Black Panther - Kojo Nnamdi

Rex Orville Montague Paul (born January 8, 1945), better known as Kojo Nnamdi (/ˈkoʊdʒoʊ ˈnɑːmdi/), is a Guyanese-born American radio journalist based in Washington, D. C.. He is the host of The Kojo Nnamdi Show and The Politics Hour on WAMU, and hosted the Evening Exchange broadcast on WHUT-TV from 1985 to 2011.

Nnamdi was born Rex Orville Montague Paul in British Guiana on January 8, 1945. As a high school student, Nnamdi and his friends opposed British colonialism, at odds with their parents.

In 1967, a year after Guyana became independent from British rule, Nnamdi moved to Montreal, Canada to attend McGill University after his mother secretly saved his earnings from selling insurance and filled out an application on his behalf. While attending McGill, Nnamdi became interested in the Black Power movement. After a year at McGill, Nnamdi moved to the New York City borough of Brooklyn in the U.S., where he worked on Wall Street and joined the Black Panther Party. However, not long after joining the Panthers Nnamdi drifted out of the Party. Nnamdi had been seeking a Black Nationalist and Pan-Africanism supporting organisation, whereas by this time the Black Panthers had embraced internationalism and were committed to working with people of all races towards a socialist America. It would not be until later in life that Nnamdi would embrace Marxist theory as the Panthers had.

Nnamdi moved to Washington, D.C. in 1969 and enrolled in Federal City College, now the University of the District of Columbia. While attending the college, Nnamdi joined former members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to form the Center for Black Education.