Paula Madison, the principal owner of The Africa Channel and CEO of Madison Media Management LLC, was honored as a Media Luminary at the 6th Annual Multicultural Media and Correspondents Association (MMCA) dinner and summit meeting on November 18, 2021, at the National Press Club in Washington DC. Madison was recognized as a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Media Excellence honoree for Media Literacy for her career-long efforts in trying to reduce discrimination in the United States in general and for creating The Africa Channel in particular. She has been instrumental in repairing relationships between races and works to bring people together and to facilitate successful relationships at corporate and personal levels. The gala event was attended by multiple media industry movers and shakers, entertainers, and representatives of advocacy organizations.
Madison, who is of African and Hakka descent, was raised in Harlem, New York, where she lived with her mother, a single parent and immigrant from Jamaica, and her two brothers. With her siblings, Madison founded the real estate investment firm Williams Holdings. She later purchased a majority share of The Africa Channel. In 2005, Madison was named one of the 75 most powerful African Americans in corporate America by Black Enterprise Magazine. In 2014, she was named one of 50 outstanding Asian Americans in business. In 2015, she pursued her family history to find out more about her grandfather’s life in Guangdong, China, and wrote a book, “Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem,” which also followed her visit to that city. Also in 2015, she was recognized by East West Players for her contribution to the Asian American community on the basis of her documentary film, “Finding Samuel Lowe: From Harlem to China,” about the quest undertaken by Madison and her brothers to find information about the family of their estranged father.
The Africa Channel showcases English-language television series, documentaries, feature films, and various cultural and historical programs from the continent of Africa. The channel’s mission is to provide daily access to depictions of modern African life to demystify the continent for viewers in the US.
The MMCA represents BIPOC media stakeholders and allies who are committed to ensuring greater diversity in media content, ownership, and control of their own stories and how they are told. The group focuses on building coalitions, increasing awareness and advocacy, engaging constructively with the industry, providing aid to stakeholders, and recognizing BIPOC excellence.
