In UNDIAGNOSED, The Ugly Side of Dyslexia, Emmy nominated actor Ameer Baraka depicts how coming of age in the murderous streets of 1980s New Orleans collided with an unrecognized learning difference. Incarcerated for manslaughter at the age of fourteen, Ameer must reconcile his past with the will to persevere through the misconception that he's unable to learn.
At age twenty-three, Ameer re-enters the prison system, where he reclaims an education denied to so many who struggle to read. His rage transforms into determination to help other inmates and young people recognize that through perseverance and education, there is an alternative to living a life of crime and a method to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. Stories speak louder than statistics, and in this tale of redemption, the good we do is measured by what we've overcome and the lives we inspire after discovering our truth.
Ameer Baraka is an award-winning and Daytime Emmy Nominated Actor, author, dyslexia advocate, youth mentor, and prison coach. Born to humble beginnings in New Orleans, Ameer's early life was as gloomy and as ill-fated as a young life could have been. In and out of the prison system as a kid for transgressions ranging from youthful indiscretions to major crimes, he was seemingly on a one-way trip to oblivion. Almost illiterate when he went to prison, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and learned to read in his mid-twenties while behind bars.
Seeing how education and ability to read have changed his life, Ameer is dedicated to inspiring young people with his message that they, too, can overcome meager beginnings and obstacles in their way to eventually triumph through hard work, dedication, strong faith, and the pursuit of education.