Black History Today: Adama and Keisha, sharing a committed, powerful demonstration of love

Black History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond and recognizes the people among us who are boldly shaping the future.

By Marcus Harden

C.S. Lewis once spoke of The Four Loves and the ways love shows up in our lives.

Storge — the love of familiarity.

The quiet, selfless love. The kind that lives in presence, not performance. The love a parent gives a child, steady, patient, affectionate without needing to be announced.

Philia — the love of friendship.

Chosen family. Deep bonds built through trust, shared values, and lived experiences. A love that, at times, runs thicker than blood.

Eros — the romantic love.

The love of true life partners. Intimate, intentional, and bold. The decision to do life for and with another.

Agape — the charitable love.

The unconditional love. Patient. Kind. Giving without keeping score. The love many, no matter the form, call “God” love.

So this year, as we celebrate a traditional day of love, it is my honor to honor all four.

Welcome to part two of this special four-part series — an offering of love for those who truly are Black History Today.

“To be loved by someone who knows your flaws and chooses you anyway is the deepest freedom.”

— James Baldwin

Eros - Romantic Love

“To be, or not to be? That is the question.”

The answer is always, always to be!

For so long – and even now – we’ve been told that love, especially young and Black love, didn’t exist.

Whether it be the exaggerated accounts of broken homes, the lack of visibly healthy relationships or just the hyper-independence this world can bring, partnership at its highest level has been downplayed.

But that narrative is thwarted by the amazing love of Adama Seck and Keisha Credit, a modern day power couple, bonded together through purpose and passion.

Adama is a son of Seattle’s Central District via Senegalian roots, and his commitment to his wife and family is the only thing that outshines the passion and dedication he shows to his community. Whether walking alongside students needing access to college, AmeriCorps members gaining access to the world, or across the table from leaders or with companies helping them access their stated values through deep equity work, Adama is a steward of community trust and foundations building for this and generations to come.

Keisha is a daughter of Seattle’s Central District, shaped by a community that taught her the value of resilience, relationship, and looking out for all people – especially her people. As a mother, a neighbor, and a community-builder, Keisha understands that the decisions we make around work, money, and opportunity are never just individual. They ripple through families and generations. She shows up with care, honesty, and accountability, holding space for people to ask real questions about stability, ownership, and what it truly means to thrive.

The Central District lives in how Keisha works. In her insistence on truth-telling. In her belief that access should never be gate-kept. In the way she teaches with both patience and precision. Her professional journey, from corporate leadership to entrepreneurship to coaching, is less a pivot than a return: a return to community, to shared wisdom, to the belief that prosperity should be legible and reachable for the people who built this city.

She is seen, especially by the person who sees her most:

“To my love, Keisha,

I need you to hear me: I’m so proud of you. Not just for what you’ve done, but for the way you are—the way you carry yourself with warmth, intention, and a kind of strength that makes people feel safe and seen. You have this quiet power about you: elevation without arrogance, wealth and soundness without noise, excellence that doesn’t need permission. You’re boundlessly Black and brilliant, and you make me believe in what’s possible just by being in your presence.

Yes, the world sees the milestones, your UW Foster master’s, your communications degree, the businesses you’ve helped fund, the Forbes feature.

Those are real, and I celebrate them. But they’re not the reason you shine. You shine because you lead with honor. Because when responsibility finds you, you meet it with integrity and follow-through. Because your Delta Sigma Theta values—sisterhood, scholarship, and service—show up in your everyday choices, not just in your titles.

And my love… watching you mother our babies is holy to me. The way you love Serigne and Amady Sincere, the way you nurture and protect, the way you still make room for Dior and show up with steadiness and care—it’s a living example of what legacy looks like. You are a generational curse-breaker, not in theory, but in the small, consistent ways you choose love, discipline, and joy.

Thank you for being my partner, my peace, and my motivation. Thank you for being a beacon, here in Seattle and everywhere your light reaches. Keep going, keep building, keep believing. I’m with you, always, and I’m cheering for you louder than anyone.

Signed: Your eternal love/fiancé/father of your kids/handsome chocolate handyman/ backbone for forward momentum/ protector/ black Knight, and shining armor.

Adama I. Seck”

While many shy away from the phrase “relationship goals,” there is still space for relationship exemplars. They show what is possible when two committed, powerful people choose to be – to be grounded, to be intentional, to be in alignment. Today, their collective choice to be, both as individuals and as a couple, is to be Black History Today.