The Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Citizens First Congress are excited to announce that Kwami Abdul-Bey will fill the role of Elections Coordinator and Organizer effective today — Monday, August 22, 2022.
Under the direction of Policy Director Kymara Seals, Kwami will work to build long-term infrastructure for sustained electoral work by the Panel, CFC, and partners to register and educate voters, support voter turnout, and engage the ballot initiative campaigns that our members prioritize.
”We are excited to have Kwami join our team,” Seals said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience which makes him well-suited for the tasks ahead. He is committed to the work and has a passion that drives him to succeed. We look forward to continuing to build and move forward with this work.”
Kwami can be reached by email at: kwami@arpanel.org — we hope you'll help us welcome him!
About Kwami
Little Rock native Kwami Abdul-Bey is married to Clarice Kinchen Abdul-Bey, his partner in justice. Remembering the shoulders on which he stands, Kwami is the son of the late Edward James Moore and Maudella Lorene Morehead-Parham, and the bonus son of Timothy Ollie Parham. He is the grandson of the late Albert Bernard Morehead and the late Johnnie Elizabeth Dixon Morehead, as well as the late Rhoda Bell Saddler. Working as a steward of the present for the benefit of the next generations, Kwami is the father of Kalyanii Nailah Morehead-Parker and Lorne Qamar Manu Abdul-Bey, and the bonus father of Dreama Somone Esther Parham.
A product of the Little Rock School District and graduate of Central High School (Class of 1989), Kwami has a Bachelor of Paralegal Studies from Liberty University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude (Class of 2021). He is the author of "THE TABLES HAVE TURNED: A Street Guide to Guerrilla Lawfare," a legislative drafter who has authored/co-authored over a dozen bills/initiatives/referenda in the last decade, a member of the Global Legal Empowerment Network Initiative to increase community paralegalism worldwide, and a student member of the American Bar Association and the National Lawyers Guild.
He is pursuing a Master of Public Service degree and a Graduate Certificate in Data Analysis for Social Change at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service where he is conducting extensive research on Black entrepreneurship in the State of Arkansas and also serves as the SGA Social Entrepreneurship Committee Chair. Additionally, he is concurrently pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree and a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Mediation at the UALR Graduate School, as well as a Professional Certificate in Restorative Justice at the Vermont Law School.
Beginning in the Spring of 2020, Kwami became a Redistricting Demography Fellow with the Southern Partners Fund (SPF), receiving extensive cartography training courtesy of SPF and the National Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. He used the knowledge, skills, and tools acquired during this fellowship to found the Arkansas Election Defense Ad-Hoc Task Force which led a statewide movement in Arkansas to educate citizens on voting and redistricting to increase the number of community-drawn maps and comments submitted through its V-REP (Voter Registration, Retention, Education and Participation) program.
Kwami is a member of Renew America Together's 2022 Civility Leadership Institute cohort, Dream.org's 2022 Empathy Network Advocacy cohort, and Arkansas Global Changemakers' People, Planet, and Profit Project (P4) Impact Accelerator Consultancy cohort. He also serves as the co-director of the Washitaw Foothills Youth Media Arts and Literacy Collective; the co-convenor of the Arkansas Peace and Justice Memorial Movement; the founder of Do-It-Yourself L.A.W. (Legal Advocacy Workgroups); the CEO of the Investing in Black Futures; the Legislative/Political Action Committee Chair of the Jacksonville NAACP Branch #6289; a member of the Community Advisory Board of the UAMS Center for Research, Health and Social Justice, and a member of the trustee board of the Arkansas Historical Association.
He has been recognized for his servant leadership by receiving the 2020 Ford Motor Company's "Ford Freedom Heroes of COVID-19" award, the 2021 Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice's Peace Activist of the Year Award, and the 2022 Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus' President's Award.