Warren Ballentine is an African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 motivational speaker

Motivational speaker

A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...

, attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, political activist, and radio talk show host.

Early years

Ballentine was born and raised on Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

's South Side, where he attended and graduated from Calumet High School in 1989. He is an alumnus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is a land-grant university located in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest publicly funded historically black college in the state of North Carolina.NC A&T is a constituent institution of the University of North...

 in Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

 and graduated from law school at Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law in Ada, Ohio

Ada, Ohio

Ada is a village in Hardin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,582 at the 2000 census. In 2006, the village's population was estimated at 5,841, and the 2010 census counted 5,952 people....

. His current career intersects the legal world with the broadcast world.
Ballentine joined the Iota Nu Sigma Alumni chapter of Phi Beta Sigma

Phi Beta Sigma

Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...

 fraternity.

Attorney Years

Upon completion of law school, Ballentine worked as a Prosecutor and as a Guardian ad litem before going into private practice, and has tried a multitude of cases including: Murder, Discrimination, Sexual assault, Police Brutality, Drunk Driving, Drugs, Gang violence, and Domestic Relations. After being admitted to the DC Bar in 2004, his license was suspended for failure to pay his annual dues.

Radio career

Warren Ballentine has tried to influence people to not just complain, but to take action to solve problems. Ballentine’s series, The Warren Ballentine Show, is syndicated in 37 markets through Radio One, and is one of the highest-rated urban talk shows in the nation. The show has been covered numerous times by the media since it hit the airwaves.

On his show he discusses, analyzes and dissects ideas and issues targeted not just to the African-American audience, but to a wider audience as well. Ballentine has championed the call for action for the Jena 6 and called for the National Economic Blackout. He currently hosts a three hour radio show each weekday covering political & legal issues, education, religion, social issues and various other topics.

Ballentine has been described by The New York Times as "one of black talk radio’s new stars." He led the Radio One (Company)|Radio ONE national voter registration campaign. Covering both the Democratic Convention|Democratic and the Republican Convention|Republican national conventions, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus; Ballentine’s show has featured such high profile guests as Barack Obama|President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton|Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Al Sharpton, and Allen Gravitt. Additionally, Ballentine is a recurring guest and correspondent for CNN and Fox Business Network|Fox Business News . He recently deemed September 4 National Community Reinvestment Day.

Controversy

On Oct. 16, 2009, Ballentine, according to published reports, told Panamanian Juan Williams

Juan Williams

Juan Williams is an American journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel, he was born in Panama on April 10, 1954. He also writes for several newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal and has been published in magazines such as The Atlantic...

"You can go back to the porch, Juan. You can go back. It’s ok."