Omowale Afrika, husband to LaToya, and father to Naima and Khairi, was born and raised in North Philadelphia. He attended William Penn High School, and was a graduate of the class of 2001. Shortly after graduating, he enrolled in the Philadelphia Diversity Apprenticeship Program to pursue a career in carpentry. Although the building trades did not provide the opportunity promised by the program, Omowale eventually began to volunteer his time with Men United for a Better Philadelphia, as a community organizer, and advocate against gun violence. His work with Men United led to an opportunity to partner with the School District of Philadelphia during the 2005-2006 school year, and subsequent employment with the City of Philadelphia’s – Adolescence Violence Reduction Program.
Omowale would go on to enroll in Northampton Community College in the Summer of 2008, and after obtaining an Associates of Arts in Business Administration, he transferred to Lehigh University, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Business & Economics. Although professionally trained as a CPA, his education has always come from the wealth of walking libraries within the Black community. It is the latter type of experiential learning, that led him to service within the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), where he served as the Division President at the International Head Quarters of the association.
In addition to his work as a community organizer, Omowale is also an essayist, and is currently penning his first book in an effort to raise the political consciousness of his generation. In this regard, Omowale considers his work to be an extension of the tradition started by Martin Robinson Delaney, but can also be found in the writings of Marcus Garvey, Harold Cruse, and other nationalist scholars whose production of educational content was largely outside of the academy.
Mr. Afrika was live on our show talking about his article White America’s Dirty Secret: The Fear of Black Manhood and Why We Lynch ‘Bad Niggers’.
During our conversation, Mr. Afrika talked about:
– Some of his background including one of the poorest zip code in Philadelphia – The gift that his father gave him – The background behind the article and his love of Black history – How slavery removed the identity of Black men – Black men and emasculation – “The Black men is a fully depreciated asset.” – What is Black manhood – White supremacy … can Black win this battle on their own? – What does being a Black man today mean? – What does the Black man need to work on – Why are Black people spiritually dead
You can find more about Ms. Afrika via:
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God bless, peace, be well and keep the faith,
Dr. Vibe