ABOUT AKILI

Writer | Creative

A FORBES 30 Under 30 honoree, Akili King is a Brooklyn-based, Chicago-born-and-raised journalist and founder of Joy Letters Journaling Club. Focusing on all things beauty, wellness, and culture, King has dedicated her career to championing the stories of minorities—especially Black women.

Continuing this mission, she is currently the Senior Beauty Editor at ESSENCE Magazine where she oversees the beauty vertical of the magazine and has created columns like 4C FILES, Couple-Care, In The Chair, and more.

Before this, King was a Beauty Editor at VOGUE, where she started Texture Diaries, the first column at the magazine dedicated to Black beauty. Additionally, there, she wrote the weekly column Best Beauty Instagrams and bi-weekly column to accompany chef Tabitha Brown’s Vogue cooking show.

Additionally, she was a columnist for The Cut’s Auto-Refill series, and has written for Coveteur, Complex, The FADER, NeuNeu Media, i-D, Fashion Fair, DRØME, and more. King has interviewed inspiring individuals such as Taraji P. Henson, Tamika D. Mallory, Mara Brock Akil, Ijeoma Oluo, Tracee Ellis Ross, Maxwell, Kelly Rowland, and many more.

She is also passionate about DJing, poetry, film and screenwriting, Yoga, pole dancing, and overall wellness. She has written one poetry book, AWAKENING, so far, with hopes of writing many more.  

Regardless of what she’s up to, her goals are to continue writing meaningful pieces that uplift those who don’t often feel seen in the media.