‘Not a soul’ he won’t miss: State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad reflects on 18 years as Iowa legislator

State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, the state’s longest-serving Black legislator, gave his retirement speech on Tuesday, April. 16, at the Iowa Capitol. Abdul-Samad, 72, was elected in 2006 and began serving what’s now Iowa House District 34 in 2007. He is the CEO of Creative Visions in Des Moines.

Abdul-Samad thanked the public, his colleagues and staff and joked that when the legislature reconvenes in January, he’ll be happy to pull the covers over his head instead and avoid the snow and cold. He reminded his fellow legislators to focus on serving Iowans.

At times, Abdul-Samad’s voice softened. Some words he punctuated by pounding his chest. There were also moments of levity.

“And, if I’m in your area and I drop by, all you’ve got to do is just remember that old movie, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” And, ya’ll know I don’t eat meat. So that means ya’ll are going to have to take some extra steps to go get some meatless stuff. I’m going to come eat. Most of you who cook, and I say this with all my heart. Don’t get offended. But you know, you’ve got to be a certain ethnicity to understand seasoning. And, the majority of you don’t understand seasoning.”

The crowd laughed, and so did Abdul-Samad: “So when I come to the house, we’ve got to talk about seasoning if you’re going to fix some food. Cause that bland stuff don’t work for us.”

Listen to his speech here. His part begins at 12:57:42.