*5625 West Master Street (David Fattah Way) * Philadelphia, PA 19131 * (215) 473-5893 * Website https://houseofumoja.net * E-Mail: falakafattah@aol.com
CONTACT:
Anthony Bannister-Fattah, Philadelphia Coordinator
- 2023 National Million Father March
Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, Advisor – 2023 Philadelphia
National Million Father March
House of Umoja, Inc.
(215) 473-5893
E-Mail: falakafattah@aol.com
Bilal Qayyum
President
Father’s Day Rally Committee
Co-Sponsor 2023 Philadelphia National Million Father March
(215) 667-9870
E-Mail: bilalqayyum@comcast.net
PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA --The House Of Umoja, Inc. (https://houseofumoja.net) marks its sixteenth anniversary of leading and
organizing the City of Philadelphia’s observance of the 2023 National
Million Fathers March in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a co-sponsorship
with the Father’s Rally Day Committee (https://fathersrally.com) and a joint focus on improving the English and Mathematics literacy
skills of children in Grades K through 12 who are enrolled in schools
throughout the City of Philadelphia and brokering peace in the nation’s sixth
largest metropolitan area. An internationally
acclaimed institution that has a 55-year successful track record in addressing
and reducing violence and positively transforming the trajectory of the lives
of over 3,000 adolescent males, the House
Of Umoja, Inc. (https://houseofumoja.net) became the City of
Philadelphia’s organizer and leader for the National Million Father March
commencing in 2007. For three (3) decades, the Father’s Day
Rally Committee (https://fathersrally.com) has championed
African American Fathers in Philadelphia who quietly and unceremoniously
positively shape the minds and souls of their children and simultaneously
make invaluable contributions and
selfless sacrifices that strengthen and empower the communities in which they
live and work The National Million Father March is an initiative created
by the late Mr. Philip Jackson and
headquartered in Chicago, Illinois (www.blackstarproject.org; www.fathers
incorporated.com) that encourages
all Fathers nationwide to take a proactive role in the education of their child. It is estimated that approximately 197,288 students enrolled in the School
District Of Philadelphia will return to the classroom on Tuesday, 5 September 2023 – the first
day of the 2023-2024 academic year.
On Friday, 1 September 2023 at 10:00 A.M. (E.S.T.), the
House Of Umoja, Inc. will host a press conference at 5625 West Master Street
(David Fattah Way) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to launch the City of
Philadelphia’s observance of the 2023 National Million Fathers March. Fathers, Father Figures, community
stakeholders, educators, school administrators, City and State legislators,
business community members, clergy, social services professionals and
providers, health and medical professionals and providers, members of the
electronic and print media, Fatherhood advocates and practitioners, and public
policy professionals are encouraged to attend the press conference scheduled to
commence at 10:00 A.M (E.S.T.) on Friday, 1 September 2023 at the House Of Umoja, Inc. at 5625 West Master Street (David Fattah Way) in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. The press conference will provide Fathers and Father Figures with an
opportunity to receive instructions and a registration kit in preparation of
Philadelphia’s sixteenth observance of the National Million Father March which
is scheduled to occur on Tuesday, 5 September 2023.
Fathers in neighborhoods throughout
the City of Philadelphia are being encouraged to:
· Escort
their child to school on Tuesday, 5 September 2023
· 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.
·
Commit
to read with their children of all ages, custodial and non-custodial fathers.
· 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 sign
the Imani Pledge™ (https://houseofumoja.net/imani-pledge.html).
Leading by example, the House of Umoja, Inc. (https://houseofumoja.net), the City of Philadelphia’s Coordinator for
the 2023 National Million Father March and The Father’s Day Rally
Committee (https://fathersrally.com), on Tuesday, 5 September 2023, will ring in
the 2023-2024 academic year with a symbolic march to Overbrook High
School, located at 5829 Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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 no later than 7:00 A.M. (E.S.T) ) on Tuesday, 5 September 2023 . The symbolic march will commence at 7:00 A.M. (E.S.T.) at the
House Of Umoja, Inc. at 5625 Master Street (David Fattah Way) in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania and conclude at Overbrook High School which is located at 5829
Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Cognizant of the
lackluster academic performance of children enrolled in the School District Of
Philadelphia which is evidenced by declining scores in Reading and Mathematics
Literacy Skills proficiency state-wide and national tests, the Philadelphia National
Million Father March -- under the leadership of the House Of Umoja, Inc. (https://houseofumoja.net) and
co-sponsorship of the Father’s Day Rally Committee (https://fathersrally.com) will continue to focus on improving Reading
and Mathematics literacy skills of all children attending Philadelphia’s
schools during the 2023-2024 academic year..
An alarming lackluster academic performance of Philadelphia’s school
children has been graphically explored by CBS News (see “Philadelphia Schools
Near Bottom In Academic Performance,” at https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/
news/philadelphia-schools-national-assessment-of-educational-progress-nations-report-card/) and the Pennsylvania
Capital-Star, a non-partisan, non-profit news site that focuses on state
government and state policy issues (see “Philadelphia
Student Scores On State Reading And Math Exams Down From Pre-COVID Levels”,
at https://www.penncapital-star.com/education/philadelphia-student-scores-on-state-reading-and-math-exams-down-from-pre-covid-levels/). The House Of Umoja,
Inc. (https://houseofumoja.org) in its leadership
role for the City of Philadelphia’s observance of the National Million Father
March, monitors the academic performance and Reading and Mathematics Literacy
Skills proficiency levels of children enrolled in the School District Of
Philadelphia on annual basis. In
response to the alarmingly consistent academic underperformance of
Philadelphia’s children together with a disturbingly
consistent decline in state-wide and national tests that determine the Reading
and Mathematics Literacy Skills proficiency levels of children enrolled in
the School District of Philadelphia, the House Of Umoja, Inc. (https://houseofumoja.net) is working to
identify and help address the underlying causes of the downward decline in
education for school children in the
nation’s birthplace and sixth largest metropolitan area.
“An urgent need exists to examine,
understand, and holistically address the intellectual, psychological, and
spiritual impact that the current gun violence emergency is having on our
children. The current gun violence
emergency is traumatizing everyone -- including and especially our children. How is the current gun violence emergency
affecting our children’s ability to learn?
We need to connect the dots between the traumatizing impact that the
current gun violence emergency has had and continues to have on our children
and their consistent academic underachievement and poor performance on
state-wide and national tests that measure their proficiency levels in English
and Mathematics literary skills. An
article published on the website of Education Week at https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-this-is-what-happens-to-a-students-brain-when-exposed-to-gun-violence/2022/06 that is entitled, ‘This
Is What Happens To A Student’s Brain When Exposed To Gun Violence’ comes to
mind. Among other things, the article
points out that for our children, ‘the
experience of, or excessive worry about, toxic stressors like gun violence
affects three key brain functions which students depend on
for learning.’ The article further states that ‘ . .
. the
brain’s emotional response function goes into overdrive: It shows heightened
reactions to emotional stimuli and has greater difficulty disengaging from
them, ultimately resulting in greater reactivity to threat and therefore
greater perceived stress. Because the brain’s emotional processing areas are
also critical for perspective-taking, social interactions, and for attention,
learning is impaired.’ Let’s be clear,
our children are bright, willing to learn, and quite teachable. One could say that the consistent academic
underperformance and the disturbingly consistent decline in
state-wide and national tests that determine the Reading and Mathematics
Literacy Skills proficiency levels of school children in Philadelphia is
actually a very telling verdict on the current gun violence emergency in
Philadelphia which is entering its third consecutive year. When our children do well,
our families, our neighborhoods, and our city does well. So goes the children, so goes the village,” Queen
Mother Falaka Fattah, the CEO and President of the House Of Umoja, Inc.
remarked.
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 2023 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 about the Father’s Day Rally Committee, visit its website at https://fathersrally.com; call its
office (215) 667-9870; or send an electronic mail communication to: fdrc2022@gmail.com or bilalqayyum@comcast.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.
