kweliTV, Inc. is a global streaming service and digital media company based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area focused on the global Black experience.
In 2023, kweliTV expanded its reach by being added to the digital collections of public and academic libraries, including the Birmingham Public Library's A–Z databases.
The company was incorporated in 2015 and officially launched out of beta in Fall 2017. A former journalist who has written for The Oakland Tribune, The Clarion Ledger and The Crisis Magazine among other publications, DeShuna Elisa Spencer started kweliTV because early in her career she noticed the connection between media images and implicit bias.KweliTV is Combating Implicit Bias in the Media's Representation of Black People, Swaay
The company's name is derived from the Swahili term kweli, which means "truth". Spencer, who serves as the company's founder and CEO, started kweliTV after winning an initial US$20,000 grant from the now-defunct Unity Journalists. The platform officially launched out of beta after winning first place at the Harvard Africa Business New Venture Competition and receiving its first micro-investment from TEDCO in 2017. Notable supporters include Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition and a16z’s Talent x Opportunity (TxO) accelerator.
kweliTV has been featured in CNN Business,She was tired of seeing Black stereotypes on TV. So she started her own streaming service, CNN Fast Company,How KweliTV tells the Black stories that streaming giants overlook, Fast Company Black Star Network, Refinery 29,Black-Owned KweliTV Is Bringing Authenticity & Access To Streaming, Refinery29 TIME, Emmy Magazine,With its support of indie content creators, kweliTV projects a vast view of Black life, Emmy Magazine Shondaland,How DeShuna Spencer Created a Streaming Service That Celebrates Diverse Creators, Shondaland and more. kweliTV has been listed as one of the 10 best movie streaming services by PC MagazineThe Best Movie Streaming Services, PCMag since 2020.
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