5625 W. Master Street
Philadelphia, PA 19139
(215) 473-5893
Facsimile: (215) 879-5340
Website: www.houseofumoja.net
E-Mail: falakafattah@aol.com
CONTACT:
Queen Mother Falaka Fattah
House of Umoja, Inc.
(215) 473-5893
E-Mail: falakafattah@aol.com
PHILADELPHIA 2020 NATIONAL MILLION FATHER
MARCH:
EMBRACING OUR CHILDREN THROUGH EDUCATION
“The Child who is not embraced by the Village, will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
– African Proverb –
COVID-19 has created a “new normal” for every aspect of our lives and has made the village’s ability to embrace its children, a challenging proposition. Educating our children – the “Next Generation of Leaders” -- is one of the ways the village embraces them. Embracing our children through education helps to sustain our village – the City of Philadelphia. In its leadership and organizing role as the City of Philadelphia’s Coordinator for the 2020 National Million Father March (http://www.millionfathers march.com/; www.blacktarproject.org), the House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja net), plans to help usher in the 2020-2021 academic year for students enrolled in K-12 in the School District of Philadelphia (http://www.philasd.org) with a virtual Million Fathers March. The virtual Million Father March will be conducted on Zoom on Wednesday, 2 September 2020 which is the first day of the 2020-2021 academic year in the City of Philadelphia. Fatherhood Advocates, Interfaith Community leaders, school administrators, educators, legislators, social services professionals and providers, health care professionals and providers, members of the electronic and print media, Prison Reform, Social Justice, and Criminal Justice Reform Advocates, community activists, parents, block captains, and concerned community members are invited to participate in the virtual observance of the 2020 Million Father March in the City of Philadelphia on Wednesday, 2 September 2020.
Cognizant of the fact that
NonCustodial Fathers, Military Fathers Incarcerated Fathers, and Homeless
Fathers are not always physically present in their child’s life – a set of
circumstances that can cause children to feel that they are not being embraced
by the village and lead them to “burn down the village” – the House of Umoja,
Inc, will reconvene its Fathers Literacy Project. Launched in February 2020, the House of Umoja
Inc’s Fathers Literacy Project focuses on children enrolled in the third and
fourth grades and engages them and their Fathers – Men who are not consistently
physically present in their lives --- NonCustodial Fathers, Military Fathers,
Homeless Fathers, and Incarcerated Fathers – in reading a book together. The Fathers Literacy Project is designed to
increase the literacy skills of children and help Fathers and children who do
not spend time together on a regular basis bond with one another. Reading a book together is a great way for
Fathers and children to bond with one another.
Established in 1968 by Queen Mother Falaka the House of Umoja,
Inc., the House of Umoja, Inc. has a successful track record of positively
transforming the lives of over 3,000 adolescent males. . In 1974, the House of Umoja Inc. helped to
end years of bloody and deadly gang warfare that played out in school yards and
in the streets of Philadelphia by moving gang leaders to sign a peace
treaty. The peace treaty took the form
of the Imani Peace Pact™ which was penned by the late Mr. David Fattah.. The Imani Peace Pledge™ was utilized in 2006
to help end rising incidences of violence and reduce the number of persistently
dangerous schools in Philadelphia and is based on the Imani Peace Pact™ Universities and
institutions that include, but are not limited to, the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Prevention and the Center for Disease Control, have sought 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 Jimmy Carter and the late Honorable 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.
House of Umoja, Inc., since 2007, has
served as the City of Philadelphia’s organizer and leader for the National
Million Father March which encourages Fathers to take a proactive role in the
lives of their child by escorting their child to school on the first day of
each academic year, meeting their child’s principal and teachers, obtaining of
their child’s academic roster and the school’s academic calendar, checking
homework and encouraging their child to excel academically. Under the House of Umoja, Inc.’s leadership
which began in 2007, Fathers in the City of Philadelphia join Fathers in over
600 American cities in collaborating with school administrators and educators
to help their child succeed.
For further information
about the House Of Umoja, Inc. and Philadelphia’s participation in the 2020
National Million Father March, call (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com.
For further information
about the National Million Father March visit the National Million Father March
websites at http://www.millionfathers
march.com and www.blacktarproject.org.
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