Real Conversation, Removing the Mask

Iowa State Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, who has represented the state’s 35th district, including Des Moines, since 2007, will speak at Grinnell College at 8 p.m. Monday, May 5.

His talk, “Real Conversation, Removing the Mask,” will take place in the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, Room 101. This free lecture is open to the public.

About Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad

Currently serving his third term in the Iowa House of Representatives, Ako Abdul-Samad is an assistant minority leader who sits on the Administration and Rules, Education, Human Resources and Public Safety committees. Before being elected to the House, he was a member of the Des Moines School Board.

Abdul-Samad is the CEO/Founder of Creative Visions Human Development Center, a Des Moines organization designed to help economically vulnerable individuals, families and communities become self-sufficient through education and economic empowerment.

In 2009, Abdul-Samad received the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Activist award for his commitment to improving the quality of life in his community and in the state of Iowa. In 2004, he received the Caring Institute’s National Caring Award, which recognizes caring, compassion and service.

Abdul-Samad recently published his first book, A Deeper Truth, Revelations of the Soul, a collection of poems depicting experiences and events within his own life and the lives of others he has encountered.

About Abdul-Samad’s Talk at Grinnell College

Ako Abdul-Samad’s talk at Grinnell College is presented by Man(hood) and sponsored by the College’s Office of Intercultural Engagement and Leadership, and the Dean’s Office.