April R. Silver is a social entrepreneur, activist, and writer/editor. She is also Founder and President of AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc. (AW), a unique communications agency founded in 1993 that offers public relations and marketing solutions for artists, activists, non-profits, foundations, and corporate entities. With an extraordinary range that spans from hip hop artist/actor Mos Def to The Ford Foundation, AW’s client history reflects the founder’s ability to communicate effectively in a variety of environments. Silver is also founder of Put On BLAST! ™, a widely trusted email marketing service that creates and manages online public awareness campaigns in select communities.
In 2006, Silver became a TV talk show host on BETJ’s My Two Cents. In 2008, Soft Skull/Counterpoint published Ms. Silver first book, the groundbreaking anthology “Be A Father to Your Child: Real Talk from Black Men on Family, Love, and Fatherhood.”
The Howard Years
Silver received her English degree from Howard University where
she was a nationally respected student activist. She helped
lead the historic student protest of 1989 and was later elected
as the second woman president of Howard’s student government.
While there, Silver was founding president of The Cultural
Initiative, Inc. (CI) and co-produced the nation's first hip
hop conference – helping to originate the hip hop education
movement that is now embraced by public schools and the Ivy
League, alike. In its inaugural year (1991), CI showcased then
newcomers Common (fka Common Sense), Busta
Rhymes, and other hip hop artists. Many Howard and
CI conference alumni, such as Sean Combs,
credit the conference as playing an essential role in the development
of their entertainment business careers.
April R. Silver interviewed by Julia O'Farrow
As Educator and Volunteer
After graduation, April remained as head of CI. She also worked as
an assistant for legendary rapper Doug E. Fresh.
Afterwards, she pursued a childhood dream: to teach junior high
school. As an English teacher in some of NYC's most neglected communities,
April established extra-curriculum programs that led her to be
regularly recognized as a highly effective educator. Still drawn
to service for young people, Silver recently served as Project
Director for the Center for Black Literature’s high school-based
literary arts program. She is currently a professional development
consultant for the program.
As an active volunteer, Silver has served on many boards and honorary committees, including the International African Arts Festival and the historic Hip Hop Nation exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. She also founded the artist-activist run organization Co-Motion (in response to the tragic killing of Amadou Diallo by NYPD) and co-founded, with Kevin Powell, HipHop Speaks! Since 2001, Silver has also served as a funding panelist for the Brooklyn Arts Council. In keeping with her mission to promote mentorship and volunteerism, April donates her time, talent, and/or resources to aspiring artists, start up organizations, and new entrepreneurs on a monthly basis.
In 1998, Ms. Silver became a member of the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy (aka The GRAMMYS). In 2000, she conceived and chaired the chapter's first hip hop and R&B conference. In 2004, she continued her innovative programing with the chapter and conceived the hugely popular showcase and discussion PoetrySpeaks! (featuring Mos Def and Miguel Algarin). She has served intermittently on the Board of Governors, served as a 2nd Vice President of the chapter, and chairs the spoken word committee.
In 2005, Ms. Silver turned much of her volunteer work toward the Hurricane Katrina relief movement. A month after “the storm,” she founded Artists For Life, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Black artists in crisis. In January 2010, Silver also turned her volunteer work to the Haiti relief movement, helping to organize and promote various relief activities, in unity with and beyond New York’s large Haitian community. She and Kevin Powell conceived and co-founded HelpHaitiOnline.org two days after the devastating earthquakes hit the island nation.
As a Business Leader
Silver founded Put On BLAST! ™ in 1997 and its popularity has helped
her become a trusted voice in the field of new media approaches for
the 21st century. She has lectured and conducted workshops across
the country on the “why” and “how” of building online communities,
and on the essence of communications and media for the 21st century.
In 2009, she was the keynote for the Cool Twitter Conference in New
York.
Silver also served as Interim Executive Director of the Nkiru Center for Education & Culture, Inc., a non-profit organization and bookstore co-founded by hip hop artist Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and their parents. Her business leadership reputation has landed her on the front cover of The Network Journal and has captured the attention ESSENCE magazine, where she was profiled in 2002.
As Writer, Editor, Lecturer
As a writer, April's essays on popular culture, women’s issues, personal
development, and current events have been published in the New
York Daily News and throughout the blogosphere, including allhiphop.com
and davey.com. In 2010, her writings are scheduled to appear in no
less than six new anthologies, academic journals, and syndicated
blogs. Her own blog is at www.aprilsilver.com.
AOL Black Voices calls Silver’s first book, Be a Father, a “powerful, and groundbreaking anthology.” Mothering Magazine adds: Be A Father is an “artfully designed anthology that addresses the intersection of hip-hop with issues of black masculinity and parenting…” and describes its content as “moving and authentic…” Foreward Magazine claims “Editor April R. Silver has turned her first book into a must-read for anyone involved in the black community.”
Ms. Silver has lectured or facilitated workshops at hundreds of campuses and conferences, from the University of Wisconsin to the NAACP National Convention to the National Council of Teachers of English’s Conference. In 2008, she was selected to keynote the Presidential Lecture Series at Medgar Evers College. That same year, she gave her first commencement address at the State University of New York (New Paltz). She has shared the podium with luminaries such as Bill Cosby, Rev. Al Sharpton, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Sister Souljah, Kevin Powell, and many others.
Media and Distinguished Awards
For her 20+ years of service as a business leader, activist, and
supporter of the arts, Silver has received many awards and honors.
Additionally, for her opinions and dedication to service, Silver
also been featured, profiled, or quoted in or on CNN, Time Magazine,
Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Ebony Magazine,
ESSENCE magazine, Ms. magazine, NY1 News, BET News, KISS FM (New
York), and many other local and national outlets. Internationally,
she has appeared in ADLIB and Black Music Review (Japan), Black
Echoes (London), and on Radio Netherlands. She is also
a commentator on WBAI Radio’s weekly media roundtable on Wake
Up Call. Once a month, she hosts “Arts and Activism on the Air
on BlogTalkRadio.com
April was born in Queens, NY; raised as a teenager in Los Angeles; came of age in Washington, DC, and now lives in Brooklyn.
Select Memberships and Advisory Boards• African American PR Collective
• African Voices magazine’s Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival
• Black PR Society of NY
• NY Association of Black Journalists
• Howard U. Alumni Club of NYC
• New York Chapter of the Recording Academy
• R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop
• The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
• WBAI FM Radio (a Pacificia Radio Station)
Media and lecturement management for April R. Silver
by AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc.
718.756.8501 office
718.756.8502 fax
pr@akilaworksongs.com
Direct Contact:
Drake R. Holliday
Managing Director
718.756.8501 office
917.334.6383 mobile/text
drake@akilaworksongs.com