Socio-Cultural Impact Strategist [sis]
Kenya Abbott-Sykes is the founder of KenShip, a social enterprise committed to preserving, cultivating, and restoring Black love, family, wealth, wellness, and civic life—strengthening ecosystems that sustain thriving communities.
KenShip is more than an organization—it is a way of institutionalizing her own upbringing. She credits her family with preparing, guiding, and supporting her in ways that offered “cheat codes” for life. She believes these kinds of investments in family are not only transformative but necessary to preserve. Through KenShip, she seeks to cultivate that same infrastructure of care, support, and opportunity within broader Black ecosystems.
Kenya also recognizes that as the world shifts rapidly into a digital and technological age—shaped by data, artificial intelligence, and health challenges—there is both a need to preserve the wisdom of the past and to innovate new solutions for the future. Her work is guided by the conviction that relationships are the true infrastructure of change, and that Blackness itself offers a holistic practice—rooted in truth, cultural celebration, resilience, and the courage to meet others with heart, even across deep divides. She affirms Black lived experiences, honors community champions, and fosters healing from generational trauma while cultivating the imagination needed to build the world we envision for ourselves.
As a self-proclaimed socio-cultural impact strategist [sis] with over a decade of experience in philanthropy, education, advocacy, and community engagement, Kenya sees her role as bridging lived experience with not only information, but also the infrastructures and institutions that shape our collective future. She recognizes this moment as a turning point in human history—where technology, culture, and community must be woven together with integrity.
Her path reflects a willingness to challenge norms, confront barriers, and exhaust herself in the pursuit of what’s possible, whether pushing back against outdated leadership models or reimagining systems that no longer serve. These struggles, along with her experiences abroad and across diverse communities, have deepened her conviction that the future of work, family, and community life will require bold imagination and resilience.
At the same time, Kenya grounds herself in the everyday: cultivating her green thumb, nurturing her family, and leaning into spirituality as both practice and compass. For her, it all returns to KenShip—the belief that the wisdom, care, and investments poured into her by family can be institutionalized, preserved, and expanded to sustain thriving Black communities for generations to come.
PoliticKen is an audience-driven podcast and platform that brings together millennials, youth, and elders to discuss Black life in Detroit and beyond. More than commentary, it’s a space for real dialogue with real people—honoring diversity of thought and challenging the “way it is.”
At its core, PoliticKen is about civic life: the ways our politics are lived daily through relationships, institutions, community environments, health, and culture. By centering these interconnected realities, PoliticKen not only surfaces the issues but also lifts up solutions and forward-thinking possibilities. It’s where conversation becomes practice, and where the voices of everyday people shape visions for collective change.
KENTERTAINMENT is where Kenya’s artistry lives—through her creative persona, Detroit Redd. Inspired by Malcolm Little’s nickname before his transformation into Malcolm X, Detroit Redd embodies self-empowerment, vision, and a down-to-earth authenticity.
Through music, poetry, and performance, Detroit Redd creates digestible art rooted in storytelling, reflection, and healing. This side of the KenShip ecosystem is about flow—joy, connection, and presence. It’s where creativity becomes a tool for truth-telling and a bridge to deeper community engagement.
Detroit Redd released her first Visual EP, “Critically ThinKen,” in 2019, followed by poetry and music projects that continue to explore themes of Black life, transformation, and resilience. Her single “gentrifieD” speaks to community displacement and cultural survival, while her most recent release, is a dedication to her daughter—woven with sounds of her birth and embodying a new era of artistry rooted in family, love, and legacy.
KENTERTAINMENT is not only about art—it’s about embodying creativity as a practice, a way of staying grounded while reimagining what’s possible.