5625
West Master Street
Philadelphia
PA 19131
(215) 473-5893
Facsimile: (215) 879-5340
Website: www.houseofumoja.net
E-Mail:
falakafattah@aol.com
P R E S
S R E L E A S E
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Queen Mother Falaka Fattah
House of Umoja, Inc.
(215) 473-5893
E-Mail: falakafattah@aol.com
CELEBRATION OF LIFE AND
LEGACY OF HOUSE OF UMOJA, INC. PATRIARCH MR. DAVID FATTAH, SR. SET FOR
THURSDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2018 AND
FRIDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2018
PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) – 6 December 2018 – The House of
Umoja, Inc., (www.houseofumoja.net) has
disclosed plans for the celebration of and reflection on the life and legacy of
its Patriarch, Mr. David Fattah, Sr.
Key stakeholders, staff members of the House of Umoja, Inc., and the
general public will gather with family members of the late Mr. Fattah at a
viewing on Thursday, 13 December 2018 from 4:00 P.M. (E.D.T.) through 7:00 P.M.
(E.D.T.) at the Meachem Funeral Home, 5526 West Thompson Street in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A funeral service for the House of Umoja,
Inc. Patriarch will be held on Friday, 14
December 2018 at Vine Memorial
Baptist Church, 5600 West Girard Avenue
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania commencing at 11:00 A.M. (E.D.T.). An additional viewing for Mr. Fattah at Vine
Memorial Baptist Church is scheduled from 9:00 A.M. (E.D.T.) through 11:00 A.M.
(E.D.T.) and will precede the funeral service.
A
Philadelphia native and co-founder of the House of Umoja, Inc., Mr. Fattah earned two Master Degrees in Education, a
Secondary Principal's Certificate and Special Education Certificate, Teaching
Certificate for Elementary Education, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Business Administration from Temple University which included including 1.5
years in Corporate Law.. He received a
Master’s Degree in Education and Administration from Cheyney State University
and was a 2018 Ph.D. candidate at North Central University. In his role as the Patriarch of the House of
Umoja, Inc. and its Director of Community Outreach for 50 years, Mr. Fattah
worked under contract with the Philadelphia School Distric’s Office of Climate
and Safety and served as Team Leader for the House of Umoja, Inc’s Safety
Support twenty-member team. He developed programs and provided crisis
intervention along with strategic activities to improve and maintain the
appropriate school climate in fifteen schools. Fattah also facilitated the
education and nurturing of over approximately 3,000 adolescent males who
resided at the House of Umoja, Inc. --- moving them from high-risk behavior to
productive citizenship. Fattah interacted with a diverse group of personalities
which ranged from Ms. Oprah Winfrey that culminated in an appearance on her
1985 original non-syndicated television show; the late Pennsylvania Senator The
Honorable John Heinz; the late Mr. Milton Stover Eisenhower who served as President of Penn
State University, Kansas State University, and John Hopkins University and the younger brother of the
late United States Army General and 34th President of the United
States The Honorable Dwight D. Eisenhower; Sister Isolina Ferré Aguayo from
Puerto Rico, a recipient of the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom;
and the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King, widow of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and
American Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mrs. King served as the Honorary Chair for
the House of Umoja, Inc.’s Youth Employment Program. A retired educator, Mr. Fattah held various
teaching positions within the School District of Philadelphia which included,
but were not limited to, aiding special education; serving as a Coordinator for
Saturday Community School for a two-year period; and Building Representative
for four years with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers(“PFT”). His expertise also extended to the world of
publishing – despite a very developing schedule, he also produced a newspaper.
In 2007, the House of Umoja, Inc. was selected to organize and lead the
National Million Father March by its creator, Mr. Phillip Jackson, Founder and
Executive Director of the Black Star Project (www.blackstarproject.org)
headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Serving as the City of Philadelphia’s Coordinator for the National
Million Father March under the umbrella of the House of Umoja, Inc., Mr. Fattah
moved Fathers in Philadelphia to join Fathers in at least 600 cities throughout
the United States in escorting their child on the first day of each academic
year; meeting their child’s teachers and the principal of their child’s school;
obtaining a copy of their child’s roster and the academic calendar for their
child’s school; and playing a proactive role in their child’s education by
checking homework, encouraging their child to improve his or her literacy
skills, and meeting and communicating with their child’s teachers throughout
the academic year. Mr. Fattah is the
author of the Imani Peace Pact which leaders of Philadelphia gangs signed on 1
January 1974 and brought to an end years of deadly gang violence that played
out on Philadelphia’s streets and in its schoolyards. The body of written work generated by Mr.
Fattah which serves as one of the components of his legacy includes a study
entitled, “Social Unrest Among Black
Youth”. Additionally, he is a
Contributing Author to African American
Perspectives on Crime Causation, Criminal Justice Administration and Crime Prevention,
a book published in 1994 (www.amazon.com).
Established
in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc., is an internationally acclaimed organization
which has designed and implemented Global Models for eradicating violence,
fostering community development, creating economic sustainability, and
addressing many of the key challenges which prevent boys and adolescent males
from reaching their full potential and maturing into productive and successful
adults. 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.
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