Anthony Samad
*Anthony Samad was born on this date in 1957. He is a Black author, columnist, and scholar.
Anthony Asadullah Samad was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from California State University in Los Angeles with his B.A. degree in communications in 1980. Samad received his M.P.A. degree in public finance from the University of Southern California in 1983. As one of the most-read featured columnists in the African American press over the past 15 years, Samad's various weekly editorial commentaries contribute to newspapers and cyber websites nationwide.
He is an Associate Professor of Political Science and African American Studies at East Los Angeles College; Samad has a Master of Arts in Public Administration (Public Finance specialization) from the University of Southern California, a second Master of Arts Degree, in Political Economy, from the Claremont Graduate University's School of Politics and Economics, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Claremont Graduate University, completing his doctoral study, with a dissertation, entitled, "Legal and Policy Interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment in the Post Brown Era: A 50 Year Case Study on the Policy Implementation Challenges of Brown v. Board of Education."
Samad is President of Samad and Associates, a strategic planning/ urban affairs firm specializing in assessing and managing public policy, economic development, and urban, social, and race issues. His firm's 20-year efforts have generated over $300 million in economic development opportunities in urban and rural communities nationwide.
A former NAACP Branch President (Los Angeles, CA 1988-1989), Mr. Samad's community involvement includes currently serving as the managing director and host of the Urban Issues Forum of Greater Los Angeles-a popular monthly public affairs forum that, for the past seven years, invites national and local newsmakers to discuss critical issues impacting urban communities-and has received over 150 awards and citations for his community advocacy work. Asadullah Samad is the author of two books; Souls For Sale: The Diary of An Ex-Colored Man (Kabili Press, 2002) and 50 Years After Brown: The State of Black Equality In America (Kabili Press, 2005), which was nominated for a 2005 NAACP Image Award for Most Outstanding Literary Work - Non-Fiction.
Samad has two forthcoming books: a book of inspirational wisdom for young black males (particularly the re-entry population) in 2006 and a book of essays on popular culture in 2007. Asadullah Samad, his wife, and his family currently reside in Southern California.
