Allison Keyes
Allison Keyes is an award-winning journalist with almost 20 years of experience in print, radio, and television. She has been reporting for NPR's national desk since October 2005. Her reports can be heard on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition Sunday.
Keyes coverage includes news and features on a wide variety of topics. "I've done everything from interviewing musician Dave Brubeck to profiling a group of kids in Harlem that are learning responsibility and getting educational opportunities from an Ice Hockey league, to hanging out with a group of black cowboys in Brooklyn who are keeping the tradition alive." Her reports include award-winning coverage of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York, coverage of the changes John Ashcroft sought in the Patriot Act, and the NAACP lawsuit against gun companies.
In 2002 Keyes joined NPR as a reporter and substitute host for The Tavis Smiley Show. She switched to News and Notes when it launched in January 2005. Keyes enjoyed the unique opportunity News & Notes gave her to cover events that affect communities of color on a national level. "Most news outlets only bother to cover crime and the predictable museum opening or occasional community protest," she said. "But people have a right to know what's going on and how it will affect them and their communities."
In addition to working with NPR, Keyes occasionally writes and produces segments for the ABC News shows Good Morning America and World News Tonight.
Keyes is familiar with public radio, having worked intermittently for NPR since 1995. She also spent a little less than a year hosting and covering City Hall and politics for WNYC Radio. Prior to that, she spent several years at WCBS Newsradio 880.
Keyes' eyewitness reports on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York earned her the Newswoman's Club of New York 2002 Front Page Award for Breaking News, and, along with WCBS Newsradio staff, the New York State Associated Press Broadcast Award for Breaking News and Continuing Coverage. Her report on the funeral of Patrick Dorismond earned her the National Association of Black Journalists' 2001 Radio News Award.
In addition to radio, Keyes has worked in cable television and print. She has reported for Black Enterprise Magazine, co-authored two African-American history books as well as the African American Heritage Perpetual Calendar, and has written profiles for various magazines and Internet news outlets in Chicago and New York.
Keyes got her start in radio at NPR member station WBEZ in Chicago, IL, in 1988 as an assistant news director, anchor, and reporter. She graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a degree in English and journalism. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Inc. and the National Association of Black Journalists.
When not on the air, Keyes can be found singing jazz, listening to opera, or hanging out with her very, very large cat.
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Reporter Allison Keyes talks to pollster John Zogby about the reaction of some Muslim American groups to the Sept. 11 Commission's final report, and also about recent polls showing that 60 percent of Arabs in the U.S. fear for their families.
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Legendary thespian and Hollywood star Isabel Sanford, better known as "Weezie" from The Jeffersons, died Monday. She was 86. NPR's Allison Keyes recounts the life her family, friends and fans celebrated.
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NPR's Allison Keyes talks with author Erica Kennedy about her new novel Bling, a playful look at the commercialized glitz of the world of hip-hop.
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NPR's Allison Keyes speaks with Tony Award-winning actress Tonya Pinkins about how her emotional pain has enabled her to thrive on television and in the critically acclaimed Broadway musical Caroline, or Change.
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NPR's Allison Keyes examines the state of black philanthropy in the nation. At a recent conference in Connecticut, hundreds gathered to discuss ways to help empower African Americans to make a greater financial difference in their communities.
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Former President Bill Clinton signed his new book at a Harlem bookstore Tuesday, and was greeted like a rock star. NPR's Allison Keyes reports.
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Anika Noni Rose just won a Tony award for her work in the Broadway musical Caroline, or Change -- the dramatic story of an African-American maid trying to raise her family in 1963 Louisiana. Rose plays her head-strong daughter, and she recently had a conversation with NPR's Allison Keyes about that role.
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Texas State Rep. Al Edwards has a conversation with NPR's Allison Keyes about the history of "Juneteenth." Edwards sponsored a bill 25 years ago officially making the celebration a state holiday. He discusses its historical significance.
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Creighton University in Nebraska has dedicated a memorial to Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, one of the astronauts killed when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry in February 2003. NPR's Allison Keyes details the latest honor accorded one of a handful of African-American astronauts.
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We've heard this week about the G8 summit of world leaders, including many from Africa, and the setting: Sea Island, off the coast of Georgia. It's part of the Sea Islands -- plural -- and it's rich with what's known as black Gullah culture. Reporter Allison Keyes spoke with Emory Campbell of Gullah Heritage Consulting about Gullah history, traditions and language.