KJ Kearney

KJ Kearney is host of the PBS Digital Studios show, Citizen Better, produced by South Carolina ETV.

Kearney has run for office once, written a proclamation that was adopted by his city to create “Red Rice Day,” and has gone viral on TikTok. 

A community organizer for the Charleston Promise Neighborhood non-profit organization, KJ works to create commonality between disparate groups by highlighting the many ways we are common while also not being afraid to discuss the unique ways we differ. 

Kearney is also the founder of Black Food Fridays, a James Beard Award-nominated social media advocacy initiative that encourages everyone to purchase food and drinks from Black-owned restaurants each and every Friday. Since starting in April of 2020, Black Food Fridays has organically grown to over 135K followers on Instagram and over 150K followers on TikTok.  

KJ has an innate ability to break down complex issues in a way that is both understandable and entertaining to a variety of people.