Conferences & Events

Dr. Omékongo Dibinga is the UPstander. His life’s mission is to inspire all across the globe to take a stand when they witness an injustice, no matter how small or large. A motivational speaker, trilingual poet, TV talk show host, rapper, and professor of cross-cultural communication at American University. Having studied at Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Georgetown, Morehouse, and The Fletcher School at Tufts University, where he earned his M.A. in Law & Diplomacy, Dr. Dibinga earned his Ph.D. in International Education Policy at The University of Maryland (UMD) where his dissertation centered on the global hip-hop phenomenon and Jay-Z. While at UMD, he also worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Teaching Diverse Students Initiative,” later working for four years as the lead Teaching Assistant to Dr. Michael Eric Dyson at Georgetown University.

His Urban Music Award-winning work has been described by Nikki Giovanni as “outstanding, exciting, and new while being very old.” Essence Magazine described his book, From the Limbs of My Poetree, as “a remarkable and insightful collection of exquisite poetry that touches sacred places within your spirit.”  Omékongo’s writings and performances have appeared in O Magazine, and on TV and radio as well, from CNN, BET, and the BBC to NPR, Music Choice, and Voice of America in millions of households in over 150 countries. He is one of 5 international recipients of 750,000 to win the first-ever “CNN iReport Spirit Award,” receiving over 1,000,000 views on CNN.com.

He provides leadership, educational, and diversity empowerment as a consultant and motivational speaker for organizations, associations, and institutions, and has been featured and/or lectured nationwide in venues from TEDx and Harvard to Russell Simmons’ Hip-Hop Summit and the Nuyorican Poets Café. His rap mixtape series, “Bootleg,” promotes positive hip-hop with remixes of songs by 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, and others.

For more information, please visit his website at https://omekongo.com/.