Black History Today: Michaela Kyles, loving fiercely and joyfully, carrying her South Seattle roots with dignity

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.

“Each relationship between two persons is absolutely unique. That is why you cannot love two people the same. It simply is not possible. You love each person differently because of who they are and the uniqueness that they draw out of you.”

— William Young (from "The Shack”)

Agape - Unconditional Love

Agape, or “God Love” as it’s often called, makes me think of people with multiple children. It’s a love that doesn’t play favorites, but is pure and full and somehow also unique to each person who receives it.

And Agape is often defined as being unconditional and intentional, patient and kind, gracious and steady, and maybe most importantly, forgiving.

There are few that embody those characteristics like Michaela Kyles. To know her is to know a mirror for love, light and the fragile reflection that living life openly, vibrantly and proudly brings. She doesn’t just speak love, she radiates it. She doesn’t just survive life, she lives it, fully and out loud.

Born and raised in GOD’S COUNTRY — Seattle’s glorious Southend — her roots of community and family and living audaciously were sewn into her glistening (and maybe printed) soulful fabric by her mother, THE Ms. Gayle. They were planted to flourish by her father, Popsi, and continuously affirmed by her eldest brother, Snook, and by her companion and protector, Samuel.

She is homegrown brilliance. She is legacy walking.

Michaela is the sum of all the love that’s poured into her, whilst being an even larger vessel to pour out into the world. Her most admirable traits (out of many) is her ability to love and love hard, to win and win big, and to make even her trials stairways to her triumphs.

Through personal hardships, she’s grown into a woman who has transformed grief into gratitude, challenges into championing, setbacks into strategy, and pain into purpose. What tried to bend her only built her. What tried to quiet her only clarified her.

I’ve had the privilege of calling her “Little Sis” for a while, but I beam with pride seeing the woman she’s become. Never striving for perfection but always striving to be the perfect and true version of herself — unapologetically.

And as the adage goes, the permission she gives herself gives every single person around her permission to do the same. And it doesn’t hurt that she is going to hype you up with a well-timed “Ayyyyyyyyyeeeeee” and a milly rock (or whatever the kids are doing now) to ensure the hype sticks.

We need more love. But more than that, we need more carriers of it, people so enthusiastic about it that it makes us love a little harder and longer ourselves. That agape love. One that’s patient. One that’s kind. One that’s intentional.

That’s Michaela. She’s intentional in living her life, intentional as a parent, intentional as a friend, intentional in cultivating and building community, intentional in shedding love and light from the boardrooms to social-media-influencer backrooms.

She is resilient yet tender. Bold yet gracious. Competitive yet collaborative. Grounded yet luminous. Fierce yet forgiving. Joyful yet disciplined. She carries her Southend roots with dignity, her family’s imprint with honor, and her own becoming with courage.

Seattle is a stronger city because of the history Michaela has made here. The world is a better place because we have people like her in it, people who love out loud, who build intentionally, who heal visibly, who show up fully, who choose joy defiantly, who extend grace generously.

And that’s why Michaela Kyles is Black History Today!

See Michaela Kyles live on Mother’s Day at Populus Seattle:

The Work of Loving is a Mother’s Day viewing experience from Memoirs on Winging It at Populus Seattle.

This gathering is an invitation into a real, honest conversation between Michaela Kyles and her teenage daughter, Levi. They’re talking about love, parenting, growing up, and learning from each other in real time. The stuff we don’t always have language for, but feel every day.

This series was created out of a desire to hold space for the conversations many families are still figuring out how to have. It’s reflective, sometimes funny, sometimes tender, and rooted in truth. No perfection. No performance. Just presence.

Guests will join for a communal viewing, followed by time to connect and reflect together. The afternoon will close with a cocktail gathering at Firn in honor of Mother’s Day.