John,

We need all hands on deck to keep the oldest Black community school in the US open.

Ujamaa School is a small but mighty independent, non-profit Black community school in the Shaw/Howard University neighborhood of Washington, DC, educating children from age two through high school and boasting a 100% college acceptance rate. This school develops and prepares Black children to not only excel academically but also instills positive self-image in them and has been doing so consistently since 1968. But this year, due to the pandemic, Ujamaa has been struggling to keep its doors open.

Like too many other Black institutions that did not receive economic relief through the federal stimulus packages released earlier this year, Ujamaa has been forced to downsize its student capacity and, in turn, has lost out on necessary funding, all while operating expenses continue to accrue. Ujamaa School does not accept any money from corporations or governments in order to protect the integrity of its mission. It is completely funded by parents, teachers, alumni, and everyday people, like you and I, who love and support Black children. That’s why we need your help to keep the doors of this school open.

John, will you chip in to support our continuing work prioritizing Black children and culturally competent education?

Our goal is to raise $50,000 for Ujamaa School. Right now the school needs:

$500 for monthly operating expenses such as electricity, gas, and water bills
A newly required insurance coverage that costs $15,000
To pay the teachers whose livelihoods are tied to the school’s operation
Renovations for the upkeep of the school building estimated at $200,000

^{Yes, COUNT ME IN!}
Black children are overrepresented in underperforming schools across the nation, but we know that our children are fully capable of achieving success and will thrive when in healthy school environments. The concept of Ujamaa School evolved out of a critical need to undo the miseducation of Black children in public schools by replacing it with a program that placed specific emphasis on the cultural aspects of education and by actively involving parents in the school’s activities. At Ujamaa School, children as young as two years old are taught how to read, write, add, and subtract. By the time students reach the Kalfani class--9th grade in public school terms--they are in Panafrican critical thinking classes and present a seven-page term paper in front of their class every month. Ujamaa students master the SAT and go on to be outstanding college students, with an average GPA of 3.5. Keeping Ujamaa School open will ensure that there are more high-achieving Black children in an academic environment that has demonstrated its success over and over again.

Ujamaa School is Black Excellence! We must fight for the continuance of this legacy! Help power us monthly.

Founded by an organizer of the Freedom Rides and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Dr. El Senzengakalu Zulu is a trailblazer who also fought alongside civil rights activists Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, Jesse Jackson, and DC’s very own Marion Barry. Ujamaa School has impacted generations of Black families in DC and continues to be a community staple in DC. “Ujamaa” is a Kiswahili word that means familyhood or cooperative economics. In that same spirit, our commitment to Black people includes us working together to protect and defend our institutions. Here’s how it will work:

If 25 people give $25, the cost of one month’s utility bills would be covered
If 50 people give $50, some renovations would be covered
If 100 people give $100, then the cost of insurance would be covered

Even if you can’t commit to any of those amounts, we really mean it when we say no donation amount is too small. We can still reach our goal with the collective smaller donations from Color Of Change members like you. Help us make that happen. Chip in to support another 50 years of Ujamaa School building Black scholars and keeping the oldest independent Black community school in the US alive!

Until justice is real,

Jade, Arisha, Rashad, Johnny, Evan, Amanda, Eesha, Imani, Marie, Gabrielle, Samantha, Marcus, FolaSade, Taurjhai, Stasia, Jennette, Ciera, and the rest of the COC team

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