Lenny McAllister – Author Biography
Lenny McAllister is a talented public speaker and leader that has “… a mission to make positive changes to the status quo within politics, social issues and other issues that hamper our American way of life…” He is the author of the new book, “Diary of a Mad Black PYC (Proud Young Conservative): Editorials, Essays, and Articles from a Hip Hop Republican.” (www.tinyurl.com/lennysdiary) He also writes regularly for his new BlogSpot, “P.Y.C. From the Hip: Musings of a Hip Hop Republican” (pycmusings.blogspot.com), a daily publication quickly gaining notoriety in the blogosphere and beyond. A “rising star” among the grassroots for conservatives, politically-savvy moderates, and much of Black America, Lenny was featured in prominent Charlotte Magazine in a cover story article titled, “Get Right With Lenny: The Making of a Hip Hop Republican” (www.charlottemagazine.com)
Lenny grew up in a working-class suburb of Pittsburgh as the oldest child in the family headed by his parents: Leonard, Sr. (a steel mill electrician) and the late Carol McAllister (a retired daycare provider.) He excelled as a three-sport athlete and a work-study scholarship student at Shady Side Academy (http://www.shadysideacademy.org) before moving on to Davidson College (www.davidson.edu) where he was a pitcher on the baseball team, a contributing writer for The Davidsonian, and an active member of the Black Student Coalition. He received an ACES Academic Award during his academic career. He played an instrumental role in aiding the process of procuring nationally-renowned Alpha Phi Alpha on Davidson’s campus, the first historically Black fraternity established on the College’s campus. Despite becoming a father at age 21 and a decade hiatus from academia, Lenny returned to graduate from Davidson College with a degree in History.
Currently, Lenny appears as a political commentator and guest on multiple outlets including CNN, XM Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, WVON Chicago, and Fox Charlotte. He has filled in as an occasional co-host for “Fox News Rising”, the popular Charlotte morning show on which he regularly provided political commentary. Lenny is a syndicated writer nationally that has been featured in online magazines including The Root, Rushmore Drive, AOL, Parcbench, Russell Simmons’ Global Grind, and Tucker Carlson’s The Daily Caller. He co-hosted the political weekly podcast “Both Sides of the Loop with Dr. Marvin King and Lenny McAllister”, previously featured by The Loop 21. McAllister has been noted nationally for his ability to provide strong conservative points of view from an African-American perspective that reflect both backgrounds proudly. He is a leading force behind the political movement “Hip Hop Republicans”, a group mentioned by new Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele during his acceptance speech in January 2009. McAllister was one of the few to actively participate in both the 2008 Republican National Convention and the 2009 State of the Black Union (hosted by Tavis Smiley Presents). He was also featured in the 2009 CNN discussion “Young & Black In America: Empowering the Next Generation of African-American Leaders” that included emerging African-American leaders including NAACP President Ben Jealous.
Lenny McAllister joins blacker inkwells to release the second edition of his book “Diary of a Mad Black PYC (Proud Young Conservative): Editorials, Essays, and Articles from a Hip Hop Republican.”