Gerrick Kennedy on Whitney Houston and his new book "Didn’t We Almost Have It All"

Award Winning Author, Gerrick Kennedy joins us Virtually to recognize global phenomenon, Whitney Houston in a narrative about her life: Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston.

As the MLK Library celebrates its 50th anniversary, and in celebration of Black Music Month and LGBTQ Pride month, we recognize a global phenomenon – The Voice – Whitney Houston, through the works of award winning entertainment journalists and cultural critic Gerrick Kennedy. In this virtual conversation, we examine her rise to fame and the many battles she faced through stardom. Virtual Sales will be conducted through Mahogany books.

More about the book:

In the decade since Whitney Houston was found deceased, the world has mourned her death amid new revelations about her relationship to her Blackness, sexuality, and addictions. Author Gerrick Kennedy takes an in-depth look into Whitney’s complex story to get to the truth about what drove and inspired her as well as what haunted her. The narrative presents key elements that informed her life—in the famed Drinkard family and the two romantic relationships that shaped her adult life with Robyn Crawford and Bobby Brown. It also examines her relationship to her own Blackness, the judgement she received from the Black community, and the drug and alcohol addictions she faced. It finally dissects the shame that she carried in her heart. Gerrick draws on hundreds of sources, taking readers back to a world when Whitney could not be her true self, and explains in detail the ways in which her fame could not protect her. Didn’t we almost have it all features a foreword from one of Whitney’s close friends, award winning artist Brandy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gerrick Kennedy is an award-winning journalist, cultural critic, and author based in Los Angeles. Author of Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap, his writings have appeared in GQ, WSJ. Magazine, NPR Music, Spin, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Shondaland, Cultured Magazine, Men’s Health, and the Los Angeles Times.

ABOUT THE HOST

Mocha Ochoa is the CEO and Founder of The Oracle Group International, an internationally recognized public relations firm that specializes in connecting authors with opportunities to engage, uplift, and empower communities around the world. Her new venture Mocha Media Inc was created to provide a space where Black authors and thought-leaders can publish content, have stimulating conversations, and exchange ideas that ignite movements. She is an award-winning international strategist; sought after literary, public relations and integrated marketing professional; international diversity and multicultural program developer; a global visionary literary activist, world-renowned literary entrepreneur and a fervent pursuer of best-selling author status for her clients.

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