Umoja Community Education Foundation, Inc.

We are thrilled to welcome our Distinguished Panel Global Journeys Across the Diaspora with Dr.J West, Jules Lyons Thomas, Angelica Grover, Jeremiah Raekwon Riggins, Alia Grover, Ashley Chatman-Banks, Balinda Kibalama, Bonnie Louisa Ball Mendoza for this year's Umoja XX Conference! Umoja International Student Fellowship recipients will be sharing their impactful study-abroad experiences across the African diaspora and will reflect on how these international experiences enhanced their personal growth, academic success, and career readiness. Attendees will gain insight into the challenges, rewards, and long-term benefits of studying abroad for Umoja students. Join our cause to inspire academic excellence, foster unity, and celebrate cultural pride as we break down barriers to success! It's not too late to register for our Umoja XX Conference: https://lnkd.in/gQq3Z88F #umojacommunity #umojamarketplace #umojaxxconference #communityempowerment #africanamericanfoundation #studentsuccess #africancentered #africanamerican #culturaleducation

We are thrilled to welcome our Distinguished Panel Power and Presence: Black Women in Educational Leadership with Dr. Darla Cooper, Dr. Ashati Hands, Pamela Haynes, Dr. Devin Brown, and Dr. Helen Young for this year’s Umoja XX Conference! In this panel, we will explore the benefits of Black Women in Educational Leadership, as their experiences and insights can enrich decision-making processes and curriculum development, fostering a more inclusive learning environment, and serving as powerful role models. The hope is that seeing inspiring Black Women in Educational Leadership inspires other individuals of Black or African American descent to rise and pursue their own educational and career aspirations. 🙌🔥 Join our movement to uplift academic achievement, cultivate community, and celebrate cultural pride as we dismantle barriers to success! 🙏 It’s not too late to register for our Umoja XX Conference: https://lnkd.in/gQq3Z88F #umojacommunity #umojamarketplace #umojaxxconference #communityempowerment #africanamericanfoundation #studentsuccess #africancentered #africanamerican #culturaleducation

We are thrilled to welcome our Distinguished Panel Power in UNITY: Leading for Black Student Success with Dr. Eric Mayes, Dr. Angelia Barfield, Dr. Erin Vines, an Dr. Arynn Auzout Settle for this year’s Umoja XX Conference! In this panel, we will be exploring how coming together in unity is necessary to encourage academic excellence and professional success, respect, and cultural pride as we simultaneously work to eradicate systematic, racial, and political barriers within society. Join our cause to inspire academic excellence, foster unity, and celebrate cultural pride as we overcome obstacles to success! It’s not too late to register for our Umoja XX Conference: https://lnkd.in/gQq3Z88F #umojacommunity #umojamarketplace #umojaxxconference #communityempowerment #africanamericanfoundation #studentsuccess #africancentered #africanamerican #culturaleducation

We are thrilled to welcome Marla Hunter Hooper as a Distinguished Guest Speaker for this year’s Umoja XX Conference! Marla Hunter Hooper is the founder and president of Live.Love.Teach!, LLC, and Live. Love. Swim!, LLC, both focused on fostering diversity in education and aquatics, and she has collaborated with various global organizations to promote inclusivity. As a professor at American University, she teaches culturally relevant pedagogy in STEM subjects and is an expert on providing training in DEIJB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging). Join our movement to uplift academic achievement, cultivate community, and celebrate cultural pride as we dismantle barriers to success! It’s not too late to register for our Umoja XX Conference: https://lnkd.in/gQq3Z88F #umojacommunity #umojamarketplace #umojaxxconference #communityempowerment #africanamericanfoundation #studentsuccess #africancentered #africanamerican #culturaleducation

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. M. Keith Claybrook, Jr. as a Distinguished Guest Speaker for this year’s Umoja XX Conference! Keith Claybrook, Jr., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Africana Studies at CSU, Long Beach, where he teaches history and social sciences while actively participating in the university’s equity initiatives and serving as a former VP of the Black Faculty and Staff Association. He has published works such as “Building the Basics: A Handbook for Pursuing Academic Excellence in Africana Studies” and “Putting Some Soul into Critical Thinking: Toward an African Centered Approach to Critical Thinking.” Join our cause to inspire academic excellence, foster unity, and celebrate cultural pride as we break down barriers to success! It’s not too late to register for our Umoja XX Conference: https://lnkd.in/gQq3Z88F #umojacommunity #umojamarketplace #umojaxxconference #communityempowerment #africanamericanfoundation #studentsuccess #africancentered #africanamerican #culturaleducation

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Kmt Shockley as our Distinguished Guest Speaker for Umoja's 20th annual Conference! Dr. Kmt Shockley is a professor at the University of Houston College of Education and the Executive Director of K.M.T. Productions, specializing in documentary films and educational content, with a focus on African Centered Education. An accomplished author of numerous articles and several books, including "Soul Centered Teaching" (2023) and "Campus Uprisings" (2020), he has received four research awards throughout his career for his contributions to the education of Black children. Journey with us as we strive to inspire academic excellence, foster unity, and celebrate cultural pride while breaking down barriers to success! It's not too late to register for our Umoja XX Conference: https://lnkd.in/gQq3Z88F #umojacommunity #umojamarketplace #umojaxxconference #communityempowerment #africanamericanfoundation #studentsuccess #africancentered #africanamerican #culturaleducation

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Shawn Utsey as a Distinguished Guest Speaker for this year’s Umoja XX Conference! Dr. Shawn Utsey's extensive research focuses on the African American experience, exploring the effects of race-related stress on physical, psychological, and social well-being, as well as the trauma experienced by victims of racial violence. Join our cause to inspire academic excellence, foster unity, and celebrate cultural pride as we break down barriers to success! It's not too late to register for our Umoja XX Conference: https://lnkd.in/gQq3Z88F #umojacommunity #umojamarketplace #umojaxxconference #communityempowerment #africanamericanfoundation #studentsuccess #africancentered #africanamerican #culturaleducation

Umoja Community Education Foundation, Inc. is excited to share that we have just launched our Umoja Marketplace and that registration is still open for our upcoming 20th Annual Umoja Conference - October 31st to November 2nd in Los Angeles! We can't wait to see you all at the conference and rocking our gear from the Umoja Marketplace! Vist the Umoja Marketplace here : umojacommunitystore.com Register for the Conference here: https://lnkd.in/gQq3Z88F For media inquires, please contact Carmen Perkins @ cperkins@umojacommmunity.org. For information about the Umoja Marketplace, please contact Ehsam Kazimi @ ekazimi@umojacommunity.org #umojacommunity #umojamarketplace #umojaxxconference #communityempowerment #africanamericanfoundation #studentsuccess #africancentered #africanamerican #culturaleducation

💥 Conference Keynote Announcement 💥 Chike Akua, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Clark Atlanta University and one of the most sought-after speakers at urban schools, colleges, universities and educational conferences.  As a former underperforming student who struggled in high school, Dr. Akua understands the process of personal and cultural transformation to inspire today’s students.   Dr. Akua’s book, Honoring Our Ancestral Obligations: 7 Steps to Black Student Success is used in a number of Umoja programs, Upward Bound programs, colleges and universities nationally.  Dr. Akua is the author of 12 books in total, producer of a series of historical videos online and 70 Black History and African Proverb Posters along with impactful online curricula for students, parents, teachers and leaders. Dr. Akua earned a doctorate in educational policy studies at Georgia State University, a Master of Arts degree in education with a concentration in school counseling from Clark Atlanta University and is a graduate of Hampton University where he earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in English Education. Dr. Akua has been featured in Ebony magazine and more recently in Black Enterprise magazine and The Washington Post for his work as an innovative educational leader. He has helped lead over 1000 students and parents on trips throughout Egypt, Ghana, Senegal and Morocco through the African Genesis Institute.  Dr. Akua is the father of two sons and resides just outside of Atlanta, GA in the US with his wife of thirty years. 💫 We are thrilled to have Dr. Chike Akua join us at the 2024 Umoja XX Conference! 💫 ⬇️ Time is running out! Click the link below to register now!!! ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gh28P6gz

💥 Conference Speaker Announcement 💥 John Jennings is a professor, author, graphic novelist, curator, Harvard Fellow, New York Times Bestseller, 2018 Eisner Winner, and all-around champion of Black culture. As Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside (UCR), Jennings examines the visual culture of race in various media forms including film, illustrated fiction, and comics and graphic novels. He is also the director of Abrams ComicArts imprint Megascope, which publishes graphic novels focused on the experiences of people of color. His research interests include the visual culture of Hip Hop, Afrofuturism and politics, Visual Literacy, Horror, and the EthnoGothic, and Speculative Design and its applications to visual rhetoric. Jennings is co-editor of the 2016 Eisner Award-winning collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art (Rutgers) and co-founder/organizer of The Schomburg Center’s Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem. He is co-founder and organizer of the MLK NorCal’s Black Comix Arts Festival in San Francisco and also SOL-CON: The Brown and Black Comix Expo at the Ohio State University. 💫 We are excited to be able to bring John Jennings and his amazing work to the 2024 Umoja XX Conference! 💫 ⬇️ You won't want to miss this; register now!!! ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gh28P6gz