-red wave hit Pennsylvania's super-gerrymandered state Assembly last month, there were 78 Democrats in the 203-member state House. Today, Rep. Kenyatta is one of 90 Democrats there. And the state Senate had 16 Democrats out if 50 and now has 21.