CONTACT:
Anthony Bannister-Fattah, Philadelphia Coordinator
- 2022 National Million Father March
Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, Advisor – 2022
Philadelphia National Million Father March
House of Umoja, Inc.
(215) 473-5893
E-Mail: falakafattah@aol.com
.jpg)
“We desire to bequeath two things to Our
Children – the first one is roots, the other one is wings”.
-Sudanese Proverb-
PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) – Fifteen years ago, in 2007, the House Of Umoja, Inc. (https://houseofumoja.net), an internationally acclaimed
institution that has a 54-year successful track record in addressing and
reducing violence and positively transforming the trajectory of the lives of
over 3,000 adolescent males, 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. It is
estimated that approximately 198,645 students enrolled in the School District
Of Philadelphia will return to the classroom on Monday, 29 August 2022 – the
first day of the 2022-2023 academic year.
On
Wednesday, 24 August 2022 at 2:00 P.M.
(E.S.T.), the House Of Umoja, Inc. will host a press conference at the Tustin
Recreation Center which is located at
5901 Columbia Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to launch the City of
Philadelphia’s observance of the 2022 National Million Fathers March. The press conference is a call to Fathers and
Father Figures throughout the City of Philadelphia to register for the
Philadelphia 2022 National Million March; receive instructions to prepare for
the observance of the Philadelphia 2022 National Million Fathers March; and pick
up their registration kits. Registration
kits include a free Million Fathers March “I Come In Peace” t-shirt for
the first 100 participants. Philadelphia
City Councilmember The Honorable Curtis Jones, Jr. will be among the slated speakers
at the press conference scheduled for Wednesday, 24 March 2022 at 2:00 P.M.
(E.S.T.) which is being hosted by the House Of Umoja, Inc. at the Tustin
Recreation Center at 5901 Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fathers in neighborhoods
throughout the City of Philadelphia are being encouraged to:
·
Escort their child to
school on Monday, 29 August 2022
·
Meet their child’s
teachers and the principal of their child’s school
·
Foster a
parent-teacher-school administrator partnership that positively enhances their
child’s learning environment, creates and supports a “school-to-work”
curriculum, disrupts the current “school-to-prison pipeline” curriculum, and
exponentially improve proficiency levels in English and Mathematics
·
Conduct “listening
sessions” with their child that provide their child with an opportunity to talk
about their daily experiences at school
– e.g., their interactions with their classmates and teachers, their favorite
subjects, their least favorite subjects, the physical condition of the school
building – e.g., leaking ceilings, dysfunctional bathrooms, lack of heating,
lack of supplies – textbooks, computers, etc.
·
Obtain a copy of their
child’s roster and the academic calendar for their child’s school, and the
school’s budget for the 2022-2023 academic year
·
Read to their child and
have their child read to them
·
Review their child’s homework assignments on a
daily basis
·
Review their child’s
English and Mathematics literacy test scores
·
Move their child to embrace
nonviolence and peace by encouraging their children to sign the Imani Pledge™ (https://houseofumoja.net/imani-pledge.html).
Leading by example, the House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net), the City of Philadelphia’s Coordinator for the 2022 National
Million Father March, on Monday, 29 August 2022 to ring in the 2022-2023
academic year will lead Fathers in escorting their child(ren) to school. Fathers
are being asked to assemble at the House of Umoja, Inc.’s office located at
5625 West Master Street (David Fattah Way) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at
7:00 A.M. (E.S.T) ) in preparation for
the march to Overbrook High School which is located at 5898 Lancaster Avenue in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and convening at the Tustin Recreation Center at
5901 Columbia Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“As we prepare to usher in the 2022-2023 academic year with the National
Million Father March in the City of Philadelphia, a Sudanese proverb comes to
mind that epitomizes what Fathers want for their child and what every village wants for its children
-- : ‘We desire to bequeath two things to Our Children – the first one is
roots, the other one is wings’. Roots is
about being grounded – intellectually, spiritually, and historically. Wings is about exceeding rising
expectations, becoming one’s ‘best self’, and moving yourself, your family, and
your village forward. When Our Children
do well, the village does well.
Education critically impacts our ability to ‘bequeath’ Our Children with ‘roots and wings and the ability of the
village to do well. We can begin to
bequeath Our Children with roots and wings, by focusing on their English and
Mathematics literacy skills which will
be the focus of the 2022 Philadelphia National Million Father March. Recently, the House Of Umoja, Inc. performed
cursory research on the aggregate English and Mathematics Literacy skills level
of students enrolled in the Philadelphia School District for the 2020-2021
academic year. We learned that, as a
whole, Our Children are not doing well academically. As an example, students at Overbrook High
School had a Mathematics Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate of 0.0%, while the
statewide average Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for Mathematics was 37.3%. The
regular student attendance rate at Overbrook High School was 40%, while the
statewide average attendance rate for students was 85.8% Third grade students at the Add B Anderson
School had an English Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate of 9.3%, while the
statewide English Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate was 55.0%. The Mathematics
Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for third grade students at the Add B.
Anderson School was 1.4%, and the statewide average Mathematics
Advanced/Proficient Literacy Rate for third grade students was 37%. Students at the William Cullen Bryant School
in Grades K through 8 had an English Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate of 18.5%,
while the statewide average English Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for
students in Grades K through 8 was 57.3%.
The Mathematics Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for students in Grades
K through 8 at William Cullen Bryant was 0.0%, while the statewide Mathematics
Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for students in Grades K through 8 was 57.3%.
Clearly, Our Children are not doing well and
clearly, our village is not doing well.
The observance in Philadelphia of the 2022 National Million Father March
gives us an opportunity to address and resolve this unacceptable academic
crisis,” remarked Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, the
President and Chief Executive Officer of the House Of Umoja, Inc.
Established in 1968, the House of
Umoja, Inc.’s successful track record of transforming
the lives of and working with over 3,000 youths has 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 The Honorable James Earl Carter and the late Honorable Ronald Wilson
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 2022 National Million Father March, contact the House of
Umoja, Inc. at (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to falakafattah@aol.com, or visit the
organization’s website at https://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:
info@fathersincorporated.com.
.jpg)
