Uhuru (Freedom) Movement founder and leader Chairman Omali Yeshitela has been fighting for human rights, health, and economic development by and for the black community for over 50 years. He leads a movement with over 60 black community-led programs and institutions, including the popular Uhuru Furniture store serving this community for over 28 years and the One Africa! One Nation! Marketplaces in Philadelphia. Chairman Yeshitela will speak in Philly Sept 17-19 as part of a US tour.
On Saturday, Sept 17th, Chairman Yeshitela will be the keynote speaker at the 7th Annual One Africa! One Nation! Uhuru Book Fair and Marketplace in beautiful Clark Park at 43rd and Chester in West Philly. This all-day festival features African authors, live music, spoken word, 100 vendors, free educational resources for the community, and children’s activities.
On Monday, Sept. 19th at 6:30 pm, Chairman Yeshitela will be interviewed live at Uhuru Furniture. Yeshitela will speak about his decades of work for the right of African people to build economic and political self-determination, the Black Power Blueprint programs which have transformed a devastated black community in North St. Louis, and the recent attacks by the FBI on homes and offices of the Uhuru Movement.
Why did the FBI attack the Uhuru Movement’s nonprofit African People’s Education and Defense Fund (APEDF) programs for health, education, and social justice?
At 5:00 am on Friday, July 29th, in a nationally-coordinated action, the FBI and local police simultaneously raided 7-offices and homes of Uhuru Movement leaders, the Uhuru Solidarity Center in St. Louis, MO, and the Uhuru House in St. Petersburg, FL.
The FBI, heavily armed with military battering rams, automatic weapons, flash bang grenades, drones, and dogs, smashed through doors at all locations. They handcuffed Uhuru Movement leaders and detained them for hours, yet no one was arrested or charged with a crime.
This is an attack on the right of African people to organize for self-determination.
APEDF has uplifted the impoverished black community of North St. Louis, renovating multiple properties including the Uhuru House community center, a community garden and green space, an outdoor event venue, uplifting murals, the weekly One Africa Farmers Market, and a state of the art basketball court!
APEDF trained 14 African women to become certified doulas to ensure the safe delivery of babies and address the disparities in infant and maternal mortality in the black community.
APEDF renovated housing for the African Independence Workforce Program, a culinary arts training project for men and women coming out of the prison system.
People from all walks of life are outraged at this attack, and support is pouring in!
There has been a massive international outcry in defense of the Uhuru Movement and the African community’s right to organize for economic and political self-determination without government interference. There have been demonstrations, press conferences, meetings, and media interviews comparing this attack
