PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) – 13 June 2022 -- Headquartered in the fifth largest metropolitan area in the United States, the House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net) is an internationally acclaimed institution that has a fifty-four year successful track record of positively transforming the lives of at least approximately 3,000 urban male youths and reducing gang violence. Under the leadership of Queen Mother Falaka Fattah and her late husband Mr. David Fattah, the House of Umoja, Inc. has designed and implemented innovative and solutions-based initiatives that are heralded as Global Models promoting peace, addressing many of the key challenges confronting boys and adolescent males which prevent them from maturing into productive and successful adults, fostering community development and economic sustainability, and creating intergenerational collaborations. The House Of Umoja, Inc.’s indelible imprint in history will continue, courtesy of a ceremony scheduled for Friday, 17 June 2022 commencing at 12:00 P.M. (E.S.T.), at which the intersection of 5625 West Master Street and 1400 North Frazier Street will be named “1400 David Fattah And Falaka Fattah Way”. Cognizant of the fact that our children are our “Next Generation Of Leaders”, the House Of Umoja, Inc has disclosed that its priority for the next two (2) years will encompass expansion of the Fattah Peace Academy and its “A Value Of Human Life After School" Program. The program is a component of the dynamic and multi-faceted curriculum offered by the Fattah Peace Academy.
The street naming ceremony comes on the heels of the House Of Umoja, Inc’s successful launch in April 2022 of its UMOJA Youth Peace Corps, a component of the Fattah Peace Academy and the UMOJA INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY to help address and resolve the causative factors of Philadelphia’s gun violence emergency. The Umoja Youth Peace Corps is an influencer leadership initiative centered around peace, the family of community, culture, healing and an African Proverb which warns: "A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” Designed by the House Of Umoja, Inc. to resolve the City of Philadelphia’s current gun violence emergency, the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps, Fattah Peace Academy, and UMOJA INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY are based on a collaboration in the 1970s between the House Of Umoja, Inc., community organizations, and incarcerated individuals serving life without parole sentences in Pennsylvania correctional facilities. It was a collaborative effort that resulted in the orchestration of a peace conference attended by gang leaders throughout the City of Philadelphia on 1 January 1974 and a peace treaty negotiated by the House of Umoja, Inc. Facilitated by Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, gang leaders attending the peace conference signed the Imani Peace Pledge™ and ended decades of bloody and deadly gang violence that played out in Philadelphia’s schoolyards and streets. The pledge was penned by the late Mr. David Fattah, the patriarch of House of Umoja, Inc. In 2022, collaborative efforts among community organizations, the House Of Umoja, Inc., and members of SCI Phoenix LIFERS, Inc. (www.lifersincpa.org), a nationally recognized “inside-out” Criminal Justice Reform, Reentry, and Restorative Justice think tank, that mirrors the collaborative efforts of the 1970s are focusing on moving a new generation of youths and young adults to peace and resolving Philadelphia’s gun violence emergency. Provided below is an overview of the impactful and innovative initiatives designed by the House Of Umoja, Inc. which have helped to rekindle community spirit and ignite hope in the hearts of Philadelphians. The Faith Of Our Fathers Peace Campaign: Moving Children To Commit To Nonviolence And Bringing Peace To A City The surge in violence and gun-related homicides throughout Calendar Year 2005 moved the House of Umoja, Inc. to respond by building on its knowledge from the past. On Sunday, 1 January 2006 – on New Year’s Day – and on Imani which is Swahili for the word “faith” – the last day of Kwanzaa, the House Of Umoja, Inc. launched its Faith Of Our Fathers Peace Campaign with the convening of the “2006 Stay Alive IMANI Youth Anti-Violence Conference” at Pinn Memorial Baptist Church (http://www.pinnmemorial.org) in Philadelphia’s Wynnefield section from 1:00 P.M. through 5:00 P.M. Legislators, parents, grassroots community organizations, Fatherhood Practitioners, the electronic and print media, students from the School District of Philadelphia, educators, social entrepreneurs, and concerned community members attended the conference. By the end of the first quarter of Calendar Year 2006, the House of Umoja, Inc. established a Steering Committee for its Faith Of Our Fathers Peace Campaign. Individuals with diverse talents comprised the Faith Of Our Fathers Peace Campaign Steering Committee and helped the House Of Umoja, Inc. create and implement initiatives designed to move children in the City of Philadelphia to commit to peace. The House Of Umoja, Inc. established “Partnerships For Peace” with the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Atwater-Kent Museum, Keepers of the Culture Storytellers, and the print and electronic media which included Radio Station WXPN. Major Philadelphia newspapers – The Philadelphia Daily News, The Philadelphia Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Philadelphia Weekly -- published an article about the House of Umoja, Inc.'s efforts to move a new generation of children and youths to commit to peace and nonviolence along with the full text of the Imani Peace Pledge ™ which was based on the Imani Peace Pact™, a document crafted by the late Mr. David Fattah of the House of Umoja, Inc. that gang leaders in Philadelphia signed on 1 January 1974. The Imani Peace Pledge™ was published alongside the article in Philadelphia’s major newspapers during the week of 10-14 April 2006 – the Spring vacation for the School District of Philadelphia. Students in Philadelphia’s schools would have access to and time to read the newspapers – particularly the article concerning the Faith Of Our Fathers Peace Campaign and the full text of the Imani Peace Pledge™. Why have the full text of the Imani Peace Pledge™ published in the newspapers? Publishing the full text of the Imani Peace Pledge™ in the newspapers that children and youth would not only read, but also sign, would give the youth and children in the City of Philadelphia an opportunity to take an active role in bringing peace to their schools, neighborhoods, and their city. Over 800 children and youth who lived and attended schools in the Greater Philadelphia area and had read the newspapers during the week of 10-14 April 2006, signed the Imani Peace Pledge™ and mailed their signed pledges to the House Of Umoja, Inc. The strategy developed by the House Of Umoja, Inc. under the umbrella of the Faith Of Our Fathers Peace Campaign was working! As the Imani Peace Pledge™ continued to capture the attention and imagination of children and youth throughout the City Of Philadelphia during the Spring of 2006, the House Of Umoja, Inc. created a Student Non-Violence Poster Competition in which students from Philadelphia’s middle and high schools participated. The students were asked to create posters that symbolized one of the following themes: Non-Violence, Peace In The Hood, Family Harmony, and The Greatness Of Our African-American Heritage. They were also asked to sign the Imani Peace Pledge™ and submit the signed Pledge along with their artwork to The House Of Umoja, Inc. Three works of arts were selected for cash prizes and an additional four works of art received honorable mention. All of the artwork submitted by the students became a component of a traveling exhibit displayed on 10 September 2006 at the Penn Cinema in Philadelphia at an “Artist Reception” that preceded the premiere of “I Come In Peace”, a play written by students. The House Of Umoja, Inc.’s efforts to move a new generation of children in the City of Philadelphia to commit to nonviolence did not escape the attention of the city’s Mayor. The Honorable John F. Street, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, issued a proclamation which declared the week of 15-20 May 2006 as “Faith Of Our Fathers Week” throughout Philadelphia. During “Faith Of Our Fathers Week”, an illuminated sign perched atop a Center City Philadelphia skyscraper which housed the Philadelphia Electric Company carried a special message: “Sign The Imani Peace Pledge(TM)”! Members of Men Making A Difference held its Day Of Community Service at the House Of Umoja, Inc. on Saturday, 20 May 2006 which took the form of “cleaning up and fixing up the block” while WURD 900 AM Radio held a live broadcast at the House Of Umoja, Inc. for several hours during which it conducted a “Radiothon” fundraiser for the organization. The artwork submitted by students throughout the City of Philadelphia who participated in the Student Non-Violence Poster Competition were displayed; live entertainment and refreshments were provided for the neighborhood, members of community organizations and invited guests; and face painting and a moon bounce were provided for the children. Efforts exerted by the House Of Umoja, Inc. to move the children and youth of the City of Philadelphia to commit to peace were punctuated in the beginning of the last quarter of 2006 with the premiere of a play entitled, “I Come In Peace,” on 10 September 2006 at Cinema At Penn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The play was the product of the House Of Umoja, Inc.’s Summer 2006 Career Exploration Program and a celebration of the House Of Umoja, Inc.’s “Peace In the Hood” Campaign To Stop The Violence. The youthful performers and collaborators who staged works about Violence and Peace Initiatives on 10 September 2006 at Cinema at Penn -- Marquis Blackston, Anton Cochran, Terrell Edwards, David Morris, Deneisha Overby, Jerome Rorie, Jabril Ward, and Shaun White --also participated in the House Of Umoja, Inc.’s Summer 2006 Career Exploration Program. So, how effective were the violence prevention and peace promotion activities provided by The House Of Umoja, Inc. in schools in the City of Philadelphia which took the form of, among other things, workshops, and assemblies? The School District Of Philadelphia’s Evaluation Report contained the following excerpted data which reflects a decrease in serious incidents from the 2004-2005 Academic Year through the 2005-2006 Academic Year for the following schools which received service from the House of Umoja, Inc.: · Bluford Elementary School: The number of serious incidents decreased by 41% in serious incidents. · Overbrook High School: The number of serious incidents decreased from 202 to 135, reflecting a 33% decrease in serious incidents. · Powell Elementary School: The number of serious incidents decreased by 25%. · Barry (Shoemaker) Middle School: The number of serious incidents decreased from 84 to 59, reflecting a 30% decrease in serious incidents. The National Million Fathers March In 2007, the House Of Umoja, Inc. became the City of Philadelphia’s organizer and leader for the National Million Father March an initiative created by the late Mr. Philip Jackson and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois (www.blackstarproject.org; www.fathersincorporated.com) that encourages Fathers to take a proactive role in the education of their children and continues to redefine and reshape Fatherhood in the United States. Impressed with the House of Umoja, Inc.’s successful track record in reducing and eradicating gang violence and providing life lines for urban adolescent males, when Mr. Jackson decided to expand the National Million Father March to Philadelphia, he immediately offered the leadership and organizing role to the globally acclaimed institution. The brainchild of the late Mr. Philip Jackson, Founder and Executive Director of the Chicago, Illinois-based Black Star Project (www.blackstarproject.org) which offers academic and mentoring programs for children, workforce development projects, and school services, the National Million Fathers March was created in 2003. Observed in hundreds of cities throughout the United States, the National Million Fathers March encourages Fathers to take a proactive role in the education of their child. The national leadership mantle for the National Million Fathers March has been donned by Fathers Incorporated (www.fathersincorporated.com) which is based in Atlanta, Georgia. “Think Green Peace” Campaign The brainchild of the House of Umoja, Inc., the three-tiered “Think Green Peace” Campaign, designed and implemented in 2008, transformed vacant lots into peace gardens that became a source of beauty and food for communities surrounding it. The peace gardens yielded beautifully hued and fragrant flowers and produced vegetables which addressed hunger and the need for healthy diets. A small deep hole exists at the edge of the peace gardens. It is where members of the communities bury their grief, anger, and sadness. The source of grief, anger, or sadness is written about on biodegradable napkins or paper by members of the community which they bring to the peace gardens. During a brief ceremony that is performed, members of the community place the paper or biodegradable napkin that bears their grief, anger, or sadness in the small and deep hole that lies at the edge of the peace garden(s). The hole is then covered with dirt. Having buried their grief, anger, and sadness in the peace garden, members of the community return to their homes – relieved of their burden. Youths, adults, and the business community collaborated to prepare the vacant lots for planting in the Carroll Park section of West Philadelphia. The First Philadelphia Collard Green Cultural Festival which occurred in July 2008 also constituted one of the many components of the “Think Green Peace” Campaign”. Fathers Literacy Initiative Mindful of the African proverb which states “The Child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth,” to prevent children from feeling unembraced by the village due to the consistent absence of Fathers in their life, in February 2020, the House of Umoja, Inc. designed and launched the “Fathers Literacy Initiative”. The initiative helps Fathers who are unable to be physically present in their child’s life on a consistent basis – Incarcerated Fathers, Homeless Fathers, Military Fathers, and NonCustodial Fathers – establish a presence in their child’s life by engaging them in reading a book together. Incarcerated Fathers, Military Fathers, Homeless Fathers, and NonCustodial Fathers participating in the Fathers Literacy Project develop a strong bond and relationship with their child; help improve their child’s literacy skills and academic performance; and ultimately, deter their child from being caught up in the “school-to-prison” pipeline. “Call For Compassion In Response To COVID-19” The House of Umoja, Inc. joined humanitarian organizations and key community stakeholders in issuing a “Call For Compassion” in March 2020 which supported the release of nonviolent offenders housed in correctional institutions as a means of protecting souls most susceptible to contracting and succumbing to COVID-19 Pandemic – particularly, aging and elderly Men and Women and souls who have pre-existing medical conditions – and juveniles who are nonviolent offenders. These souls would be deemed not to create public safety issues for the communities they returned to, many of whom were being detained simply because they did not have the financial means to pay their bail. Established in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc.’s successful track record of positively transforming the lives of approximately 3,000 male adolescents and reducing gang violence, moved universities and institutions to seek the institution's expertise. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention and the Center for Disease Control were among the institutions that sought the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise on gang violence reduction, youth programming, and community organizing. Former United States Presidents The Honorable James Earl Carter, Jr. and the late Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan recognized the House of Umoja, Inc. for its pioneering work that has been documented in published articles such as “A Summons To Life,” by Robert Woodson of the American Enterprise Institute (www.aei.org) in 1981 and “The Violent Juvenile Offender,” by Paul DeMuro and Richard Allison of the National Council On Crime and Delinquency (www.nccdglobal.org), in 1984. For further information about the House of Umoja, Inc., visit the organization’s website at www.houseofumoja.net or call (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com. # # #
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The 5700 Block of W. Master Street to be renamed David Fattah Way and the 1400 Block of N. Frazier Street to be renamed Queen Mother Falaka Fattah Way PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) – 14 June 2022 -- By resolution of the City Council of Philadelphia, Friday, June 17, 2022 at 12:00 noon at the corner of Frazier and Master Streets, the City of Philadelphia will host a ceremony as the city renames the 5600 block of Master Street as David Fattah Way and the 1400 block of Frazier Street as Queen Mother Falaka Fattah Way.
“RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the legacy and dedicated service of David Fattah and Queen Mother Falaka Fattah to Philadelphia youth be memorialized and the 5600 block of W. Master Street shall henceforth be known as “David Fattah Way” and the 1400 block of N. Frazier Street shall henceforth be known as “Queen Mother Falaka Fattah Way.” Under the leadership of Queen Mother Falaka Fattah and her late husband Mr. David Fattah and headquartered at 5625 Master Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fifth largest metropolitan area in the United States, the House of Umoja is an internationally acclaimed institution that has a fifty-four-year successful track record of positively transforming the lives of over 3,000 urban male youths and reducing gang violence. The House of Umoja, Inc. has designed and implemented innovative and solutions-based initiatives that are heralded as Global Models that promote peace, address many of the key challenges confronting boys and adolescent males which prevent them from maturing into productive and successful adults, foster community development and economic sustainability, and create intergenerational collaborations. “WHEREAS, both David Fattah and Queen Mother Falaka Fattah founded the House of Umoja to serve as a sanctuary for Philadelphia youth involved in gang activity to give them a support system based on a family; WHEREAS, After founding the House of Umoja, David Fattah served as its Director of Community Outreach for 50 years. In 1974, he negotiated the Imani Pact between members of several rival gangs in an effort to bring about peace in the city; WHEREAS, Queen Mother’s work with the House of Umoja earned her over 100 awards and the respect of and admiration of two U.S. Presidents: Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan; The House Of Umoja, Inc.’s indelible imprint in history will continue. Cognizant of the fact that our children are our “Next Generation Of Leaders,” the House Of Umoja discloses it’s transition plan and priority for the next two (2) years, the programmatic and physical development of Fattah Peace Academy. The transition began with the model program the UMOJA INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY developed by Queen Mother Falaka Fattah based on the experiences and success of the House of Umoja. April 19, 2022, the House of Umoja launched its “A Value Of Human Life After School Program,” the Umoja Youth Peace Corps, a component of the dynamic and multi-faceted curriculum offered by the Fattah Peace Academy. WHEREAS, David Fattah’s and Queen Mother Falaka Fattah’s dedication to teaching, mentoring, and nurturing over 3,000 young African Americans. David Fattah’s unwavering commitment to the strength and safety of Philadelphia communities and Queen Mother Falaka Fattah’s serve to the No Gag War in 74 Campaign, which influenced the lives of thousands, should be memorialized;” Queen Mother Falaka Fattah states, “As the House of Umoja embarks on its 54th anniversary, the honor and acknowledgement of the street renaming ushers in an era of Hope and Healing for the House of Umoja.” For further information about the House of Umoja, Inc., visit the organization’s website at www.houseofumoja.net or call (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com. CONTACT: Queen Mother Falaka Fattah President and Chief Executive Officer House of Umoja, Inc. (215) 473-5893 E-Mail: falakafattah@aol.com HOU facilitates the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps, a component of the Fattah Peace Academy and the UMOJA Intentional Community in effort to help quell gun violence in the city of Philadelphia ![]() PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) – 14 May 2022 — Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, humanitarian, award-winning journalist, and Founder of the House Of Umoja, Inc., an internationally acclaimed institution that has a fifty-four year successful track record of positively transforming the lives of at least 3,000 urban young males and reducing gang violence through its 1974 No Gang War Campaign that saved hundreds of thousands of lives in Philadelphia, will be inducted into the South Philadelphia High School Alumni Cultural Hall Of Fame 2022 on Sunday, 15 May 2022 at 2401 Swanson Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Festivities from 1:00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M. and include a banquet dinner in addition to an induction ceremony. Queen Mother Falaka Fattah will be represented at the induction ceremony by her grandson, Mr. Anthony Bannister-Fattah. When asked to identify role models who influenced her, Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, who will the only female to be inducted at the South Philadelphia High School Alumni Induction Ceremony on Sunday, 15 May 2022, pointed to two women – her Mother, an educator, and Mrs. Casey, a Latin teacher at South Philadelphia High School. “As I accept the honor that my alma mater, South Philadelphia High School has bestowed upon me, my thoughts are turned to two role models who influenced me – my Mother and my Latin teacher, Mrs. Casey. My mother was a fully certified educator in an one room school in Virginia. When she relocated to Philadelphia, the Philadelphia School District refused to accept the certification she received in Virginia. She did not abdicate from her role as an educator and supplemented the education my brother and I received in Philadelphia’s school system. My Mother would ask us to share with her what we were learning in school. She would take us on a field trip that corresponded with a particular subject we were learning and employ her teaching skills to explore in great depth with us the particular subject we were learning at school during the field trip she created. The second individual who influenced me was my Latin teacher, Mrs. Casey at South Philadelphia High School. There are two things out of the many things that I learned from her that stand out. I learned the importance of words and words are very important. It is probably the reason that words mean so much to me. ‘Noblesse oblige’ one of the many Latin phrases I learned in Mrs.. Casey’s classroom, continues to resonate with me. Translated into English, ‘noblesse oblige’ means ‘noble obligation’ and ‘noble obligation’ is the obligation of honorable, generous, and responsible behavior. ‘Noblesse oblige’ is how I have approached everything in my life,” Queen Mother Falaka Fattah remarked. During her award-winning journalism career, Queen Mother Falaka Fattah was a writer and editor for The Philadelphia Tribune and a writer for The Philadelphia Bulletin, The Philadelphia Independent, and The Philadelphia Afro-American. In 1968, she launched UMOJA Magazine.. It was during that same year, September 1968, that the House of Umoja, Inc. was founded to address rising and deadly violence driven by gangs in the fifth largest metropolitan area in the United States. For five decades, the internationally acclaimed institution has designed and implemented timeless solutions-based Global Models for eradicating violence, fostering community development, creating economic sustainability, and addressing many of the key challenges that prevent boys and adolescent males from reaching their full potential and maturing into productive and successful adults. In 2007, the House Of Umoja, Inc. became the City of Philadelphia’s organizer and leader for the National Million Father March an initiative created by the late Mr. Philip Jackson and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois (www.blackstarproject.org; www.fathersincorporated.com)/. the National Million Father March encourages Fathers to take a proactive role in the education of their children and continues to redefine and reshape Fatherhood in the United States. Impressed with the House of Umoja, Inc.’s successful track record in reducing and eradicating gang violence and providing life lines for urban adolescent males, Mr. Jackson decided to expand the National Million Father March to Philadelphia and immediately offered the leadership and organizing role to the House of Umoja. The the National Million Fathers March was created in 2003 by the late Mr. Philip Jackson the Founder and was the Executive Director of the Chicago, Illinois-based Black Star Project (www.blackstarproject.org). The Black Star Project offers academic and mentoring programs for children, workforce development projects, and school services and is observed in hundreds of cities throughout the United States. The National Million Fathers March encourages Fathers to take a proactive role in the education of their child. The national leadership mantle for the National Million Fathers March has been donned by Fathers Incorporated (www.fathersincorporated.com) which is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Currently, to address Philadelphia’s gun violence emergency, the House Of Umoja. Inc. is facilitating the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps, a component of the Fattah Peace Academy and the UMOJA Intentional Community. An after school program for youths that provides them with a well-rounded array of training ranging from conflicts resolution, communications, mental and physical wellness, Blockchain Basics, entrepreneurship, dog training, and art therapy, the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps is an influencer leadership initiative centered around peace, the family of community, culture, and healing. The initiatives designed by the House of Umoja, Inc. to help bring peace to the City of Philadelphia is based on a collaboration in the 1970s between the House Of Umoja, Inc., community organizations, and incarcerated individuals serving life without parole sentences in Pennsylvania correctional facilities. It was a collaborative effort that resulted in the orchestration of a peace conference attended by gang leaders throughout the City of Philadelphia on 1 January 1974 and a peace treaty negotiated by the House of Umoja, Inc. Facilitated by Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, gang leaders attending the peace conference signed the Imani Peace Pledge™ and ended decades of bloody and deadly gang violence that played out in Philadelphia’s schoolyards and streets. The pledge was penned by the late Mr. David Fattah, the patriarch of House of Umoja, Inc. In 2022, collaborative efforts among community organizations, the House Of Umoja, Inc., and members of SCI Phoenix LIFERS, Inc. (www.lifersincpa.org), a nationally recognized “inside-out” Criminal Justice Reform, Reentry, and Restorative Justice think tank that mirrors the collaborative efforts of the 1970s are focusing on moving a new generation of youths and young adults to peace and resolve Philadelphia’s gun violence emergency. Over the years, institutions that include, but are not limited to, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention and the Center for Disease Control have sought the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise on gang violence reduction, youth programming, and community organizing. Former United States Presidents The Honorable James Earl Carter, Jr. and the late Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan recognized the House of Umoja, Inc. for its pioneering work that has been documented in published articles such as “A Summons To Life,” by Robert Woodson of the American Enterprise Institute (www.aei.org) in 1981 and “The Violent Juvenile Offender,” by Paul DeMuro and Richard Allison of the National Council On Crime and Delinquency (www.nccdglobal.org), in 1984. For further information about the South Philadelphia High School Alumni Cultural Hall Of Fame 2022 call 267-861-0391 or visit the South Philadelphia High School Alumni’s website at www.sphsalumni.org. For further information about the House of Umoja, Inc., visit the organization’s website at www.houseofumoja.net or call (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com. Value of Human Life: Philadelphia anti-violence activist begins program to keep teens safe12/4/2022
Philadelphia anti-violence activist begins program to keep teens safeHouse of Umoja founder starting anti-violence after-school program for teens, to help them cope with the rising cycle of violence.
WEST PHILADELPHIA - With so much violence in Philadelphia involving teenagers and targeting children, how can adults keep them from getting swept up in the epidemic? "We have, over the years, only developed more methods and easier ways to kill each other. That’s not progress," Falaka Fattah stated. Fattah says she’s up for the challenge of keeping children safe. She’s developed a program she hopes will help lessen murders in Philadelphia, a decades-long epidemic. "In 1969, Philadelphia was known as the year of the gun. We were distinguished by having the most killings in the country," Fattah said. Known as Queen Mother, Fattah is the President and CEO of the House of Umoja, located at 56th and Master, in West Philadelphia. Umoja in Swahili means unity. For 40 years, she ran a residential program for at-risk males. Her new program will focus on 15 to 18-year-olds. "They are the ones doing the most dying." Fattah says they have trained professionals coming in who will teach things like coping and forgiveness. "Social media has now become the parent. I noticed that this is a drug society and that whatever is wrong, you just take a pill. We have to begin with you think before you act and so how does the brain operate? How do you go from saying that you have a right to kill somebody to understanding that nobody has that right?" Fattah questioned. So, the Value of Human Life after-school program was born. "Hurt people, hurt people and we, as a people, in our DNA, are very hurt people. Over 400 years and we’ve experienced a great deal of hurt. So, we’re going to begin with trying to deal with what do you do with that hurt? How do you handle it?" Fattah commented. Fattah and her team are also looking at a different approach to teaching compassion by bringing in a professional dog trainer, for example, in the way that it’s helped veterans and people with disabilities cope. "When you have a pet, you know you have to take care of that pet. It must be fed, he has to have exercise. So, you’re learning how to care. If you care, you don’t kill," Fattah remarked. She says gun violence will never be eradicated, but we can’t stop working on solutions. "I don’t know too many families in Philadelphia where they don’t know somebody who has been shot at or someone who has been killed," Fattah added. "I’m very hopeful. I’m optimistic." More information on the program can be found here. “A child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” -African Proverb-
PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) -- 26 March 2022 - The House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net) will launch its Youth Peace Corps, a component of the Fattah Peace Academy and the UMOJA INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY on Tuesday, 19 April 2022. The Umoja Youth Peace Corps is an influencer leadership initiative centered around peace, the family of community, culture, healing and an African Proverb which warns: "A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” An after school program, the Youth Peace Corps will nurture youths, ages 15 through 18, by providing them with a well-round array of training ranging from communications, mental and physical wellness, Blockchain Basics entrepreneurship, dog training, and art therapy. Each day begins with a meal and Adella with Queen Mother Falaka Fattah. Adella is a Swahili word that means “just” or “fair” and is formed around the value of the extended family, creating a safe space, and a tool for conflict resolution. Adella became the order within a home of fifteen (15) boys when Queen Mother in 1969 invited the gang members of her son's gang to live in her home. d Adella is a proven model that has worked in West African societies from ancient times and throughout the House of Umoja, Inc.’s existence as a residential home, safe haven, and peacemaker in the streets. “We are in a season of Sankofa. Sankofa is a principle created by the Akan Tribe of Ghana which reminds us that remembering the past is the pathway to making positive progress in the future. This wise principle is based on an Akan proverb translated from the Akan language which states, ‘It is not taboo to fetch what you forgot’. The current set of challenges that engulf our community reminds each of us that if we intend to resolve the challenges besieging our community, we must first know who we truly are, our heritage, our history, and the world around us we have collectively forgotten. Until we do, we will not make positive progress and it will be very difficult for us to better ourselves and our community and effectively teach and support our community’s Next Generation of Leaders – our youth. As The House of Umoja, Inc. retrieves past violence reduction strategies, we realize we have always moved in partnership with our youth and kinship community. Our youth have an integral role in crafting, applying, and evaluating violence reduction strategies that are relevant in today’s society. It is our responsibility to develop a generation of effective leaders. We can begin by teaching our youth how to solve problems and the principles of effective leadership and supporting their vision for the future,” remarked Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net). Cognizant of the dire need to move a new generation of souls to commit to nonviolence, the House of Umoja partnered with the SCI Phoenix LIFERS Inc. (www.palifersinc.org), a nationally acclaimed “inside-out” Criminal Justice Reform, Reentry, and Restorative Justice Think Tank in research driven solutions-based modeling to help bring healing and peace to the City of Philadelphia. The Umoja Intentional Community, born from this initiative, is a structured alignment and an acknowledgement of the strengths, intent, and actions of the House of Umoja's actual community. “This is what we call the UMOJA INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY. Umoja leverages its fifty-three years of experience with violence reduction, conflict resolution, peace treaties, safe corridors, non-violence advocacy, community-school programming, and Black male, youth, and family development to strategically employ a pilot model program built on the foundation of violence-free zones, Carroll Park is the initial defined violence-free zone. Our youth, the most impacted by the violence, are directly involved in helping create the peace through the Umoja Intentional Community Youth Peace Corps and trained through the Fattah Peace Academy. Eleventh and twelfth grade students from Carroll Park high schools will make up the fifteen member cohorts. Each cohort is twelve weeks and meets weekly from three o’clock through five o’clock on Tuesday afternoons through Friday afternoons. Programming includes anger and stress management, conflict resolution, music, art and gardening therapy, the power of thought and language, forgiveness and intention, WalkNWellness™, neighborhood history, financial literacy, how to find and apply for scholarships, career development, entrepreneurship, self-expression, and the Rap Council which will facilitate a multigenerational conversation through rap where students learn to use their lyrical talents to speak life, not death,” explained Queen Mother Falaka Fattah. Established in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc. is an internationally acclaimed institution that has, for five decades, designed and implemented timeless Global Models for eradicating violence, fostering community development, creating economic sustainability, and addressing many of the key challenges that prevent boys and adolescent males from reaching their full potential and maturing into productive and successful adults. Its successful track record of positively transforming the lives of approximately 3,000 male adolescents and reducing gang violence, moved universities and institutions to seek the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention and the Center for Disease Control were among the institutions that sought the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise on gang violence reduction, youth programming, and community organizing. Former United States Presidents The Honorable James Earl Carter, Jr. and the late Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan recognized the House of Umoja, Inc. for its pioneering work that has been documented in published articles such as “A Summons To Life,” by Robert Woodson of the American Enterprise Institute (www.aei.org) in 1981 and “The Violent Juvenile Offender,” by Paul DeMuro and Richard Allison of the National Council On Crime and Delinquency (www.nccdglobal.org), in 1984. For further information about the UMOJA Intentional Community, the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps, and the House of Umoja, Inc., visit the organization’s website at www.houseofumoja.net or call (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com. HOUSE OF UMOJA USHERS IN SPRING, WEEKLY SOLUTIONS-BASED COMMUNITY DIALOGUES RECONVENE 26 MAR 202214/3/2022 PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) – 14 March 2022 – Cognizant of the fact that solutions, much like wisdom, comes from all places, the House of Umoja ushers in Spring as it reconvenes its weekly solutions-based community dialogues on Saturday, 26 March 2022 from 12:00 P.M. (E.S.T.) through 1:00 P.M. (E.S.T.) in the Peace Garden located 5625 West Master Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For over 30 years Umoja has hosted these community dialogues which serve as pathways for exploring, designing, and implementing antidotes for, among other things, gun violence, the school-to-prison-pipeline, structural racism, gentrification, blight, criminal justice and prison reform, and inequities in education, health, and economics.
House of Umoja's Co-Founder and President, Queen Mother Falaka Fattah shares, "Spring is synonymous with rebirth, rejuvenation, regrowth, resurrection and renewal. With that in mind, the House Of Umoja, Inc. is bringing together our community’s healers, thinkers, visionaries, griots, entrepreneurs, activists and youths to exchange and share ideas and solutions that will transform our community into an economically, spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally vibrant oasis that protects its most vulnerable members – Our Children, the Next Generation Of Leaders, Husbands, Fathers, Wives, and Mothers -- and Our Elders, the jewels of our community. Solutions, much like wisdom, come from all places. Each Saturday, beginning on Saturday, 26 March 2022, the House Of Umoja, Inc. is bringing together souls in our community who have ideas and solutions that will bring about rebirth, rejuvenation, regrowth, resurrection, renewal, and peace in our neighborhoods. Every idea is important. Every voice must be heard and dialogue can bring about healing and peace.” To learn how you can participate in the weekly solutions-based dialogues scheduled for Saturdays and orchestrated by the House of Umoja, Inc., commencing Saturday, 26 March 2022 from 12:00 P.M. (E.S.T.) to 1:00 P.M. (E.S.T.) at 5625 West Master Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, call (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com. CONTACTS: Mr. Tommy Joshua Caison, Founder and Executive Director, Philly Peace Park Telephone: (215) 307-7102, E-Mail: bringblacklife@gmail.com, Website: www.phillypeacepark.org Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, President, House of Umoja, Inc. (215) 473-5893, E-Mail: falakafattah@aol.com, Website: www.houseofumoja.net/pressroom PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) – 18 December 2021 – Building on the success of Round One of the Gun Violence Cease Fire implemented in the Carroll Park neighborhood of West Philadelphia which resulted in no fatal or nonfatal shootings during the Gun Violence Cease Fire and a dramatic reduction in gun violence throughout the City of Philadelphia, that began on Monday, 20 November 2021 at 12:00 A.M. (E.D.T.) and ended on Monday, 29 November 2021 at 12:00 A.M. (E.D.T.), Partners In Peace, an intergenerational coalition of organizations and community stakeholders will unveil plans for Round Two of a Gun Violence Cease Fire at a Monday, 20 December 2021 - 12:00 P.M. (E.D.T.) press conference. The press conference will convene at the House of Umoja, Inc. at 5625 West Master Street in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Dubbed the “Christmas-Kwanzaa” Cease Fire, Round Two of the Gun Violence Cease Fire will commence 12:00 A.M. (E.D.T.) on Monday 20 December 2021 and end 12:00 A.M. (E.D.T.) on Saturday, 1 January 2022, IMANI, the last day of Kwanzaa. January 1, 2022, the last day of Kwanzaa is being declared as “Imani Day Of Peace” by Partners In Peace. In alliance with the Philly Truce Coalition, these intergenerational coalitions have selected six neighborhoods heavily impacted by Philadelphia’s gun violence emergency as the Gun Violence Cease Fire Zones for Round Two’s “Christmas-Kwanzaa” Cease Fire. The Gun Violence Cease Fire Zones will expand into the neighborhoods of North Philadelphia, Northwest Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia, and Kensington. “Partners In Peace is again calling for one hundred men and women from our impacted communities to donate two hours each day throughout the cease fire period which begins on Monday, 20 December 2021 at 12:00 A.M. and ends on Saturday, 1 January 2021 – Imani – the last day of Kwanzaa – which has been designed ‘Imani Day Of Peace’. Our goal is to negotiate Mutual Code of Conduct Interim Community Agreements within the neighborhoods that are components of Round Two of the ‘Christmas-Kwanzaa’ Cease Fire Gun Violence Cease Fire Zones. One hundred peacekeepers will form ten teams of ten leaders that will cover ten blocks within each of the Gun Violence Cease Fire Zones. This is known as the ‘10 -10-10 Strategy’. Partners In Peace in a grassroots and intergenerational partnership between the House of Umoja and the Philly Peace Park which has since joined hands with lead organizations such as Philly Truce App, Block Captains, the Black Male Council of Philadelphia, the Urban League of Philadelphia, the Blackwell Cultural Alliance, Fathers Rally Day Committee, along with many other organizations. In order for the violence to stop, for the violence to cease, it’s not going to come from more money being spread around, it’s not going to come from more police being deployed. It’s not going to come from more punishment. It’s going to come from God, the master, working on our hearts…You are going to see a renaissance. You are going to see the mightiest renaissance that we’ve ever seen in the history of our people and the history of Philadelphia once we establish peace. The new reality for Philadelphia, starting here this day, is a reality of peace,” remarked Mr. Tommy Joshua Caison, the Founder and Executive Director of Philly Peace Park (www.phillypeacepark.org). The designation of 1 January 2022, which is New Year’s Day and the last day of Kwanzaa – “Imani” – by Partners In Peace as the “Imani Day Of Peace” is rooted in an historically transformative event that occurred on 1 January 1974. On that date, leaders of Philadelphia’s street organizations signed the Imani Peace Pact which helped to reduce and end decades of bloody and deadly violence fueled by gang territorial issues that played out in the city’s streets and schoolyards. The signing of the Imani Peace Pledge, penned by the late Mr. David Fattah, patriarch of the House of Umoja, Inc. and husband of Queen Mother Falaka Fattah launched the successful “No Gang War In ‘74” Campaign which she coordinated. “In designating 1 January 2022 as ‘Imani Day Of Peace’, Partners In Peace under the leadership of Tommy Joshua Caison is building on the knowledge of the past – a past replete with collaborative, holistic, and African-centered solutions. The current gun violence emergency the City of Philadelphia is painfully reminiscent of rampant gun violence that extinguished lives throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s. Back then, the House of Umoja, Inc. and incarcerated souls at Pennsylvania’s prisons brought warring gang leaders throughout the City of Philadelphia to the peace table in 1974. The ‘peace table’ took the form of a peace conference planned by a group of incarcerated souls. My late husband negotiated a peace treaty that took the form of the “Imani Peace Pledge™ which he wrote. On 1 January 1974, leaders of Philadelphia’s gangs signed the Imani Peace Pledge™ and they continue to honor the commitment to nonviolence they made nearly 48 years ago. They support Partners In Peace and are very proactive in establishing the Gun Violence Cease Fire Zones and implementing Mr. Caison’s ’10-10-10’ strategy designed to return peace to the streets. We are going back to the future to save lives, plant seeds of peace, and help eradicate Philadelphia’s gun violence emergency. A new generation of young souls is being asked to honor their Fathers, Grandfathers, and Great Grandfathers who signed the Imani Peace Pact forty-seven years ago and kept their word, by signing the Imani Pledge which can be found at https://www.houseofumoja.net/imani-pledge.html and not taking the life of another soul,” remarked Queen Mother Falaka, President of the House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net). To learn more about the intergenerational collective of community stakeholders and organizations – Partners In Peace – and how you can usher in a “New Reality Of Peace” for the City of Philadelphia and support Round Two of the Gun Violence Cease Fire that commence on Monday 20 December 2021 at 12:00 A.M. (E.D.T.) and end on Saturday, 1 January 2022 at 12:00 A.M. (E.D.T.). the last day of Kwanzaa – Imani of the Gun Violence Cease Fire Zones, contact Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, President of the House of Umoja, Inc. at (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com and Mr. Tommy Joshua Caison Founder and Executive Director of Philly Peace Park at (215) 307-7102 or send an e-mail to: bringblacklife@gmail.com. For further information about Philly Peace Park which has distributed 3,000 pounds of free fresh and healthy produce to community members since 2018 and, through several school partnerships, provides students enrolled in Grades K-12 with ecologically-based programs that comprise planting, harvesting, landscape design and construction, composting, pollinators, plant identification, and art, visit its website at www.philly peacepark.org. For further information about the House of Umoja, Inc. visit its website at www.houseofumoja.net.. Established in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc. is an internationally acclaimed institution that has, for five decades, designed and implemented timeless Global Models for eradicating violence, fostering community development, creating economic sustainability, and addressing many of the key challenges that prevent boys and adolescent males from reaching their full potential and maturing into productive and successful adults. Its successful track record of positively transforming the lives of approximately 3,000 male adolescents and reducing gang violence, moved universities and institutions to seek the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention and the Center for Disease Control were among the institutions that sought the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise on gang violence reduction, youth programming, and community organizing. Former United States Presidents The Honorable James Earl Carter, Jr. and the late Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan recognized the House of Umoja, Inc. for its pioneering work that has been documented in published articles such as “A Summons To Life”, by Robert Woodson of the American Enterprise Institute (www.aei.org) in 1981 and “The Violent Juvenile Offender”, by Paul DeMuro = and Richard Allison of the National Council On Crime and Delinquency (www.nccdglobal.org), in 1984. “Warriors make the best peacekeepers.” -Queen Mother Falaka Fattah
A Perfect Storm Raises An Army of Peacekeepers Partners In Peace Complete First Round Ceasefire Over Thanksgiving Holiday Week Philadelphia, PA - (November 30, 2021) The first round of a Gun Violence Ceasefire launched by Partners In Peace, an intergenerational coalition of community stakeholders and organizations, is helping to create a new reality of collaboration, unity, and peace efforts for Philadelphia. This first round began on Monday, 22 November 2021 at 12:00 A.M. (E.D.T.) and ended 12:00 am on Monday, 29 November 2021. Everyday peacekeepers canvassed within the designated ceasefire zone by handing out flyers, greeting community members, and connecting with store owners. Friday and Saturday community businesses were supported and a healthy walk from West Philly Peace Park to Malcolm X Park. The week ended on Sunday 28 November 2021 with a free-to-the-community family day at Universal Bluford School where there were learning and coloring activities for children (including a life size gingerbread house), games such as scrabble, pinochle, and dominoes, resources from LIHEAP application and housing support to food and clothing giveaway. Also, vegan chefs fed everyone the most delicious carrot salad and soup. Anthony Bannister, Community Outreach Director, provided V/R play, music, and literature from the House of Umoja. Philly Peace Park gave away mud cloth face masks and natural lip balms. Every Saturday for over 30 years, the House of Umoja has hosted weekly community meetings. In 2021 Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, President of the House of Umoja, reformatted the meetings to allow community members to present their solutions or businesses the first half hour and then the second half hour the community gives feedback and how they can help move the initiative forward. On November 6, 2021 some gang members who were part of the No Gang War In ‘74 Gang Conference and signed the Imani Peace Pact came to the meeting informing that they are organizing to help return peace to the streets. On Saturday November 13th, Mr. Tommy Joshua Caison, Founder and Executive Director of Philly Peace Park (www.phillypeacepark.org) came to the meeting to present his 10-10-10 plan to be executed around a series of ceasefires during the holiday seasons. The community loved the plan and the community then became Partners In Peace. At the request of Mr. Caison, the House of Umoja organized a press conference on Sunday, 21 November 2021. The Gun Violence Ceasefire is the brainchild of Mr. Caison and serves as the vehicle for creating the new reality of peace for Philadelphia he envisions. “As we discussed during the press conference, Queen Mother Falaka Fattah started the legendary House of Umoja in 1968 which grew directly out of the historic Black Power Conference. With her late husband The Honorable David Fattah, who was the chief negotiator for a peace conference attended by 500 members of Philadelphia’s street organizations held at 1810 Ridge Avenue, the former Farmers Market, they led the historic ‘No Gang War In 74’ Campaign which led to the 1974 Imani Peace Pact agreed to by over eighty street organizations which ended gang violence in the City of Philadelphia. Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, recognizes the great importance, hard work and value of all anti-violence groups in the city and is calling for all organizations striving for peace in the city to join forces to ‘Return Peace In The Streets’. The ending of violence in our community will spawn a renaissance that has not been witnessed in the history of our people and in the history of Philadelphia. Partners in Peace selected West Philadelphia as the venue for Round One of the Gun Violence Cease Fire. The West Philadelphia Gun Violence Ceasefire Zone is at 49th Street through 59th Street from Girard Avenue to Master Street and encompasses the Carroll Park neighborhood which is a component of a Violence-Free Zone in Philadelphia’s 19th Police District. Carroll Park is bounded by Girard Avenue to the South of Lansdowne Avenue to the North, North 63rd Street to the West and North 53rd Street to the East. So far we have distributed over 5,000 pieces of literature that call for a truce, a ceasefire, and to uphold life. We knocked on the doors of at least 450 homes informing members of the community about the ceasefire and Partners In Peace. Partners In Peace is calling for one hundred men and women from our impacted communities to donate two hours per day for the ceasefire periods. With a goal to negotiate Mutual Code Of Conduct Interim Community Agreements, the 100 Peacekeepers will form ten teams of ten leaders to cover ten blocks within a ceasefire zone. This is known as the ‘10 -10-10 Strategy’ which I developed,” Mr. Caison remarked. Partners In Peace debriefed on Monday, November 29, 2021 to determine the progress of Round One of the Gun Violence Ceasefire and its review of the Philadelphia Police Department’s gun violence statistics revealed that no incidences of fatal and nonfatal gun violence were reported in the Carroll Park Gun Violence Ceasefire Zone on Thanksgiving Day. Research conducted by Partners In Peace of statistics for Calendar Year 2021 identified West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia as “gun violence hot spots”. The research also identified individuals in the 18 to 30 age group as the age group that has sustained and continues to sustain the highest number of fatal and nonfatal gun violence injuries, while individuals in the 31 to 45 age group are the next highest age group sustaining and continuing to sustain fatal and nonfatal gun violence injuries. High unemployment and high levels of food insecurity exist in each of these gun violence hot spots. Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, President of the House of Umoja and mentor for the Partners In Peace, elaborated, “In addition to calling for a truce and ceasefire, establishing Gun Violence Cease Fire Zones, and placing peacekeepers in the Gun Violence Cease Fire Zone to patrol their neighborhoods, we are going back to the future. When we state ‘Return peace to the streets,’ we acknowledge that there once was peace in the streets. We are returning to strategies that worked with the people who manifested the peace. Fifty years ago, in 1971 the City of Philadelphia was traumatized by violence fueled by bloody and deadly gang warfare. That year 435 souls were victims of gun violence. Now 50 years later, in 2021, the City of Philadelphia once again finds itself grappling with out-of-control gun violence. On January 1, 1974, more than 500 gang members from across the city met in North Philadelphia to discuss a way to end their territorial blood war. The killings were going on. They were raging. My late husband Mr. David Fattah and I opened our home in 1969 to gang members. It had become a respite for young men seeking peace, and we asked them how to end the bloodshed, which was being recorded with daily scores in the local newspaper. We visited every prison in Pennsylvania where there were gang members incarcerated, and we asked them to help us plan the conference. They picked New Year’s Day – 1 January 1974. They said everyone makes New Year’s resolutions. Mothers were being shot, children were being killed, and little children could not come outside to play. My husband David Fattah wrote the Imani Pledge which was a peace pact and helped broker the peace agreement among the gangs. We had it set up United Nations-style. We had all these people sitting in a circle, and we were resolving conflicts. During his lifetime, when my husband looked back at how the peace agreement between the gangs came about, he remarked that the question of manhood changed and asked, “Would you show strength by killing somebody, or could you show strength by not killing somebody and being a man of your word?’ By the end of 1974, eighty leaders from Philadelphia’s 105 gangs had signed the Imani Pledge. The souls who signed the Imani Pledge kept their word. They have not engaged in violence in 47 years. They are now Fathers, Grandfathers and some are Great Grandfathers. Here we are 47 years later, and we are asking a new generation of young souls to usher in the new reality of peace for Philadelphia by signing the Imani Pledge. Partners In Peace are asking a new generation of young souls to honor their Fathers, Grandfathers, and Great Grandfathers by not only signing the Imani Pledge, but by showing their strength by not taking the life of another soul and keeping their word. Strength and manhood is about keeping your word and not about taking the life of another soul. The Imani Pledge can be found at https://www.houseofumoja.net/imani-pledge.html." To learn more about the intergenerational collective of community stakeholders and organizations – Partners In Peace – and its Gun Violence Ceasefire Zones and how you may help and volunteer, contact Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, President of the House of Umoja, Inc. at (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com and Mr. Tommy Joshua Caison Founder and Executive Director of Philly Peace Park at (215) 307-7102 or send an e-mail to: bringblacklife@gmail.com. For further information about Philly Peace Park which has distributed 3,000 pounds of free fresh and healthy produce to community members since 2018 and through several school partnerships provides students enrolled in Grades K through 12 with ecologically-based programs that comprise planting, harvesting, landscape design and construction, composting, pollinators, plant identification, and art, visit its website at www.philly peacepark.org. For further information about the House of Umoja, Inc. visit its website at www.houseofumoja.net.. Established in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc. is an internationally acclaimed organization recognized by former United States Presidents The Honorable James Earl Carter, Jr. and the late Honorable Ronald Reagan. for its pioneering work in the areas of gang reduction, youth programming, and community organizing which has been documented in published articles such as A Summons To Life, by Robert Woodson of the American Enterprise Institute in 1981 and The Violent Juvenile Offender by Paul DeMuro and Richard Allison of the National Council On Crime And Delinquency in 1984. UMOJA MAGAZINE ASKS THE DIASPORA’S “NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS”: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?27/9/2021 PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) – 20 September 2021 – Souls of African descent from ages 18 through 25 are the Diaspora’s “Next Generation Of Leaders”. What are their concerns? What are the most challenging aspects of their lives? What is the vision they have for their future, their community’s future, and the future of the world they will inherit when their Elders pass the baton of leadership to them? How will they create and nurture fully functional and sustainable family units, economically vibrant and self-sufficient communities, and a peaceful world? Where do we go from here?
UMOJA Magazine was founded in 1968 by Queen Mother Falaka Fattah. It is published quarterly by the House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net), an internationally acclaimed organization which has a fifty-three year successful track record in positively transforming the lives of adolescent male youths, is asking the Diaspora’s “Next Generation Of Leaders” – souls from the ages of 18 through 25 – to provide their community with a blueprint for the future. The publication has issued a “Call For Submissions” for its “Where Do We Go From Here?” Youth Edition which will be released on 1 January 2022, the last day of Kwanzaa – Imani – and the first day of the New Year. Submissions for the “Where Do We Go From Here?” Youth Edition of UMOJA Magazine should be forwarded by writers from 18 through 25 years of age on or by 30 November 2021 by e-mail to falakafattah@aol.com. A panel of judges will be convened to select the best article and the writer of the best article will be the recipient of a scholarship. In addition to writers UMOJA Magazine is searching for panelists to review incoming articles and select the best articles and sponsors to contribute to the scholarship that will be awarded to the winner of the best article which will be published in the “Where Do We Go From Here?” Youth Edition of UMOJA Magazine. For further information about the House of Umoja, Inc., call (215) 473-5893, send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com, or visit the organization’s website at www.houseofumoja.net. PRESS: DOWNLOAD PDF HERE
EVENT: RAHK THE BLOCK commUNITY FESTIVAL & CONCERT UMOJA IMPACT WEEK 2021 DATE: Saturday, September 4, 2021 TIME: 12PM - 7PM (see schedule) PURPOSE: To Nourish the Season of “Growing Peace” during The House of Umoja’s 53rd Anniversary Community Gathering feat. Bury Your Beefs and Volunteerism Recognition “The Family is the problem and the Family is the solution.” - Queen Mother Falaka Fattah Saturday, September 4, 2021 the House of Umoja closes out its 53rd Anniversary and UMOJA IMPACT WEEK with a kinship community celebration featuring crafters, VR and drone demos, community concert, open mic, Bury Your Beefs Ceremony, and Recognition of Volunteerism at the House of Umoja. Everybody calls her, “Mom.” Queen Mother Falaka Fattah the matriarch of the Fattah clan and Carroll Park community welcomes extended family to celebrate unity in practice. Craft, makers, and resource vendors such as AHARI - A Home Is A Right provide unique wares and giveaways. As always, there will be a ceremonious opening with the drums and acknowledgement of the ancestors in the Field of Dreams (Louise C. West Playground) followed by drone and VR play to the backdrop of conscious music mixes, and then featured artist HEZEKIAH performs live as he brings Family and Forgiveness to the forefront in his emcee pop-soul music set. After Hezekiah the family convenes in the Peace Garden for the Bury Your Beefs Ceremony where we record our beefs on biodegradable paper and bury them in flower beds. Then “Mom” feeds the family after acknowledging the great volunteer work of 20 souls. The family returns to the Field of Dreams for open mic and spotlight live performances featuring Kali Rah, Rio, Hobbs, and more. Artists performances funded by the Illuminate The Arts Grant. Live stream by Light-Thief Productions. SCHEDULEFIELD OF DREAMS (1417-1431 N. Frazier Street - Host & DJ Anthony Bannister-Fattah) 2P OPENING CEREMONY drumming by Hakim Starkey 2P-4P Drone & VR Play • Vendor Visits • GiveAways 4P Live Performances by JAHKEYA and HEZEKIAH featuring hit single FORGIVENESS PEACE GARDEN (5625 Master Street (Rear) - Queen Mother Falaka Fattah) 4:30P BURY YOUR BEEFS Ceremony in the Peace Garden 5P Recognition of Volunteers & Chow Time FIELD OF DREAMS (1417-1431 N. Frazier Street) 5:30P-6:30P Rahk The Block Open Mic & Concert featuring Rios, Hobbs, Kali Rah, and more ### Principles available for interview ### CONTACT: Queen Mother Falaka Fattah (215) 473-5893 falakafattah@aol.com www.houseofumoja.net/pressroom Staff Photographer: Marckwell MC McClain - High resolution photos available upon request |