Hip Hop Artist, Writer, Member of MOVE
Mike Africa Jr.
Speaking Fee: $10,000 to $20,000
Travels From: PHL - Philadelphia, PA
Primary Topic Category: Bands and Music
Secondary Topic Category: African American & Black
Mike Africa Jr. At A Glance:
Mike Africa, Jr. is a member of The MOVE Organization, and the Black Philly Radical Collective. He is a motivational resilience speaker who pushes his “Never Give Up” message with his dynamic stage performances mixing music in his orations.
Mike Africa, Jr. is a member of The MOVE Organization, and the Black Philly Radical Collective. He is a motivational resilience speaker who pushes his “Never Give Up” message with his dynamic stage performances mixing music in his orations.
Mike is the son of two political prisoners who were each sentenced to 100 years in prison. Mike was secretly born in a Philadelphia prison following a police raid on his family’s home. As an infant, he was taken from his mother and placed in an orphanage where he was physically and mentally abused for 11 days before getting rescued by his aunt. At age 6, he witnessed the smoke in the air from a police bomb that was dropped on his family’s home killing his uncle, his cousin and nine members of his family, including five of the children he suffered in the orphanage with.
At age 13, Mike began using his music to raise awareness about his experiences to gain justice for his family and others.
Mike‘s mission is to tell his incredible story while inspiring others with his powerful message,
Mike has shared many stages with activists and celebrities such as Marc Lamont Hill, Tarana Burke, Ramona Africa, Dead Prez, Danny Glover, Michael Franti, Public Enemy, Rage Against the Machine and countless others, tackling issues such as mass incarceration, police brutality, climate change and many other profound issues of the day.
In May of 2019, Mike took on a new venture. The “Mike Africa Junior Information Company” (MAJIC) is a multi-faceted entertainment brand created by Mike and his team that hosts educational entertainment in music, podcast, documentaries… with the mission to tell his and his family’s story
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40 YEARS A PRISONER
This presentation takes the audience on the tumultuous journey of Mike’s life. Mike was born in prison after his parents were arrested and sentenced to 100 years in prison. A week later, he was separated from them and placed into an abusive orphanage. Years later, his family was bombed by Philadelphia police and eleven of his family members were killed. Mike, at the age of 13, dedicated his like to bringing his parents home from prison and finally, when he was 40, they were paroled and reunited. -
Inspiration
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Resilience
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Social Justice
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Abolition
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Mass Incarceration
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Mental Health
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Healing from Trauma
I find Mike extraordinary in how he addresses the state violence and anti-Black racism into which he was born, while exuding a love for humanity and a remarkable ability to persist through what looks like the impossible. I admire his struggle to gain the release of his parents, which provided a movement victory for us all, and his way of honoring MOVE, his community, and his ancestors, all the while putting out positivity and creative energy into the world.— Dr. Diane Fujino, University of California, Santa Barbara
