Oronike Odeleye | |
|---|---|
 Odeleye in 2018 for the ArtsATL Kindle Award | |
| Born | Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Arts consultant, activist |
| Known for | Mute R. Kelly co-founder |
Oronike Odeleye (born 1979/1980) [1] is an American arts consultant and activist based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is best known as the co-creator of the #MuteRKelly movement. [2]
Odeleye was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. [3] Her father, an African-American sculptor, spent time in Nigeria after completing college and selected her first name from a list bestowed upon him by a Nigerian elder. She received her bachelor's degree in film studies from Syracuse University. [4] Odeleye is an Atlanta-based arts and entertainment consultant. [5]
In 2017, after allegations that singer R. Kelly was maintaining a sex cult involving young black women, Odeleye created a petition to ban Kelly's music from Atlanta radio stations. [6] [7] Soon after, Kenyette Tisha Barnes reached out to Odeleye to invite her to collaborate on the creation of a grassroots digital campaign to boycott his music, which became #MuteRKelly. [8] Odeleye also appeared in the 2019 documentary series Surviving R. Kelly to discuss the campaign. [9] [10]
Bernice Johnson Reagon is a song leader, composer, scholar, and social activist, who in the early 1960s was a founding member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee's (SNCC) Freedom Singers in the Albany Movement in Georgia. In 1973, she founded the all-black female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, based in Washington, D.C. Reagon, along with other members of the SNCC Freedom Singers, realized the power of collective singing to unify the disparate groups who began to work together in the 1964 Freedom Summer protests in the South.
"After a song", Reagon recalled, "the differences between us were not so great. Somehow, making a song required an expression of that which was common to us all.... This music was like an instrument, like holding a tool in your hand."
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Mute R. Kelly is a movement to have American singer R. Kelly convicted of sexual abuse and to end financial support for his career. The campaign was founded by Kenyette Barnes and Oronike Odeleye in July 2017, when Odeleye was informed Kelly was booked to perform at the Fulton County owned facility in Atlanta. Oronike stated, "Someone had to stand up for Black women, and if I wasn't willing to do my part — no matter how small — then I couldn't continue to complain. It's time for us to end this man's career. Enough is beyond enough."
Nkiru Balonwu is an entrepreneur and activist based in Lagos, Nigeria. She is known for her views of women as the solution to Africa's problems and is the founder and chairperson of African Women on Board, an independent, women-led African non-profit organisation focused on advancing narratives to improve realities for women and girls of African heritage. She is also founder and managing partner of RDF Strategies, a consultancy firm that provides advice on strategic communication and stakeholder engagement. In 2016, during her time at the helm of Spinlet, Balonwu was featured in YNaija as one of "Nigeria's 100 Most Inspiring Women". In October 2019, Balonwu was awarded the 2020 Powerlist International Award by the Powerlist UK.
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