Oronike Odeleye (born 1979/1980)[1] is an American arts consultant and activist based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is best known as the co-creator of the #MuteRKelly movement.[2]

Oronike Odeleye
Odeleye in 2018 for the ArtsATL Kindle Award
Born
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Arts consultant, activist
Known forMute R. Kelly co-founder

Life and career edit

Odeleye was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.[3] Her father, an African-American sculptor, spent time in Nigeria after completing college and selected her first name from a list bestowed upon him by a Nigerian elder. She received her bachelor's degree in film studies from Syracuse University.[4] Odeleye is an Atlanta-based arts and entertainment consultant.[5]

In 2017, after allegations that singer R. Kelly was maintaining a sex cult involving young black women, Odeleye created a petition to ban Kelly's music from Atlanta radio stations.[6][7] Soon after, Kenyette Tisha Barnes reached out to Odeleye to invite her to collaborate on the creation of a grassroots digital campaign to boycott his music, which became #MuteRKelly.[8] Odeleye also appeared in the 2019 documentary series Surviving R. Kelly to discuss the campaign.[9][10]

Accolades edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Oronike Odeleye". The Root. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  2. ^ Garcia-Navarro, Lulu (2018-05-07). "#MuteRKelly Co-Founder On The Moment, Her Movement And Its Momentum". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  3. ^ Jabali, Malaika (2019-03-28). "To the Girls With Heavy Names". OkayAfrica. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  4. ^ "Evening of Impact 2019: Resilience". www.ourresilience.org. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  5. ^ "'He's been doing this forever': Atlanta creative consultant says time's up for R. Kelly". CBC. 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  6. ^ a b Mitchell, Mary (2019-05-30). "Creators of #MuteRKelly honored in Chicago, urge vigilance in cases singer faces". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  7. ^ Goodman, Amy (2019-01-07). ""Surviving R. Kelly" Documents Decades of Abuse of Black Girls". Truthout. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  8. ^ "#MuteRKelly Co-Founder: 'We Have to Let Him Go'". PAPER. 2019-01-16. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  9. ^ Ho, Rodney (2019-01-18). "R. Kelly has disappeared off the radio airwaves - including Atlanta R&B stations". ajc. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  10. ^ Odeleye, Oronike (2018-05-03). "The Cofounder of #MuteRKelly on Where the Hashtag Goes Next". Glamour. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  11. ^ "Meet The Unsung Heroes of the #MeToo Movement: 'It's Powerful to Be Honored'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  12. ^ "Oronike Odeleye". OKAYAFRICA's 100 WOMEN. Archived from the original on 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2020-01-03.

External links edit