HOUSE OF UMOJA, INC. ISSUES "CALL TO ACTION": 2021 NATIONAL MILLION FATHERS MARCH OBSERVANCE IN CITY OF PHILADELPHIA

P R E S S    A D V I S O RY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: 
Mr. Anthony Bannister-Fattah, Coordinator, City of Philadelphia – 2021 National Million Father March
(215) 473-5893
E-Mail:  [email protected]
 
HOUSE OF UMOJA INC. ISSUES CALL TO ACTION: 2021 NATIONAL MILLION FATHERS  MARCH
 
          PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) –  23 August 2021 --  In its organizing and leadership role for the 2021 National Million Father March for the City of Philadelphia, the House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net) is issuing a “Call To Action” for all Fathers throughout the City of Philadelphia to join Fathers in hundreds of cities throughout the United States in taking a proactive role in their child’s education.  Fathers throughout the City of Philadelphia can take a first step in positively influencing their child’s academic performance by escorting him or her to school on Tuesday, 31 August 2021, which is the first day of the 2021-2022 academic year for the Philadelphia School District.
 
           On Thursday, 26 August 2021 at 10:00 A.M., a press conference will be convened at the House Of Umoja, Inc. at 5625 West Master Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania..  Drawing upon the national theme for the 2021 National Million Father March (www.nationalmillionfathersmarch.com) of “Code Blue:  Exploring The Mental Health Of Today’s Dad”, trauma will be the focus of Philadelphia’s 2021 National Million Father March.
 
            “Philadelphia’s gun violence emergency is creating a high level of trauma that impacts the mental health of Fathers and their child  As a result, a Father’s ability to positively shape the mind and soul of his child and a child’s ability to achieve academic excellence must be looked through a trauma-informed tinted lens.  In the African American community, we are dealing with two levels of trauma – gun violence trauma and academic trauma.   On 11 February 2020, the Philadelphia School District released the results of the 2019 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment achieved by 4,990 students from all ethnicities enrolled in the third grade.  Third graders were tested on their proficiency in English and Mathematics.  Let’s keep in mind that the ethnic student population in Philadelphia is predominantly African American.   Now we find that African American third graders had the lowest proficiency test results.  According to the data released by the Philadelphia School District, 34.8% of African American third graders attained a ‘below basic’ proficiency test result in English, while 59% of African American third graders attained a ‘below basic’ proficiency test result in Mathematics.  Only 1.9% of African American third graders attained an ‘advanced’ proficiency test result in English.  The ‘advanced’ proficiency test result in Mathematics was only 3.8% for African American third graders.  What I have just described constitutes academic trauma.  Thus, the focus for Philadelphia’s 2021 National Million Fathers March, which is a ‘Call To Action’, is two-pronged.  It is advocating for the creation and delivery of trauma-informed mental health resources to Fathers and the creation and delivery of resources to children that address their traumatic academic health,” explained Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, President of the House of Umoja, Inc.
 
             Leading by example, the City of Philadelphia’s Coordinator for the 2021 National Million Father March, the House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net), on Tuesday, 31 August 2021, will join fathers in escorting their child to Overbrook High School at 5898 Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ring in the 2021-2022 academic year.  Fathers are being asked to assemble at the House of Umoja, Inc.’s office located at 5625 West Master Street In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 7:30 A.M. (E.S.T) in preparation for the march to Overbrook High School which will commence at 8:30 A.M. (E.S.T).  on Tuesday, 31 August 2021.
        
           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. 
 
          Established in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc., an internationally acclaimed organization, was selected by the Black Star Project to lead and organize the National Million Father March in Philadelphia due to its successful track record of transforming the lives of and working with over 3,000 youths.   The House of Umoja, Inc.’s successful track record moved universities and institutions that include, but are not limited to, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention and the Center for Disease Control, to seek the expertise of Queen Mother Falaka Fattah and her late husband Mr. David Fattah in the areas of gang reduction, youth programming, and community organizing.  Former United States Presidents Jimmy Carter and the late Ronald Reagan have recognized the House Of Umoja, Inc. for its pioneering work 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. 
 
             For further information about Philadelphia’s observance of the 2021 National Million Father March, contact the House of Umoja, Inc. at (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to [email protected], or visit the organization’s website at www.houseofumoja.net

For further information concerning the National Million Father March and Fathers Incorporated, visit its website at www.fathersincorporated.com or send an e-mail to:  [email protected].