Real World's Kevin Powell Running for Congress

Kevin Powell, who first became a name in the households of America as one of the original cast members of The Real World, is running for Congress in Brooklyn, NY's 10th Congressional district.

When the first season of The Real World debuted on MTV in 1992, it blew the lid off of a little genre we call reality TV. But its perhaps less famous contributions to pop culture and society are what are really worth noting. We all know the tag line: "Find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real." The first season had what seemed like a recipe for disaster. The unsuspecting loft in New York was the scene for Powell, the "angry" black poet, Eric Nies, the model with a bad attitude, Heather B., the aspiring rapper, Becky, the bohemian musician, Andre, the grungy rocker, Norman, the gay artist, and of course Julie, the Southern virgin dancer.

The producers of the show did their best to pick a cast that represented the various facets of MTV's demographic and is a wonderful snapshot of youth in the early 90s, which is when I was coming of age. The cast members wasted no time pointing out and discussing their differences and similarities and forming friendships that they felt would have been extremely unlikely in any other circumstances. The cast talked and fought about art, music, politics, culture, sex, prejudice, and racism. They spoke candidly and did not concern themselves at the time with what the home viewers would think about them and their opinions.

I don't think that it's hyperbole to say that they helped to re-open dialogue about some of the most omnipresent issues in America and added a whole new perspective, one that wasn't filtered through the news or ratings, since at the time the show was produced, they weren't sure that anyone would watch it.

Powell was often singled out as "the angry black man." His unapologetic feelings about racism and his experiences with it made many of the white cast members visibly uncomfortable and he and Julie had a number of explosive arguments. But Powell never backed down from a good discussion and continued communicating long after The Real World ended. He went on to have a writing career I would give my eye teeth for (senior editor at Vibe, pieces in Esquire, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and penning a number of books).

Now Powell is turning his eye toward politics and one of the main issues of his platform is ending violence against women. In a piece from the Huffington Post, he admits to his disturbing past when he assaulted several women and was blatantly misogynistic. At some point, he re-examined his attitudes and upbringing and set out to encourage other men to explore new forms of masculinity that don't come at the expense of another group of people. He lays out a simple plan for beginning this process: 1) own the fact that you have made a very serious mistake, 2) Get help as soon as you can in form of counseling or therapy, 3) Learn to listen to the voices of women and girls, 4) to paraphrase Gandhi, make a conscious decision to be the change we need to see, 5) Become a consistent and reliable male ally to women and girls. Sounds pretty good, right?

I'm very happy to see the Powell continues to speak out against the wrongs of the world and is following his own advice to be the change.