
Ayinde Jean- Baptiste
Son of the African Diaspora: Reclaiming Revolutionary Black Pasts Toward Revolutionary Human Futures
Ayinde Jean Baptiste is neither an entertainer nor the next ‘great black leader’. He is a Sanba, a Kreyol appellation which encompasses poet/ griot/ keeper of memory/ servant of truth. Born in Brooklyn, on Umoja, the youngest child of a hard, demanding love, he was raised in Chicago and Evanston, IL as a member of…
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Full Bio
Ayinde Jean Baptiste is neither an entertainer nor the next ‘great black leader’. He is a Sanba, a Kreyol appellation which encompasses poet/ griot/ keeper of memory/ servant of truth. Born in Brooklyn, on Umoja, the youngest child of a hard, demanding love, he was raised in Chicago and Evanston, IL as a member of a large extended family of blood and political relations, and as a master of ceremonies. He has shared his truth in hundreds of settings, including churches, schools, community centers, group homes, youth prisons, universities, conventions, conferences, the halls of government and the street.
Across the media of radio, television, print, and magazine, Ayinde has engaged with journalists and personalities including Dr. Boyce Watkins, Scoop Jackson, Bryant Gumbel, Tom Joyner, Doug Banks, Cliff Kelley, and Les Brown, and featured on outlets from NBC to BET, from WLIB to WVON to BBC to Hard Knock Radio, from The New York Times to Working People’s News to The Trinidad Express, from Life to U.S. News & World Report to Ebony, among others. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work in the community, been recognized as a contributor to African restorative psychology by Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi, and profiled in the book Live Life!: Be Young, Black and Successful.
Most famously, his speech and presence at the 1995 Million Man March resonated across the globe, and helped inspire personal re-commitments, re-evaluation of the possibility of Black youth, and days of action, including National African American Parent Involvement Day, observed on the second Monday in February in African American communities across the U.S. since 1996. It was recorded and remarked upon in histories and dramatizations of the event, including Spike Lee’s feature film Get On The Bus, and the books Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America, Tell All the Children Our Story: Memories and Mementos of Being Young and Black in America, Strong Men Keep Coming: The Book of African American Men, and The Darkside: Chronicling the Young Black Experience. It has been taught in classrooms around the world, sampled by hip-hop artists, and choreographed for the stage.
Ayinde has shared the podium with Barack Obama, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti, Prime Minister Basdeo Panday of Trinidad & Tobago, President Bill Clinton, the Shabazz family, the King family, Ethel Kennedy, Rosa Parks, Ossie Davis, Dr. Jacob Carruthers, Min. Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Kwiesi Mfume, Rev. Joseph Lowery, Sec. Larry Holmes, Dr. Asa Hilliard, Baba Hannibal Afrik, Julian Bond, Dick Gregory, Jim Brown, Tavis Smiley, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Dr. Pedro Noguera, Fred Hampton Jr., Jessica Care Moore, and mentors Marva N. Collins, Dr. Conrad Worrill, Dr. Cornel West & Kamau Brathwaite.
But he doesn’t need a microphone to make change. He managed his father’s earliest campaign for city councilman in Evanston, IL. He has organized locally and nationally against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the occupation of Haiti, and in the fight for reparations for slavery, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and colonialism. In Chicago he worked with the Industrial Areas Foundation to launch PACT, their first broad-based organization by and for young adults. He was also involved in b.b.l.a.c., a Black men/Black boys initiative funded by the 21st Century Foundation, and served on the founding boards of the Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti, a Chicago-area community organization, and ThickRoutes Performance Collage, a women’s collective which combined art, social activism, and education.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!

LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!

MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!

SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!

CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!

PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.

GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!

WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!

FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
Politics & Justice
Negritude & Haitian Radical Traditions
African Diasporic Philosophy
Black Solidarity
Videos
Ayinde Jean Baptiste MILLION MAN MARCH 1995
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