Willie McKennis

by Shaketta Toins
Photo by Maggie Burks
January 23, 2008

Casually dressed in a black blazer, white dress shirt and blue jeans, Willie McKennis has a full schedule. However, he takes a break to tell the story of his life.

When McKennis was 13, a jury convicted his mother of attempted murder. She went to jail, and McKennis and his older brother went into foster care. After being in the foster care system for six months, McKennis and his brother moved to Jackson in 1992 to live with their grandmother. "She put stability back in my life," McKennis says.

As his grandmother got older, McKennis started to stray. "I joined a gang because I was looking for a sense of family. I started selling drugs, stealing cars, robbing people and having shoot-outs with other gangs," he says.

After running in the streets for almost six years, McKennis noticed the effects that his lifestyle had on his friends. "People started dying before my eyes, " he says. "I remember a friend being shot five times and dying on the same block that I sold drugs."

He decided to change his way of life after he was stabbed, and his friends left him for dead. "As I drove myself to the hospital going in and out of consciousness from stab wounds, I just knew I was going to die," he says. Once McKennis reached the hospital, doctors rushed him into surgery. No one came to visit him while he was there, and he began to question his way of life.

Today, McKennis and his wife, Terica, host seminars through his company, Motivational Moments, in hopes of encouraging young teens and adults to choose the right path. "Coming from a destructive home with each one of my family members on cocaine, I saw how it destroys people's lives, so I want to give back," he says.

In November 2007, the Mississippi Arts Council opened nominations for the 2008 Mississippi Governors Award to the public. Readers nominated McKennis for his internationally published book, "Valley Low, Mountain High."

"That's the sum of my life," he says, referring to the title of his book. "I was raised in Minneapolis, and that was the valley, ... Ever since my grandmother took me in, I have been on a mountain high," he says.

McKennis is all smiles as he talks about his life today. He is the father of two children, Talitha, 2, and Willie Jr., 8 months, who constantly keep him alert. "I never though my life would have such an impact on people all over this world," he says. "The Lord has blessed me to live my dream, and it's wonderful."

posted by L.W. on 01/28/08 at 10:55 AM