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For interviews, press passes, or more information, Contact: Jos Duncan-Asé [email protected] (484) 222-0253 Film Screening Celebrates the Legacy and Power of Black Women Who Shaped Philadelphia’s History and Future Philadelphia, PA — April 2, 2025 — On Wednesday, April 9, Love Now Media presents an unforgettable afternoon and evening of film and reflection at the CIC Philadelphia (3675 Market Street, 3rd Floor, Delaware River Room). The event features two compelling documentary films by award-winning filmmaker Jos Duncan-Asé, centering the legacy of Black women whose trailblazing work continues to ignite movements for peace, healing, and cultural restoration. The featured film, Queen Mother – A Work In Progress (30 minutes), follows the extraordinary life and ongoing work of Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, a living legend in the fight against gang violence and for community transformation in Philadelphia. At 93 years old, Queen Mother continues to offer wisdom, guidance, and vision for a new generation of changemakers. Her legacy began when, in 1969, she turned her own home into a safe haven for young gang members—birthing the iconic House of Umoja. By 1974, Philadelphia saw a drastic drop in gang-related violence, thanks in large part to her courage, love, and leadership. Accompanying the film is a powerful photo exhibit that will be available throughout the day, offering a visual narrative of Queen Mother’s enduring impact. The program also includes a screening of Love Letter to Lessie (10 minutes), a poetic short documentary that uncovers the nearly lost legacy of Lessie Spurlock, a Black woman who broke barriers in classical music by founding an opera company in Philadelphia during the 1940s and 50s. Using rare archives and creative storytelling, Jos Duncan-Asé brings Spurlock’s influence into the light, honoring her with tributes from contemporary artists inspired by her path. “This work is urgent,” says filmmaker Jos Duncan-Asé. “In this moment, when communities are seeking healing, justice, and reconnection, Queen Mother’s model of community-building through love is as needed as ever. These films are part of a Women’s History program—one honoring a living icon shaping her legacy, and the other lifting the veil on a forgotten visionary whose art made way for so many.” Film Screenings:
CIC Philadelphia – 3675 Market Street, 3rd Floor, Delaware River Room RSVP via Eventbrite • Admission: Free and open to the public. Refreshments and popcorn will be served. About the Filmmaker Jos Duncan-Asé is a Philadelphia-based filmmaker, journalist, and cultural strategist. Her work blends ritual, oral history, and creative nonfiction to document stories that center love and liberation. For interviews, press passes, or more information, please contact [email protected]
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 The 2025 19th Fellows meet with House of Umoja's Queen Mother Falaka Fattah in Philadelphia. Photos by Denise Clay-Murray. By Denise Clay-MurrayWhen she was a young girl, Queen Mother Falaka Fattah went to a camp meeting in Maryland with her family.
The camp meetings allowed the people who had migrated from the South to the North to visit with family and to savor such foods as sweet potato pie, potato salad, collard greens, and other foods that reminded them of home, Fattah said. While at the meeting, she was approached by a woman who gave her some advice upon learning her name, Frances Ellen. “She came up to me and said, ‘Don’t you disgrace that name, Francis Ellen!’ Fattah said. “Now, I don’t know that lady from Adam. But later on, when we got back home to Philadelphia, I told Mom what she said and asked her why, and [her mother] said she said that because that name is significant. That’s the first time I ever heard of Francis Ellen Watkins Harper or the connection.” That was among the stories that Fattah shared with this year’s cohort of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper fellows. The year-long fellowship is sponsored by The 19th, an independent... READ MORE Malcolm X said there is no peace without freedom and Carter G. Woodson stated there is no freedom without education. On Saturday, September 21, 2024 on the International Day of Peace, the House of Umoja joined with Philly Peace Week, We Luv Philly, and the One Arts Community Center for a PEACE LIT! LITeracy Fair. We began the day making signs to use as we marched from the House of Umoja to One Arts Community Center with the message, READING Is RESISTANCE.   PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release - Download Full Release PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) -- 22 September 2024 -- The House Of Umoja, Inc (https://houseofumoja.net), a globally acclaimed institution headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – the birthplace of the United States of America -- ushered in autumn and its 56th anniversary on 21 September 2024 with the release of the Education Edition of UMOJA Magazine (https://umojamagazine.com/about) which it published. Masterfully crafted and vibrantly hued, UMOJA Magazine’s Education Edition touted the globally acclaimed institution’s “Reading Is Resistance” which it launched in February 2024 in response to the rising incidents of “book bans” occurring in public libraries and school libraries across the United States. “Book bans” have resulted in the removal of literature penned by African American authors along with literature penned by authors that explore gender issues from the shelves of public libraries and school libraries throughout the United States of America.. Legislative push back on the national “book banning” trend has been mounted in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by Pennsylvania State Senator The Honorable Amanda Cappelletti of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Senator Cappelletti’s efforts to stem the tide of “book banning” is chronicled in an article entitled,“Montgomery County State Senator Wants PA To Prevent Schools, Libraries From Banning Books” (https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/bill-prevent-book-bans-school-libraries-pennsylvania).  Articles and their authors in the Education Edition of UMOJA Magazine which was released on 21 September 2024, weigh in on why “Reading Is Resistance”, and explore functional literacy; the dismantling of the public education system in the United States of America and what can be done about it; and the struggles encountered by United States citizens of African descent in their professional and personal lives. The profound articles listed below which grace the pages of the Education Edition of UMOJA Magazine and the authors who penned them will ignite a robust solutions-based national dialogue on exponentially improving the literacy skills of children enrolled in American public schools; reinstituting the “school-to-work” curriculum and dismantling the current “school-to-prison” curriculum in our nation’s schools; and the unique challenges that confront United States citizens who are male and of African descent in their professional and personal lives. · “Slave Literacy Is The Real Target Of Our Reading Resistance” – Author: Mr. Mark Hampton · “How To Revive Our Imperiled Education System” – Author: Dr. Stephen Jones · “Black Male Family Preservation” – Authors: Messrs. Keith Mungin and Maleek Phillips · “In Search Of Academic Athletics” – Author: Rashid Atkins Bey · “There’s A Thing Called Water” – Author: KD Morris · “Reading Is Resistance: From Violence To Violin” – Author: Mr. Jack Drummond · “Functional Literacy Matters” – Author: Mr. Cleous Young · “It Happened Here (Ode To Kalief”) – Author: Mr. Osayimwese Nadir Karume · “Knowledge Is Power – Author: Pursuing Recovery Physical Fitness Through Academic Athletics” – Author; Mr. Keith Blackwell · “No Such Thing” – Author: Mr. Omar Tyree  To subscribe to UMOJA Magazine, visit the website of its publisher – the House Of Umoja, Inc. -- at the following link: https://www.houseofumoja.net/umojamagazine. html. For further information about UMOJA Magazine, call (215) 473-5893 or send an electronic mail communication to: [email protected] # # # written by Diane Aisha Sears CONTACT: Queen Mother Falaka Fattah Chief Executive Officer and President House of Umoja, Inc. (215) 473-5893; E-Mail: [email protected]  PRESS CONFERENCE for the Official 2024 Philadelphia Million Fathers March | Partner2Educate22/8/2024
PURPOSE:
To encourage fathers and father figures across the City of Philadelphia to become involved with their children's education • To understand the power and significance of their involvement with their children's education and power of a father's presence at their children's schools • To actively resist the banning of our literature and history, by mobilizing and collaborating with the UMOJA INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY to develop and implement strategies to increase the reading scores and literacy of students of the Philadelphia School District. AGENDA I. Welcome and Opening Remarks (10:00 - 10:10 AM)
V. Call to Action (10:40 - 10:50 AM)
VII. Closing Remarks (11:00 - 11:05 AM) - Queen Mother Falaka Fattah |
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© 1968-2024 House of Umoja (Umoja, Inc.). All rights reserved.
© 1968-2024 House of Umoja (Umoja, Inc.). All rights reserved.