Ayọ Tometi Biography
Ayọ Tometi is a human rights activist, writer, strategist, and community organizer from the United States. She is a Black Lives Matter co-founder (BLM). She was the former Executive Director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), the United States’ first national immigrant rights organization for people of African descent, where she worked in various capacities for over nine years.
How Old is Ayọ Tometi? – Age
She is 38 years old as of 15 August 2022. She was born in 1984 in Phoenix, Arizona, United States.
Ayọ Tometi Family
She is the daughter of Nigerian immigrants from Lagos, Nigeria. Her parents are of Yoruba descent and speak both Yoruba and Esan. Her great-great-great-grandfather was born in Togo, and Tometi’s great-grandfather was born in Cameroon. Tometi’s grandfather was born in Cameroon before moving to Nigeria.
She is the oldest of three siblings, with two younger brothers. She grew up mostly in the Phoenix suburbs with other immigrant children. Tometi grew up speaking Pidgin English in addition to Yoruba and Esan. Her parents eventually won their deportation case and were able to stay in the United States. Tometi’s family and friends, on the other hand, faced deportation during her childhood. She first visited Nigeria when she was 17 and credits her experiences with shaping her approach to pro-immigrant advocacy work.
Ayọ Tometi Education
In 2005, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public/Applied History from the University of Arizona, and in 2010, she earned a Master of Communication Studies with a specialization in Advocacy and Rhetoric from Arizona State University. Clarkson University awarded her an honorary doctor of science degree on May 7, 2016. Tometi is a former case manager for survivors of domestic violence who continues to educate the community about the issue.
Ayọ Tometi Net Worth
She has an estimated net worth of $5 million.
Ayọ Tometi Black Lives Matter
Tometi co-founded Black Lives Matter (BLM) in 2013 with community organizers Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza. Garza originally wrote a Facebook post in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal in Trayvon Martin’s murder. Cullors used the hashtag #blacklivesmatter for the first time in a response to the post. Then, Tometi contacted Cullors and Garza about purchasing a website domain with the same name. Tometi purchased Blacklivesmatter.com and created Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter pages for the movement after the three organizers agreed. Following that, Tometi contacted a number of other Black activists, informing them of the new plans and inviting them to join by using the hashtag.
In addition to creating BLM’s social media platforms and strategy, Tometi is credited with choosing the company’s colors of black and yellow. Michael Brown was killed by a policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, a year later. Tometi organized a group of 500 community activists to protest in the city after seeing the unrest develop in the city on social media. Tometi has referred to this as a “Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride” and thinks it sparked the desire to expand the Black Lives Matter movement internationally. Tometi organized a campaign in New York called Safety Beyond Policing after Eric Garner was killed. She supports cutting the money given to the police.
Ayọ Tometi Career
Before being named executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), the first national immigrant rights organization for people of African descent, Tometi served as co-director and director of communications from 2011 to 2020. In 2013, she was serving as BAJI’s executive director when she initially noticed Garza’s Facebook post. Tometi’s duties in this position included managing the staff of the BAJI organizing committees in Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Los Angeles, Oakland, New York, and committees in the South on various initiatives pertaining to racial justice and immigrant rights in the United States. She also organized the first Congressional briefing on black immigrants in Washington, DC, and helped organize a rally for immigrant justice.
Many Haitians were displaced following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and Tometi led BAJI in securing family reunification visas for those impacted by the disaster. Tometi also contributed to the launch of BAJI’s collaboration with Race Forward’s Drop the I-Word initiative.
In 2020, Tometi founded Diaspora Rising, a hub dedicated to building a worldwide Black community that primarily uses social media. Tometi also works with the Pan African Network in Defense of Migrant Rights and the Black Immigration Network. She has also served on the Commission on the Status of Women and the Global Forum on Migration. She is a member of the Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity board of directors as well as the International Living Future Institute.
At the 2012 Facing Race Conference, the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Summit, Grinnell College Technology and Human Rights Symposium, Susquehanna University, and Tometi has all given speeches. She has spoken at the UN, taken part in events like the Commission on the Status of Women and the Global Forum on Migration. Tometi worked as a volunteer for the American Civil Liberties Union while attending The University of Arizona. She also participates in Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. and Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity.
She has been featured in a number of media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, BET, Essence, Glamour, and Essence. Several media outlets, including The Huffington Post and Time, have published her writings. Tometi is still working with communities in Southern states as well as Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York City, Oakland, and Washington, D.C.