About The Author:
Kenji L. Jackson
Kenji is the proud owner of BKS Youth & Family Wholeness Services. Which began in 2016 when he decided to leverage his 15+ years working as an educator in Baltimore County Public Schools. Out of a deep urge to do more Kenji stepped out on faith to offer services that would have a greater impact in the community.
In the beginning, BKS started as a full-service education consulting company designed to arm students with the knowledge and skills required to become successful college students and adults.
Since then, BKS has grown its vision, expanding its services to include the promotion of whole wellness with teaching healthy habits of living to strengthen academic and health outcomes of youth, as well as, cultivating healthy relationships between fathers/male community members and the young people they care for.
Inspired by the birth of his son, Kenji has written several children’s books and has worked diligently to change the narrative around what it means to be a black father.
Becoming a father has been the greatest inspiration and motivation behind BKS, which stands for Building Knowledge and Success, but it didn’t start there. Kenji’s strained relationship with his own father made for challenging times well into adulthood.
While growing up… like most people born in Harlem, but raised in The Bronx, Kenji Jackson was influenced by Hip Hop. Just as Hip Hop has both fruits and faults, so did Kenji. Growing up as a troubled child with major behavior issues in school, Kenji went an atypical route in attending 5 different elementary schools, being held back in grade 8 and then eventually dropping out of High School in the 11th grade to attain a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) in 1996 but then he came to himself.
In a letter addressed to Morgan State University, Kenji expressed his desire and need to leave NYC for higher pursuits lest he be a statistic. The choice to bypass the traditional junior-college-route for a GED coupled with constant challenges growing up, he was often told he would never amount to anything. Determined to change his own narrative, he stepped out on faith.
Kenji was later enrolled at Morgan State University and Graduated in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. While attending Morgan he also became a member of a brotherhood organization, The Men Of Tenacious Talented & Capable (T.T.C.) where the strong support and brotherhood helped him to embody the values needed to grow as a young man.
Today, Kenji is a proud father and accomplished author of a children’s book series inspired by his son Kaiden. He also spends time speaking, training, and facilitating workshops around fatherhood principles and providing health and fitness services as a certified fitness trainer. With a mission to change the narrative and the trajectory of disadvantaged youth, Kenji Jackson remains a thread in the fabric of inspiration for our generation and beyond.