ANDRE LEPELLE KEITT

Awarded "Outstanding Male Role Model in the Community"

The National Association of Negro Business Women’s Club Inc.

Gifted Speech and Script writer

Master Storyteller, Commentator and Public Speaker-

Veteran host of cultural arts affairs to remember -

He handles your events with “Kit Gloves”

“It’s In My Blood…” says this native of Orangeburg, South Carolina, who excelled in the cultural arts at an early age. In Connecticut where he was raised, Andre attended both parochial and public schools; and in high school, as president of the Black Awareness Club, he created a myriad of student cultural events and performed in lead theatrical roles.  After high school, he returned to his roots, completing a Bachelors of Arts degree in English at South Carolina State University, where he performed in college productions and created the laboratory school’s drama club.

For ten years he was one of the host/producers of Black Perspective, an Emmy award winning public affairs television show aired on WVIT, an NBC affiliate in Connecticut.  This volunteer board of directors where he served as chairman of the board is where he took pride in producing programs that made a difference to the community.  Some of the subjects Andre broached on this program were: African Folklore; The Spirit of the Native American; Music of the Black Church, and Holiday Traditions, a program focusing on the food, folklore, and music of African Americans celebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve.

A budding author, with several children’s picture book projects pending, Andre has worked in public libraries where he envisions his own picture books to be shelved one day.  He has served as Community Outreach Program Specialist for both Hartford Public and Dallas Public libraries. At Hartford Public Library Andre created and hosted the children’s radio program Breezeway, a production that kids contributed to with stories, songs, poems, recipes, and games.  Through Outreach, Andre also researched, developed, and implemented a core of fourteen cultural arts programs for children and their communities.  In addition, while in Dallas he also developed innovative programs that brought senior citizens and children together.  It has also been Andre’s pleasure to represent the library through public speaking and good old fashioned storytelling, at other libraries, museums, and schools.  Through Outreach services, Andre has been known to service over 20,000 children, families and educators annually.  At library conferences in Columbus, Ohio; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Andre presented his original Keys to the Keepers, a presentation about North American slaves and their descendents keeping hold to their African culture, through storytelling and folklore. In Las Vegas, Nevada, he presented his original Tales, Talk & Tunes of the Harlem Renaissance.

Andre has also served as Program Director for Community and Economic Development at The Greater Hartford Arts Council, where he co-created a new arts district. As an arts administrator, he planned festivals, programs, and events for the arts.  He has also been a drama instructor/Program Manager for Footlights Center for Performing Arts, an after school program for teens.

He has been a member of the Black Caucus of The American Library Association.  He is an independent folklore lecturer and storyteller and today Andre is delighted to be a teaching artist and literacy activity leader for students in Greater Hartford and surrounding regions for the following arts and humanities institutions: Hartford Stage Company, The Bushnell Memorial, Connecticut Humanities Council, Readers As Leaders, CT.

Andre has brought his outstanding oratory skills to other parts of the country and beyond.  He has spoken in parts of New England; Texas; The United States’ Virgin Islands at The University of the Virgin Islands; The Northeastern Theater Conference at Northeastern University, Boston, MA; and finally, at The Bushnell Memorial performance hall and at Capitol Community College, both in Hartford Connecticut.