Keeana Saxon, Esq. Founder, CEO, Executive Producer of Kidogo Productions sat down with Mo Wilks
Empowering Kids Through Cultural Learning
Mo Wilks interviewed Keeana Saxon, founder of Kidogo Productions, an educational tech startup focused on creating culturally rich learning experiences for children aged 4-8. Keeana explains how Kidogo’s name, meaning “little” in Swahili, reflects their mission to empower children to explore and learn. She discusses her background, including her education and experience as a mother, which inspired her to address the lack of positive Black representation in children’s media. Keeana highlights three forms of anti-Black bias: underrepresentation, misrepresentation, and color bias, and emphasizes the importance of diverse and accurate representation in children’s content.
Promoting Black Brilliance in Education
Keeana expressed concerns about arriving late to an important time and emphasized the need to communicate the truth about Black brilliance to both children and adults. She highlighted the importance of educating children with edifying content and expressed hope for creating a safe space that showcases Black brilliance. Keeana also expressed worry about the state of education and the dismantling of the Department of Education, but remained hopeful about making the necessary changes.
Positive Impact and Global Expansion
Keeana discussed the positive reception of Kidogo Productions, noting that parents and children alike appreciate the educational content. She emphasized the joy of seeing children engage and learn through their programs, describing it as their “North Star.” Keeana also shared plans for international expansion, mentioning their recent collaboration with a creator from Ghana and their aspirations to connect with more international creators.
Mo Wilks
Hi, I’m Mo Wilks of The Secret Spot on ERS+. Welcome to Studio 889.
I’ve had the distinct pleasure of meeting today’s guest at the Boston Annual Boston Art and Music Soul Festival, aka BAMS Fest, this past June.
She was holding the attention of several youth under a tent.
Featuring education through entertaining music and technology.
She’s a curator of games and an engagement for youth ages 4 to 8, as she calls it, edutainment. She shared her business, it’s an early tech startup.
And it has big dreams for the world’s kids. The name of the organization is Kidogo, and their team works hard to ensure that our children can play and learn safely, whether online or in person.
So I’m going to ask this founder and guest how the power of Black representation is in full force and effect at Cadogo. So welcome to Studio 889,
Keeana Saxon. How are you?
Keeana Saxon
I’m doing well, Maurice. Thank you so much.
Mo Wilks
You’re very welcome, thanks for joining us. So, tell our audience a little something about your background, where you’re from, and some of your inspirations along the way.
Keeana Saxon
I was born in DC. I lived there until I was 5. My mother finally answered her call to ministry.
And my parents and I moved up from DC to Newton, Massachusetts, and the whole plan was for us to actually go back to DC so that she can, you know, pastor churches there, but there were a couple of churches who decided to hire her here, and so we ended up staying.
And, it’s been a journey ever since. I went to Newton South High School, and then I went down to Spelman College in Georgia, and then I came right back up to go to law school at Western New England School of Law, or Western New England University School of Law, and
I don’t know. I think the… the inspiration for me to start Kidogo Productions
Was because I became a mother, and I started to let my child watch TV when she was a toddler, and I readily noticed the Black… anti-Black bias in that content.
And… grumbled about it for a little bit, and then I decided to do something about it.
You can find out more at KidogoProductions.com and write them directly at info@kidogoproductions.com On social media, @kidigoproductions on i/g, Linkedin