Yolo Akili

Moving into work as a community organizer, Akili joined AID Atlanta's HIV prevention team and served as a life support counselor at National AIDS & Education Services to Minorities (NAESM). Collaborating with Charles Stephens, Akili co-founded Sweet Tea: Southern Queer Men’s Collective, a group of queer pro-feminist dedicated to combating sexism. As the regional training coordinator of Men Stopping Violence (MSV), Akili developed batterer intervention programs geared towards educating heterosexual African American men in their 40s about abetting violence and sexism against women.

In 2015 he helped lead the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles' study into improving HIV treatment among young Black and Latino men (HYM). His writing has appeared in numerous publications including, TheBody.com, Essence, Everyday Feminism, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Cassius, and Shondaland. As a contributor to HuffPost, he has challenged the power dynamics between sex roles in same-gender relationships, writing "...because a “bottom” still means weak, and “top” still means power — This is a call to become clearer to each other outside of checked boxes on Grindr or stats listed on Jacked", demanded that Black communities reject the narrative that "Black People are Deficient In Every Damn Thing and There are No 'Good' Black Men", and called for a "World Where Ending Partner Violence Was A Priority" in a "Black (Feminist) Future where Gendered socialization will be declared a public health emergency."

Seeking to address the disconnect between mental healthcare access in the Black community, and fed up with the failure of HIV/AIDS and domestic violence organizations to recognize the intersection between emotional trauma, recovery, and abuse, Akili founded BEAM, "Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective". Named in honor of Joseph Beam, the cultural and political activist who inspired Akili to reflect on his personal vulnerability as a Black gay man, BEAM works with a collection of artists, healers, advocates, legal professionals, activists, and religious leaders to provide mental and emotional healthcare to the historically marginalized and medically mistreated Black community. Akili has stated that BEAM's goal is to “remove the barriers Black people experience getting access to mental health care and healing.” He has also cited the lack of emotional health support from licensed professionals as inspiration for training people in Black communities—from grocery clerks to aunties to barbers—to provide help where none would otherwise exist.

He was awarded the Creative Leadership Award in 2009 by the Feminist Women's Health Center for his work promoting feminism. After releasing his book Dear Universe in 2013, Akili was recognized by BET as a "Health Hero" for his work addressing emotional health in the Black community. He appeared on NBC News in 2016 as a part of Jarrett Hill's Back to Reality podcast, to discuss popular culture in the Black community. He was recognized by Blavity as one of "28 Young Black Creators And Leaders Making History Today" in 2018. That same year, in recognition of his work promoting the intersection between mental health and social justice, he was nominated by AIDS United to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which awarded him its Health Equity Award. On the heels of this accolade, he was declared a "Health Equity Hero" by TheBody.com. In 2019 he was recognized by Essence Magazine as a part of their Black History Month coverage for his work "Aiding in The Resistance" in the Black LGBTQ+ community.

Yolo Akili (born October 14, 1981 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida), also known as Yolo Akili Robinson, is an activist, writer, poet, counselor, and community organizer who advocates for addressing mental and emotional health needs in the Black community. He is the author of Dear Universe: Letters of Affirmation and Empowerment, and the founder and executive director of BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective).