Karen Warrington

Embraces Her African Heritage

By Njeri Dean

Culture is unique to every one of It makes us and tells distinct stories of where we come from in exclusive ways. When culture identifies and set us apart as a group of people, it makes us feel connected to something that is more than ourselves---as we influence those around us. Karen Warrington is one of such persons that have learned to immerse herself in her culture and is very proud of it. Being active in her community and embracing her African heritage has become part of her everyday life.

Warrington has embraced a multitude of career disciplines, such as politics, broadcasting,and dance. Introduced to dance at an early age she was able to study not only European ballet but also African and Caribbean traditional dance. These experiences helped to educate and inform her about the rich cultural traditions of the Diaspora.

As a lead dancer and choreographer with the famed Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble she performed throughout the U.S. and parts of West Africa and the Caribbean. While dancing was paramount in her life she decided on embarking on a career in communications. While a student at Temple University she was selected to be a newscaster on WRTI FM, the university station. That experience led her to WDAS AM/FM where she became an award winning news director. Because of her experiences in the cultural arts she integrated coverage of the arts into the news format. in yet another career shift she was named press secretary to Philadelphia Mayor W. Wilson Goode and later she was Director of Communications for U.S. Representative Bob Brady. Even during her tenure in these governmental positions she was able to utilize her arts background and multi-nation travel experiences to expand the offices' reach to the arts community and immigrant populations. claiming our cultural legacies.

"Warrington says as a child her role models included anthropologist, dancer, choreographer Katherine Dunham and her first dancing teacher Sydney King. Later in life she was influenced by journalists such as Dorothy Gilliam of the Washington Post and Inquirer columnist Art Peters. Warrington says she was fortunate to have them as role models. But she cautions that we are all role models, "because our children are always watching. So it is important that we represent the best we have to offer them not only as professionals in our careers but also as fully woke persons proudly proclaiming our cultural legacies.