Obadiah Baker

Obadiah Baker is a native of Cleveland's Hough community, infamous for the Hough Riots of 1966. Growing up in a lower-middle-class household of six siblings, Mr. Baker faced challenges as a Black male in a disadvantaged and underserved impoverished inner-city community. This understanding of intersectionality and how it affects a person's advancement inspired his antiracism research and community activism. In 2021, Obadiah produced and composed a film score for a documentary film called "The Shadow Between Us" with The Silhouettes from America's Got Talent about systemic racism and healing the divide through shadow dance. This film won "Official Selection" in the 2022 Toronto Black Film Festival.

A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, New England Conservatory of Music, and the University of Arkansas Grantham, Military Intelligence and Civil Affairs Army officer, Afghanistan War Veteran, aerospace and defense quality manager, award-winning independent film producer, and now a Fulbright scholar, Obadiah rose above his circumstances to achieve great success. Wanting to give back, he founded Tender Heart Crusades in 2009, a nonprofit organization that directs its attention toward community involvement. Today, Obadiah continues to make great strides through scholarship, film, music, manufacturing, the Army, and community service. His Fulbright research will study the cross-cultural replication and power of shadow dance as a conflict resolution and global peace intervention technique, with a focus on the interplay of Israeli Gaga and American shadow dance on Israeli Jewish students' awareness of race and identity.

Last updated: May 2022