about me
Keziah Ridgeway is a Philadelphia area educator, organizer, activist, wife, and mother. She’s also a published writer with articles appearing in Sister's Magazine, Common Ground News, and Edweek. She has also made media appearances on CNN, CBS, and local Philadelphia news outlets and has appeared in USA Today and the New York Times.
Born to Bernadette Ridgeway (Jones) and Luther Ridgeway, her early years were shaped in the Raymond Rosen Projects in the Strawberry Mansion area of North Philadelphia. She later converted to Islam and was fostered by Imam Saulih Abdur Ra'uf and Suad Malik in the East Oaklane section of Philadelphia.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in History, primarily with a focus on Southwest Asia, Africa & Central/South America (Temple University) and a master's in Secondary Education (Saint Joseph's University). She has taught World History, African American History, Social & Cultural Anthropology and AP African American Studies at public high schools in Philadelphia. She is a proud teacher and Chief of Social Studies at her current high school.
As a curriculum developer and facilitator, she co-created an Antiracist training curriculum, helped develop Colored Conventions lessons for a partnership with the University of Delaware and partnered with the School District of Philadelphia to help revamp the history curriculum.
Keziah also created a mutual aid program called Groceries For Philly and was featured in the book, “How We Stay Free: Notes on a Black Uprising” in which students she helped mentor in the group Philly Black Students Alliance wrote about her contribution to their political development during the 2020 Uprisings.
As the result of offering free, live virtual African American History classes that students joined from around the nation during Covid and other activities performed as an educator, Keziah won the prestigious Lindback Teacher Award for distinguished teachers in 2020. In February of 2026, she was honored to receive the Fannie Lou Hamer award for Civic Courage and Community Empowerment during the BlackPrint 20 Awards Banquet. Of all accolades she's received, this award is most significant as it represents her love for her community and their love for her.
She also authored the children’s book, “Black Women Do: Leaders of the African Diaspora" and recently completed her first Middle Years novel which she hopes to share with the world soon.
Keziah also curates discussion groups, presentations and panels around Islamophobia, Black Muslim History, African American History, Educators of Color, and Racism that are aimed at creating a safe and equitable environment within education and society.
