Melissa Wade-Cutler is a native of North Carolina, where she was born and raised. She is the wife of Darryl and the mother of two beautiful children, daughter Darius and son Matthew. She attended the University of Carolina in Chapel Hill where she received her B.A. in Communications. She began her radio career in 1991 at WFXC in Durham. She has also worked with WQOK in Raleigh and WAMO in Pittsburgh, PA as a morning show co-host.
Currently, you can hear Melissa Monday – Friday at the midday from 10am – 3pm on The Light 103.9, where she is widely known as Melissa “Wade in the Water.” Melissa has been on the radio for over 25 years and is well known by her listeners and in the community. You can often find Melissa out in the community speaking at different events or even walking for some of her favorite causes.
Melissa also has a love for the stage and is the Owner/CEO of “Wade in the Water” Productions. She has performed in various plays, and musicals, written and directed her own stage plays as well as others under her business umbrella “Wade In The Water, LLC.” She conducts and acting camp for kids every summer; which teaches and features participating youth in an actual play presentation of acting and dance. You can read more about Melissa and upcoming events on her website at wadeinthewaterproductions.com
Melissa is a Sr. Elder at Kingdom Community International in Bahama, NC, where she oversees the Arts department which includes: dance, step, mime, flag and a drama department.
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Source: NAACP / NAACP
A former state NAACP employee Jazmyne Childs is speaking out for the first time publicly about how she was allegedly sexually harassed by high-profile NAACP member the Rev. Curtis Gatewood.
Childs claimed during an incident in 2017, she was approached by Gatewood in a manner that made her uncomfortable.
In 2017, Jazmyne Childs said, she was in a dark room preparing for a colleague’s surprise party when she felt Gatewood’s breath on her neck and his private parts against her backside. “I yelled loudly,” Childs said. “Why are you hovering over me? That’s gross. Move! He claimed he was looking for a receipt and then stormed out. I stood there feeling violated, ashamed and scared.”
At the time Gatewood was Childs supervisor and the state NAACP launched an independent investigation concluding Gatewood violated the state chapter’s sexual harassment policy.
“It continues to haunt and hurt me,” Childs said, who was joined by her mother, brother, and members of the state NAACP, including the Rev. Dr. William Barber.
During the investigation, Gatewood resigned — but he is still active with the civil rights organization. In fact, he is running for state NAACP president.
Since leaving the organization, Childs said she has repeatedly asked the national NAACP to create a formal sexual harassment policy and ban Gatewood from membership.
