Akinyele Umoja (born 1954) is an American
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
and author who specializes in
African-American studies
Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...
. As an
activist
Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...
, he is a founding member of the New Afrikan People's Organization and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.
[Professor Akinyele K. Umoja](_blank)
''gsu.edu'' In April 2013,
New York University Press
New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 ...
published Umoja's book ''
We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement''. Currently, he is a Professor and Department Chair of the Department of African-American Studies at
Georgia State University
Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...
(GSU).
Early life and education
Akinyele Omowale Umoja was born in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, in 1954, and spent much of his childhood in
Compton, California
Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...
.
He graduated from high school in 1972.
Umoja received his
BA in
Afro-American studies from
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...
, in June 1986.
He earned his
M.A. in August 1990 at the Institute of Liberal Arts at
Emory University
Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
. While a
Ph.D. candidate at Emory under
Robin Kelley, his dissertation topic was "Eye for an Eye: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement".
Career
Early activism in California
Umoja has worked with the
New Afrikan Independence Movement.
After beginning to attend UCLA in 1972, as a freshman, he began to write for the student newspaper ''NOMMO'' and also joined the Muhammad Ahmad (Max Stanford) Defense Committee (MADC).
When Ahmad was held on conspiracy charges, Umoja organized petitions and fundraisers to secure Ahmad's release. He dropped out of UCLA, also joining the
African People's Party and the
House of Umoja. Two years later,
he was a founding member of the
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the New Afrikan People's Organization.
Umoja has since represented both organizations nationally and in international forums in the Caribbean,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, and Europe.
From 1972 until 1982, Umoja was on the staff of ''Soulbook: The Revolutionary Journal of the Black World'', founded by Mamadou Lumumba.
He was also very active in activism in Los Angeles during this time, where he organized security and assistance for several of
Malcolm X
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...
’s associates. He was also active with the
Coalition Against Police Abuse (CAPA) in Los Angeles.
In 1979, Umoja was in a committee of the National Black Human Rights Coalition, which produced a document “detailing the Black liberation movement’s demand for self-determination, reparations and a call to release political prisoners.” It was presented to the
Secretary General of the United Nations
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
at that time, who was
Salim Salim of
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
.
Career in education
Umoja has varied experiences as an educator. He has taught in secondary schools, alternative schools, and colleges and universities, as well as developed Afrikan-centered curriculum for public schools and community-education programs. In the late 1980s, he taught social studies in Atlanta's public schools, where he also taught
African-American history
African-American history started with the forced transportation of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Africans to North America in the 16th and 17th centuries. The European colonization of the Americas, and the resulting Atlantic slave trade, ...
from 1986 until 1991 at the
Atlanta Metropolitan College.
In the early 1990s, he began teaching in the history department of
Clark Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...
, where he lectured until 1996.
He then became a professor at the Department of African American Studies at
Georgia State University
Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...
(GSU),
and is also department chair.
Writing and recent appearances
Umoja's writing has been featured in scholarly publications as ''The
Journal of Black Studies'', ''
New Political Science'', ''The International Journal of Africana Studies'', ''
Black Scholar'', ''
Radical History Review'' and ''Socialism and Democracy''. Umoja was one of the contributors to ''Blackwell Companion on African American History'', ''The Black Panther Party Reconsidered'', ''
Liberation, Imagination, and the Black Panther Party'', and ''Malcolm X: A Historical Reader''.
In April 2013,
New York University Press
New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 ...
published Umoja's first single-authored book, which was titled ''
We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement''. A review in ''
The Clarion-Ledger'' in 2015 described the book as following "confrontations in communities across the state through the end of the 1970s, demonstrating how black Mississippians were ultimately able to overcome intimidation by mainstream society, defeat legal segregation, and claim a measure of political control of their state." He was honored for the book in 2014 in Oakland.
Umoja has been a contributor to commercial and popular documentaries on black history. Umoja was a featured commentator on the ''
American Gangster'' episode "Dr. Mutulu Shakur", which aired on November 8, 2008. He appeared in ''Bastards of the Party'' (2006) and Freedom Archives’ ''Cointelpro 101'' (2010).
In recent years, he supported movements in
Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
and
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
, and, in August 2010, he led a Black August delegation of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement to Haiti to investigate conditions after a recent earthquake.
In 2013, he lectured in Mississippi on the 1965 boycott by black citizens. In 2014, he offered tribute to his late friend,
Chokwe Lumumba, at the mayor's funeral in Jackson, Mississippi.
Awards and recognition
He earned the Patricia Harris Fellowship from 1990 until 1993, and, in 1994, he was named in ''Who’s Who in America’s Teachers.''
In 1995, he was an honorary member of the
National Golden Key Honor Society.
Publications
*''
We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement''
Film appearances
*2008: ''
American Gangster'' episode "Dr. Mutulu Shakur" — featured commentator
*2006: ''Bastards of the Party'', directed by Cle "Bone" Sloan
*2010: ''Cointelpro 101'' by Freedom Archives
See also
*
List of Georgia State University people
References
External links
Akumoja.com (Official website) ''gsu.edu''
''Muhammad Speaks'' Interviews Dr. Akinyele Umoja, Part 1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umoja, Akinyele
1954 births
Living people
Georgia State University faculty
Black studies scholars
Historians of the civil rights movement