Abdul-Samad, Ako (1951- )
Dates
- Existence: 1951-
Biography
Ako Abdul-Samad was born in 1951 in Des Moines, Iowa. In the 1960s, Abdul-Samad and his friend Kalonji Saadiq advocated for Black studies classes in Des Moines public high schools. For several years in the 1970s, he worked on a Mississippi riverboat, the Delta Queen; during this time, he converted to Islam. In 1996, Abdul-Samad founded the Creative Visions Human Development Institute, a nonprofit providing educational programs for at-risk youth. In 2003, he was elected to the Des Moines school board. In 2006, he was elected as a Democrat to represent parts of Des Moines in the Iowa House of Representatives. He announced in 2023 that his term ending in 2025 would be his last in the legislature. During his years as a lawmaker, Abdul-Samad has served as chair and vice-chair of the Iowa Democratic Black Caucus.
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
Transcript, October 16, 2023
Transcript of an interview with Iowa state legislator Phyllis Thede, which includes discussion of the following topics: Thede's family; her experiences as a Black girl growing up in Chicago and Iowa, including differential experiences of segregation and racism in those respective locales; her analysis of the redistricting and its effects on her final reelection campaign; memories of serving in the legislature during the COVID-19 pandemic; memories of witnessing and being targeted by racist harassment at the legislature or among her constituents; her role in changing Iowa's law regarding insurance reimbursements for chiropractic care; the increasingly partisan character of politics in Iowa and the United States; the founding of the Black caucus in the Iowa legislature; and her Catholic faith.