Bio
Ewuare X. Osayande was born in Camden, New Jersey. His career as an activist and organizer took off while he was still a student at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Following the 1991 shooting of Phillip Pannell Jr., a 14-year-old African American shot by a white policeman in Teaneck, New Jersey, Osayande organized protests and raised awareness about racially-motivated police brutality.1 For over a decade, he has continued to analyze American culture and to educate people of all races about the history and current reality of racism.
This work continues with POWER, an organization Osayande co-founded with Jacqui Simmons. POWER offers anti-racist workshops including "Resisting Racism I: Understanding Race/Racism," "Resisting Racism II: Self-Determination & Accountability," "People of Color Empowerment," and "Battle for the Ballot." These educational programs are all modeled upon the theories of anti-racist activist Wanda Lofton (1950–2002).2
Early in Osayande's career as a writer, Gwendolyn Brooks met him, read his poetry, and encouraged him to keep writing, to self-promote, and to get published. As a result, Osayande founded Talking Drum Communications in order to publish his own books.3 He is a prolific author, having produced 14 books in 16 years. Osayande is still appreciated and supported by world-renowned authors in the African American canon: in 2007, Amiri Baraka wrote the introduction to Blood Luxury.4
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