Difference between revisions of "Akindele Akinyemi"

Revision as of 17:21, 21 August 2006

Akindele Akinyemi (born November 16, 1974) is an prominent American political writer, and conservative educator from Detroit, Michigan. He is currently the co-founder and executive director of the One Detroit Network, a non-partisan civic education training network based in Detroit, Michigan. He is most known in Detroit for his conservative views on education and his "blunt" way of expression.

Akinyemi is mostly known in the community as "Mr. A."

Early Years

Akindele Akinyemi was born in Detroit, Michigan. His father is originally from Nigeria and his mother is from Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 5 Akinyemi began to draw an interest in astronomy and geography. It is at this point in his life this interest in social sciences would carry him throughout life. By the time Akinyemi was 9 years old his friends would call him a "book junkie" because he would read newspapers and books daily.

Akindele Akinyemi credits his grandmother for getting him interested in politics at 11 years old.

By the time he entered the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy in the ninth grade he was studying the political and cultural history of African Americans.

Black Militant

Akinyemi would become politically active during his teen years.

He was exposed to conscious hip-hop music and culture. Groups like Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions and X-Clan had influenced him heavily. Akinyemi began to study about Nigeria (his roots), Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad and Marcus Garvey. But none had an effect on him more than Dr. Malachi Z. York (then known as As Saayid Al Immam Issa Al Haadi Al Madhi) of the Nubian Islamic Hebrew Mission (Ansaar Community). It is here where he would receive his religious foundation.

In 1990, Akinyemi became a full member of the Nubian Islamic Hebrew Mission and studied over 72 religions. He has stated many times "he never wanted to be left in the dark again." Akinyemi studied Black Nationalism, Socialism, Taoism and Hinduism. After transferring to Mumford High School on Detroit's west side in 1990 he would further his Black Nationalist rhetoric fused with religion. Combined with conscious hip-hop and the Rodney King incident in 1991 (where King was beaten 56 times over the head by police) Akinyemi had preached anti-semitism. His anti-semetic remarks on Jews was so intense that Jewish teachers at Mumford High School requested to the principal at the time that he should be removed from the school. This never happened and Akinyemi went on to graduate in 1992.

MAD Writer Productions (1992-1997)

One of the most acclaimed movement that Akinyemi was his MAD Writer Productions. MAD was an acronymn which meant Mentally Armed and Dangerous. MAD Writer Productions was a writing movement that four (sometimes five) young men from Detroit, Michigan would go to the college campuses and pass out literature on issues that were affecting the African American Community.

MAD Writer Productions orignated from a concept called "the Madwriter." A friend of Akinyemi originally called himself the "Madwriter" but did not know how to write clear commentaries. Akinyemi adopted the name and begin his MAD Writer Productions in the fall of 1992 when he returned from Tennessee State University (due to a lack of funds). Akinyemi would gather his friends on a weekend drive to help him pass out literature at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He began to go every Sunday to the campuses across the State of Michigan promoting the MAD Writer Productions. MAD Writer Productions was so popular on campuses like the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan that they were frequent guests at parties, rallies and speaking engagements.

The rest of the MAD Writer Productions were:

1. Andre Besteder (a.k.a Madcat the Nocturnal) 2. Eric Besteder (Eric B) 3. Derrick Quinn 4. Chris Vaughn (not a member of MWP but a support member)

MAD Writer Productions first literature was the "New World Order." This dealt with the coming One World Government, Trilateral Commission and population reduction. many have said Akinyemi was way ahead of his time in publishing this because of the information on the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Area 51. Even though he was not the first to reveal such information it is said he was the first to reveal it in a "compact" way to young people.

The most controversial literature produced by the MAD Writer Productions was the now infamous "Message To The Black Woman." The langauge was so inflammatory that several Black women on Michigan State University's campus requested a resolution at their Black Caucus meetings to have MAD Writer Productions banned from the dormatories that they were passing out literature. Other literature pieces included health, diet and religion. Akinyemi later decided to discontinue the "Message to the Black Woman."

Akinyemi later pushed the MAD Writer Productions at local venues at the request of one of his team members Derrick Quinn. Every week MAD Writer Productions would perform poetry at a local (now-defunct)poetry joint called Pour Me Cafe. Pour Me had local artists reciting poetry including Jessica Care Moore, a nationally acclamed poet. They would take the MWP to almost every local poetry venue and house party venue in the City of Detroit.

The latter years of the MWP would end up online as Akinyemi enrolled at Eastern Michigan University in the fall of 1995. MWP had reached a national audience via online and Akinyemi would travel to speak at different venues across the Midwest.

Black Leadership Clashes

It is said the term "Controversial One" came from a African American female who attended the University of Michigan. Akinyemi was always controversial, especially at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. This is where he would began to help redefine Black leadership not just on campus but in the Ypsilanti community as well. He had known the memebers of Redemption Inc. on Eastern Michigan's campus two years earlier but did not want to join the group because he felt they were more "centrist" than hardcore left-wing politics that Akinyemi was into. His controversial columns in the Eastern Echo Newspaper (campus newspaper) would trigger angry rebuttals from other Black student activists.

None was more controversial than his Akinyemi's criticisms against the leadership of the Black Student Union and Student Organization of African American Unity at Eastern Michigan University. Akinyemi called both organizations the "Anti-Christ" and dictators without a purpose. This sparked campus-wide and city-wide outrage not just from the student leadership but the African American Studies Department. Even student leaders at nearby Wshtenaw Community College and the University of Michigan condemned his actions as "counter-revolutionary."

The One Detroit Movement

Akinyemi began the current One Detroit Movement (also known as the One Detroit Network or One Detroit)in 2002. It originally started as a political organization but Akinyemi evolved it into a civic education organization with an emphasis on conservative leadership. This was due to Akinyemi's changing political and personal philosophy on how Blacks should achieve power in this country.

When Akinyemi became a Republican in late 2004 he realized that the only way Blacks were going to achieve any socio-political power in this country was to revolutionize the way education was being taught. He is a staunch advocate for educational choice and is against teacher unions. His pro-life stance is very controversial. Critics in the gay m community views him as a threat because of his extreme stance on same sex marriage.

A reporter once asked Akinyemi why he was a Black Republican and Akinyemi stated the following:

"Democrats in this city has used me for political gain. They needed me for endorsements but would not allow me to come into their circles, meetings or even give me information that I needed to help their own constitutents. Why roll with the Democrats when they are out to use Blacks in the first place?"

He used the One Detroit Network as a base for his philosophical and political ideologies to reach people nationwide by way of his blog (which he utilizes daily on his personal thoughts). Presently,it is one of the most controversial conservative blogs in the United States.

Currently, Akinyemi is training candidates for the upcmong elections in both 2006 and 2008.

Quotes

"People are gay and lesbian because they sat down, watched a porno, touched each other parts and turned each other out."

"Gays and Lesbians do have rights. They have a right to get married to the opposite sex."

"We should abolish the Detroit School Board and regionalize the schools."

"Charter schools and vouchers will give us educators more choice to go into educational entrepreneurship."

"Did I stutter? I said we should privitize the water department, sell the buses and regionalize Detroit and Wayne County into one government."

"I do not have time for paranoid Black people and their boogeyman politics."

"Why should I vote for the party of my oppressor (Democrats)?"

"I think Dick DeVos should kick Granholm's ass all the way back to Canada for keeping people poor."

"People love to hate George W. Bush for Iraq. I hate Clinton for sitting on his freaky ass and not doing nothing about Rwanda."

"If you're single, get up off your ass and find a mate."

"Detroit will never go anywhere because we have a 6th grade education and can't read worth a damn."

"The Twilight Zone is living in poverty in Detroit."

"I live in New jack City where my car insurance is like paying for a house note."

"I am going to enjoy watching the Michigan Republicans kick the Dems ass this year. I have my Jamaican Rum, chips and salsa out."

"Why should I go out and help change Detroit when most of these people cannot spell change in the first place?"