HOUSE OF UMOJA, INC. MARKS 17TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZING ROLE FOR PHILADELPHIA’S OBSERVANCE OF NATIONAL MILLION FATHER MARCH

PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) – 21 August 2024 --  For the 17th consecutive year, the City Of Philadelphia will ring in the academic year for school children throughout the School District of Philadelphia, which commences on Monday, 26 August 2024, with the observance of the National Million Father March which the House Of Umoja, Inc. (https://houseofumoja.net) is leading and organizing.  
        On Monday, 26 August 2024 --  the first day of the 2024-2025 academic year for the School District Of Philadelphia, the House Of Umoja, Inc. will lead by example with a march from the institution’s office at 5625 West Master Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Overbrook High School which is located at 5898 Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Fathers and Father Figures are asked to arrive at the House Of Umoja, Inc.’s office at 5625 West Master Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 7:00 A.M. on Monday, 26 August 2024.  Participants will also carpool to support those participants who are elderly or have health issues which may make it difficult for them to walk to Overbrook High School.  The cars will form a motorcade that will be a component of the march from the House Of Umoja, Inc. to Overbrook High School on Monday, 26 August 2024.  The 2024 National Million Father March in Philadelphia is supported in part by the Philadelphia Activities Fund (https://phlactivitiesfund.org);  the Father’s Day Rally Committee (https://fathersrally.com);  and City Of Philadelphia Councilmember The Honorable Curtis Jones, Jr.
              Established in 1968,  the House Of Umoja, Inc., an internationally acclaimed institution that has a successful track record in addressing and reducing violence and positively transforming the trajectory of the lives of over 3,000 male adolescents in Philadelphia that spans 56 years, is encouraging all Fathers throughout the City of Philadelphia to participate in the 2024 National Million Father March by taking a proactive role in the education of their child by, among other things:

• Escorting their child to school on Monday, 26 August 2024 – the first day of the 2024-2025 academic year for the School District of Philadelphia
• Meeting their child’s teachers and the principal of their child’s school
• Obtaining a copy of their child’s roster and a copy of the academic calendar of their child’s school
• Checking their child’s homework every day
• Reviewing their child’s test scores in English Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, etc.
• Enhancing their child’s literacy skills level by reading to their child and having their child read to them​

  “Improving exponentially the literacy skills of school age children throughout the School District of Philadelphia is a primary focus of the 2024 National Million Fathers March. This year the Philadelphia theme is #ReadingIsResistance.  Each year, through the administration of tests in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science statewide, the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment measures the skill level of school children in English Language Arts – reading and writing – and mathematics and science.  I had an opportunity to review the 2022-2023 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test result for English Language Arts – reading and writing.  Only 34% of all of the school children enrolled in Grades 3 through 8 throughout the entire School District Of Philadelphia are proficient in English Language Arts – reading and writing.  Low reading levels of 4th grade students are one of the determinants of the school to prison pipeline. Our READING Is RESISTANCE Initiative, which was launched earlier this year will continue to address the abysmal lack of proficiency in literacy skills of students enrolled in the Philadelphia School District.   Through Reading Is Resistance, we will also continue to push back against the banning of African American literature and history,” remarked Queen Mother Falaka Fattah. 
 
        The National Million Father March is an initiative created by the late Mr. Philip Jackson which was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois under the auspices of the Black Star Project (www.blackstarproject.com).  For further information about the National Million Father March which is now orchestrated by Fathers Incorporated, visit the website of Fathers Incorporated at www.fathersincorporated.com or send an electronic mail communication to:  [email protected].
-https://www.houseofumoja.net/mfm
 
        For further information about the House Of Umoja, Inc., visit the institution’s website at https://www.houseofumoja.net; call (215) 473-5893; or send an electronic mail communication to:  [email protected].

CONTACT: 
 
Mr. Anthony Bannister-Fattah
Coordinator, 2024 Philadelphia Million Fathers March
House Of Umoja, Inc.
(215) 473-5893
E-Mail:  [email protected]
 
Queen Mother Falaka Fattah
President and Chief Executive Officer
House Of Umoja, Inc.
Advisor, 2024 National Million Father March
(215) 473-5893
E-Mail:  [email protected]