Meet Will
Will's father Olayinka Jawando and young Will, side by side with Will as a father with his own son named after his grandfather.
Will "Yemi" Jawando was born in Montgomery County, MD to Olayinka Jawando, a Nigerian immigrant, and Kathy Jacob, a proud Kansan. In middle school, his family moved to Prince George's County. Every day after school, Will spent his afternoons in Silver Spring at his mother's work, where he met many of the mentors he now calls his seven Black fathers.
President Barack Obama greets Will and his wife Michele and four-month-old Alia in the Oval Office, March 9, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Jawando’s critically acclaimed memoir, “My Seven Black Fathers” was released in 2022 and offers frank reflections on his experiences with systemic racism and being a 2nd-generation American, the lessons he learned from mentors like President Obama, and his journey mending his strained relationship with his father.
Will is sworn-in as a councilmember wearing a traditional Nigerian Agbada to honor his heritage and late father.
In 2018, Will was elected as an at-large Montgomery County Councilmember. He represents over 1.1 million Marylanders, one-third of whom are immigrant families like his own. Will has fought to keep rents down, build more affordable housing, and create the county's first youth-employment program. He also introduced some of the county's first police reform legislation in two decades.
Young Will with his mother Kathy smiling at the camera.
Prior to being elected, Jawando served as a civil rights attorney, advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Associate Director of Public Engagement in the Obama White House.