BlacksInDallas.com was created by Akiim DeShay, owner of OnlyMoveForward.com.
Raised in Rochester, New York he had what most would consider a well-rounded upbringing. In 1992 at age 20 he moved to Dallas, Texas with no degree and only with experience from Rochester’s low level factory jobs. But only after 3 years he found himself in telecommunications operations management and responsible for multimillion dollar projects and more than 700 employees. While staying true to his mission for the improvement of Black life he attended Paul Quinn College where he started an organization called BLAC (Brothers Leading And Changing). With the work load of a full time job and full time school becoming too much for the 23yr old he quit school to pursue what he felt was a successful and promising career. Unfortunately, his mission suffered as well as his career.
After moving to Atlanta and back to his hometown of Rochester, New York he started a family and a new career in IT with no schooling or experience in computers. Only two years after moving his family back to Dallas (2001) he became a Senior Technical Analysts of an internal help desk for a major fortune 1000 company.
In mid-2003 he brainstormed the idea of creating a web site that would help potential Black migrants discover what life is like as an African American in Dallas. Unfortunately, before the site could be completed he became very ill and was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. With God’s help he was able to beat the odds and with only 10-15% percent chance he survived. He completed the site while spending several months in the hospital receiving chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. As a matter of fact, he launched BlacksinDallas.com from the hallway of the 7th floor in UTSouthwesterns’ Zale & Lipshy Hospital a week after receiving his transplant on Good Friday, April 2004.
Recovery was long and very difficult. For more than 3 and a half years, physical pain and suffering was part of his daily life. Since his transplant Akiim helped start a campaign in Dallas to recruit African Americans to join the National Marrow Donor Programs registry to help save Black lives. For this he created the website BlackBoneMarrow.com.
In 2007 he created BlackDemographics.com to be the top resource for information regarding African Americans. BlackDemographics.com is an attempt to create a blueprint of Black America. A single resource for information about African Americans, and how we work, live, learn, vote, and pray. He has been praised by many across the country for this site, even receiving direct feedback from the director of African American outreach for President Obama and the U.S. Census Bureau.