The Writer
Photo by Darren Freeman Photography
Rhonda Freeman-Baraka is a multi-dimensional writer with vast experience in writing for television and film, newspapers and magazines and promotional, publicity and marketing outlets.
A graduate of Talladega College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Ms. Freeman-Baraka discovered a passion for journalism when she began writing an article for the city’s local newspaper, The Daily Home, earning five dollars a week to pen a column about the goings on at her college campus. That position led her to a summer internship with the newspaper where she wrote feature stories about many of the notable and colorful residents of Talladega, Alabama. Those articles earned her a first place win in a national competition staged by the National Association of Black Journalists. Ms. Ms. Freeman-Baraka was chosen out of hundreds of applicants to become the organization’s first William Monroe Trotter intern, an honor that earned her a 10-week internship at the National Leader Newspaper in Philadelphia, PA.
Upon graduation from Talladega College, she landed a position at her hometown newspaper, The Tuskegee News, where she rapidly ascended the ranks to become Editor and Associate Publisher. With a keen eye towards politics and social issues, Ms. Freeman-Baraka won numerous awards from the Alabama Press Association for her investigative reports and biting editorials.
After six years at the paper, she left to join her then-husband in the launching of an entertainment magazine called TAFRIJA, marking her official entry into the realm of entertainment. For nine years, she served as editor of TAFRIJA Magazine where she was the first to interview many of the biggest artists to emerge from the southeast, including Usher, Toni Braxton, Pink! and Outkast. Her interviewing style led her to a second career as a media trainer for a wide array of entertainers, among them Usher, Kelly Rowland, Solange Knowles, Outkast, and LisaRaye.
After nine years of running TAFRIJA, Ms. Freeman-Baraka began to extend her brand as a freelance writer, contributing to an array of national, regional and local publications, among them Billboard Magazine, New York Daily News, Creative Loafing, Jezebel, Atlanta Magazine, Georgia Music Magazine, Upscale Magazine, the Atlanta Tribune, Request Magazine, VH1.com, and MTV.com. She has written bios for hundreds of new and established recording artists and producers from Chris Brown to T.I. (READ MORE)
