Harrisburg native and singer-songwriter, Melissa Wilson, shares her passion for music and black beauty

Harrisburg native and singer-songwriter, Melissa Wilson, will be featured in Young Professionals Of Color – Harrisburg Black NewsBeat Wednesday

• Aniya Faulcon
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Aniya Faulcon is The Spark Host/Producer for WITF. She has a passion for shining a light on unique people, experiences, and perspectives within the community.
  
  Previously she worked as the People and Social Trends Reporter/Video Anchor for LancasterOnline | LNPNews. During her time there, she created video packages, provided Facebook Live coverage at community events, and wrote data-driven stories with census data and feature stories on local leaders, non-profit organizations, events, and people with unique talents and experiences within Lancaster County.
  
  Aniya also worked at WMAR ABC 2 News as a Sales Assistant and at the AFRO American Newspapers as an Executive Assistant and Media correspondent. Aniya interned at WEAA Gospel Grace 88.9 and worked at her alma mater’s radio station, WWPJ at Point Park University, where she gained skills and a passion for radio.
  
  Aniya grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the Baltimore School for the arts for high school with a concentration in acting. She continued to hone her skills and passion for storytelling and later graduated from Point Park University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Broadcast Reporting. Aniya is eager to continue her journey with storytelling in her role with WITF, as she aims to shed a light on real people and real stories within Pennsylvania in a variety of mediums.

 Melissa Wilson

Melissa Wilson, Harrisburg native singer-songwriter

Airdate: January 24, 2023

The Young Professionals Of Color – Harrisburg is hosting an event called Black NewsBeat, where they aim to uncover the hidden gems within Central Pennsylvania by showcasing poetry, music, and activism. Melissa Wilson is one of the hidden gems that YPOC is highlighting during their event Wednesday. She’s a Harrisburg native and a singer-songwriter, who was nominated for the Best R&B Artist Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame award. Wilson is the owner of a salon called Hair Krush LLC in Harrisburg and is passionate about black hair, beauty, and fashion.

Wilson joined us on The Spark Tuesday to share her story and her work. Dr. Kimeka Campbell, Vice President of Young Professionals Of Color – Harrisburg also joined us to discuss the Black NewsBeat event that Wilson is featured in and the upcoming Juneteenth events that her organization is hosting for the advancement of the community.

Wilson is the daughter of Diane Wilson, who she said is a popular signer in Harrisburg. Wilson also said, as a the youngest of four, she was shy and didn’t want to sing but had a passion for songwriting. She overcame her shyness with the help of her loved ones and began creating uplifting music and started a hair salon to encourage black beauty.

“A lot of times what we see on social media plays a big role in our youth and our community in general. So I think that more uplifting music, positive music was just the way to go,” Wilson said. “A lot of the time people don’t see beauty in our community, depending on their skin complexion, what’s being told to them on social media, or the image of beauty. A lot of people, if they don’t look like that they don’t think that they’re beautiful. So then it could cause depression, it could cause all types of issues. So I just want to uplift people, let them know you’re beautiful regardless. It doesn’t matter what color you are. It’s all about what’s on the inside. You got to be confident within yourself, like you have to. So that’s my whole goal.”

For more information about the Black NewsBeat event, featuring Wilson, on Wednesday at Open Stage Theater in Harrisburg at 6:30 p.m. or to learn about other upcoming YPOC events visit ypoc-hbg.org/events.