Germany Kent
Kent in December 2016
Born	(1975-07-29) July 29, 1975 Greenville, Mississippi, U.S.
Alma mater	Mississippi State University University of Alabama University of Southern California
Occupations	Journalist Author Actress Television Personality Producer Activist Philanthropist

Germany Kent is an American print and broadcast journalist, television personality, former beauty queen, actor, businesswoman, producer, philanthropist, and author. Her work has appeared in INC. Magazine,^[1] Fast Company,^[2] Forbes, Bloomberg Business, MSN South Africa, Yahoo Canada, Cosmopolitan (UK), and The Dallas Morning News.^[3][4][5] Her media appearances include NPR, AOL.com,^[6] and ABC.^[7][8]

Early life

Born in Greenville, Mississippi, Kent (born Evelyn Palmer) is the daughter of Lula Palmer, a businesswoman and politician, and Charles Palmer, a retired school administrator and disc jockey.^[9] She graduated from North Panola High School in Sardis, Mississippi. In 2017, Kent became the first woman to be inducted into the North Panola Hall of Fame.^[10]

Education

After graduating from North Panola High School, Kent entered Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia where she majored in Journalism and Public Relations. While at Northwest, Kent became the first African-American to be elected president of the Student Senate.^[11] She transferred to Mississippi State University in Starkville where she earned a Bachelor's Degree. While at Mississippi State, Kent was the first African-American woman to be elected to the Student Association,^[12] serving as the Attorney General.^[13] She is an alumna of the University of Alabama, and the University of Southern California.

Journalism

Acting

Kent has made numerous acting appearances as a cameo or playing an on-screen character. She has had a number of nationally broadcast television commercials, with spots for NIKE, Verizon, Carrier, and Coors Light, in addition to a variety of other advertisements for AT&T, Target, Pepsi, Budweiser, eHarmony, and others. Kent has also starred in numerous advertisements for Disney, including those for Disney Destinations, Disney Aulani Resort, and the Disneyland Resort in California. She has also provided voice-over work for the Disney brand. In 2012, Kent appeared as a winning contestant on Let's Make a Deal Christmas Edition. That same year she appeared in a guest starring role as a crack addict on the USA Network television series Graceland. In 2013, Kent starred in a Reality-TV series for the Food Network, alongside celebrity chef Robert Irvine. Kent has appeared on The Doctors, Criminal Minds, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta.^{[35][36][37][38]}

Music video appearances

In 2012, Kent made an appearance alongside singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige in her video "Why." In 2011, Kent made an appearance alongside musical group Take 6 for their video "One," which also featured pop icon Stevie Wonder.^[13][39][40]

Pageants

Kent represented Tennessee in the 1991 Hal Jackson Talented Teens International pageant held in New York City. She won the "Miss Personality Award" from over 120 contestants representing countries from all around the world. In an infamous pageant moment, Kent was kissed onstage by Shawn Stockman, of Boyz II Men, during her crowning. In 1992, her stage performance garnered her a place among the Top 10 at the Miss Teen Mississippi Pageant. She also won her state's Speech Award at the pageant that same year.^[13]

In 1993, Kent placed in the Top 5 at the Miss Teen Mississippi Pageant, and won the Speech Award for the second consecutive year while also walking away with the "Miss Congeniality Award." While at Mississippi State, Kent won the Miss Alpha Phi Alpha Pageant and was featured in their 12-month calendar as Miss July 1997.^[41]

Author

In March 2015, Kent penned a book on hope and motivation, The Hope Handbook. The book was originally created as a book of tweets from inspirations that Kent had posted on social media site Twitter. Kent claimed to have received hundreds of messages from followers recognizing her motivational Twitter messages and explaining how her messages of hope had inspired them. As a response to their messages, a collection of some of the tweets were assembled, and the book came to fruition.^[42]

Following the success of The Hope Handbook, Kent released a collection of Hope books, titled The Hope Handbook Series.^[43]

In May 2015 Kent released You Are What You Tweet.^[42][44]

In March 2017, You Are What You Tweet received national recognition as one of four books selected by actor Romany Malco to help President Donald Trump with social media etiquette. As part of Malco's campaign, the book was sent to the White House.^[45][46][47]

In June 2017, Kent teamed up with author and publisher Rhonda Branch Yearby to produce the book Women Of Faith: Their Untold Stories Revealed: Teen Edition: Bully & Cyber Bullying Prevention.^{[48][49][50][51]}

Published works

• You Are What You Tweet: Harness The Power of Twitter to Create a Happier, Healthier Life ISBN 978-0996146890
• The Hope Handbook: The Search for Personal Growth ISBN 9780996146876
• The Hope Handbook for Couples: The Search for Personal Growth ISBN 9781943206100
• The Hope Handbook for Moms: The Search for Personal Growth ISBN 9780996146852
• The Hope Handbook for Dads: The Search for Personal Growth ISBN 9781943206001
• The Hope Handbook for Christians: The Search for Personal Growth ISBN 9780996146821
• The Hope Handbook for Singles: The Search for Personal Growth ISBN 9781943206063
• The Hope Handbook for Survivors: The Search for Personal Growth ISBN 9781943206070
• The Hope Handbook for Mentors and Coaches: The Search for Personal Growth ISBN 9781943206049
• The Hope Handbook for Leaders: The Search for Personal Growth ISBN 9781943206025
• Women of Faith Their Untold Stories Revealed: Teen Edition: Bully & Cyber Bullying Prevention ISBN 9781548467302

References