Fighting for the Truth

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Aki Aleong lived with his mother, an African Caribbean woman and his Chinese father, both of whom ran restaurants. Sent to a strict British school, he was well-educated. At the age of fourteen, he and his mother and baby sister left for the United States without his father and siblings, finding shelter in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. He ran with the gangs and hung out on the streets with drug dealers. After graduating from Boys High School, he was cast in the road company of “Teahouse of the August Moon,” starring Burgess Meredith, setting him off on a sixty-year career in film, television, and record production.

With more than 200 credits, he was an activist fighting for the equality of women and minorities and was a member of the EEOC of SAG and numerous other organizations. Among the hundreds of entertainment industry luminaries he has met and worked with are Marlon Brando, Berry Gordy, Nick Nolte, Ray Charles, Danny Trejo, Barry White, Ed Azner, Chuck Norris, Lee J. Cobb, Frank Sinatra, and Ben Kingsley, to name a few.

A rabble-rouser of sorts, Aki is a devout Christian, and with his fourth wife Conchita, he donates his time to his church and mentors young people seeking a way out of poverty. Published by Trade Winds Press, Fighting for the Truth can be obtained by emailing the author at akialeong[at]gmail.com.