Facebook/Ayesha Faines Ayesha Faines
Ayesha Faines was a respected journalist and former television reporter who is dead at the age of 35. She died in New Jersey, Heavy.com has confirmed.
The cause of death was not released. News4Jax, where she previously worked, confirmed her death, saying that it was unexpected and occurred on Friday, July 2, 2021. Her full name was Ayesha K. Faines.
In addition to WJXT4 News4Jax, where she worked in 2008, she worked at My9TV/FOX in New York City and was a panelist on a web show called “The Grapevine Show,” the television station reported.
On her website Women Love Power, which focuses on digital content creation,she wrote, “I am here to help women rise, within themselves and the world, by redefining and reimagining what it means to be feminine and powerful.”
According to online records, Faines was living in New Jersey. Heavy.com contacted the medical examiner’s office in the county where she lived. She lived in South Orange, New Jersey.
“I can confirm that she did pass away in Essex County,” the woman who answered the phone at the Essex County Medical Examiner’s Office said, but she wouldn’t release the cause of death or any other details. Heavy.com also submitted a request for the cause of death through the New Jersey Health Department.
Here’s what you need to know:
Faines Was Remembered as a ‘Bright Light’
News4Jax anchor Melanie Lawson described Faines in a tribute as intelligent and “mature beyond her years.”
“Ayesha was such a bright light,” Lawson said in the television station’s report.
“She was so young when she came to News4Jax but very intelligent and mature beyond her years. When she spoke it was like listening to poetry. I was always so proud of her accomplishments after she left the station. Ayesha was also a fierce supporter of women. She never said a disparaging word about any woman so I wasn’t surprised to see her use her voice for women’s rights. She was a wonderful friend and journalist. This news is just devastating. My heart is broken for her family. I know she meant the world to them. I’ll never forget how her father lit up when he talked about his baby girl. I can’t imagine the pain they feel.”
According to BET, Faines was a graduate of Yale University who was also a “competitive salsa dancer.” She wrote on Facebook that she studied near and Middle Eastern studies at Yale. Her last post on Facebook came June 28 and was a share of this BBC story.
She wrote on Twitter on June 28, one of her last tweets, “Our lives are shaped by expectations so expect the world sis, just stay away from folks who don’t believe you deserve it.”
Faines Described Herself as a Journalist & a ‘Thought Leader’
On LinkedIn, Faines described herself this way:
Ayesha K. Faines is a journalist, thought leader, and a brave new voice for feminine power. She is the founder of Women Love Power, LLC a digital learning company that produces educational programming designed to help women develop their authentic power. She is columnist for Zora Magazine, where she routinely explores the intersection of love and power. Sought after for her expertise in mythology, race, and gender politics, Ayesha has been featured in a number of media outlets including MTV, Essence, Entertainment Tonight, Insider, Hot 97, Afropunk, and The Michael Baisden Radio Show, and she’s lectured before international audiences and a number of universities. Ayesha is perhaps best known for being a featured panelist on ‘The Grapevine Show’, a millennial web series with international acclaim. A former TV journalist, Ayesha has worked on-air as a reporter for WJXT-TV 4 in Jacksonville, Florida and My9TV/FOX in the New York City media market. She is a graduate of Yale University. Away from work, Ayesha is competitive salsa dancer.
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