Ayinde Jean-Baptiste: superstudent; 14-year-old has national reputation as a public speaker and motivator

Ebony, Feb, 1997 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

His dynamic presence must have been foreseen by his parents who named him -- Ayinde -- which means "we gave praises and he came." His middle name, Shomari, means "forceful," and he was born on the day after Christmas, the first day of Kwanzaa, Umoja, meaning unity. Thus, young Jean-Baptiste's mission was virtually sealed at birth, and he has worked hard since then to fulfill the prophecy.

Before Ayinde was 7, he appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Before he was 13, he spoke to more than 1 million Black men, holding his own on a platform with some of the best speakers in the country, including the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. and Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Now at the age of 14, he has a national reputation as a public speaker and motivator, giving more than 25 speeches a year. Despite the acclaim, Ayinde Shomari Couvil (his grandfather's name) Jean-Baptiste is a normal teenager with a paranormal mission. "Our position to him is that you are not a celebrity, you're not a Michael Jackson," says his father, Lionel Jean-Baptiste, a Chicago attorney. "That isn't what this is about. You're doing King's work, Jesse's work, Frederick Douglass' work. We had to impress on him that you're trying to communicate a message as a young Black boy. It is essential that you continue to manifest that excellence, but you're not a performer."

A high school sophomore at The Roycemore School in a Chicago suburb, Ayinde first began public speaking at age 4 while a student at Marva Collins' West Side Preparatory School in Chicago. When I first started speaking, it was just fun," he says. "Although I understood the speeches and the message, it didn't strike me then as a profound social service. I enjoyed learning about my history. It was just fun." When he was 4, he memorized Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Ayinde's "passion and conviction" when he delivered his speeches at school assemblies sparked invitations from parents to speak at their churches, said Ayinde's father.

"Lucky for us we were able to find an educator like Marva Collins who had the same kind of philosophy," he says. "She doesn't believe that kids have limits. Ayinde is a normal child, who has been challenged."

Ayinde started at Collins' school at age 3 and was helped greatly by the curriculum. "But the spirit, how he was able to capture a lot of the feelings and delivery from his heart even at a very young age -- That's his own; that's what he brings to the table," his father says.

After he delivered King's "Drum Major for Justice" sermon, he was encouraged by Collins to write to Oprah Winfrey to ask if he could come on her show and give his speech on Dr. King's birthday. "I'm sure Marva was instrumental in that," his father says. "Oprah agreed. [The] Rev. [Ralph] Abernathy was on the show and people loved it. He was 6. That was his first national exposure."

Ayinde takes his oratorical skills very seriously. "I enjoy it a lot," Ayinde says. It's something that's fun but also important." Preparing for his speeches is hard work, he says. It requires research, study, then writing and re-writing. He has to internalize the material and often has his speech memorized by the time of the event. "It's not a performance," he says. "It comes from the heart. It's not something I put on. I have an ability to get a message out and have people act on it. That's what's important."

The Million Man March was one of the best moments of his life, he says. "Just because there was so many people and it was so inspiring," he says. Understandably, he was nervous, but by the time he got to the podium, he says, "I was just concentrating on what I had to do."

Looking out into the sea of men before him, Ayinde eloquently exhorted them to be the husbands, fathers and leaders this country needs. An awesome message for a young boy to deliver to grown men, and his challenge has echoed in the hearts and minds of men and women since that fateful October day.

"My fathers, you must shape the vision of tomorrow," he said. "But in order for the vision to become a reality, you must rededicate yourself to a new beginning. Go back to your families, go raise and teach your children, go back and organize throughout this nation to bring about a better day for our people. Our enemies can destroy us one by one, but no one can stop 1 million men organized and committed."

Formerly he gave speeches by famous Black leaders, but now his messages are original and often written in collaboration with his family. "I feel it's important for youth to talk to other youth," he says. "A lot of time youth will listen to another young person before adults. I talk about the importance of education, about setting realistic goals, about staying off drugs and having self-confidence." Self-confidence is important, he says, "so youth know they don't have to do something they know is wrong to be defined as cool. I tell them whatever you want to be you can be, as long as you have the right attitude."

Ayinde can still surprise his parents with his knowledge. "We were in Nigeria, and he taught some classes to his peers," his father says. "He taught science, some math and some English. I had to step back. His knowledge is deep, not superficial."