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Umoja XX Conference

The Umoja XX Conference is coming to Southern California on October 31 – November 2, 2024!  

CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO ACCESS THE CONFERENCE AGENDA IN THE GUIDEBOOK APPLICATION: Umoja Conference 2024

The 20th Annual Umoja Conference begins on Thursday, October 31st, 2024, with a 7:00 AM breakfast, and a 9:00 AM Opening Ceremony!

Conference Speaker Announcement!

Jessica Care Moore is one of the leading voices of her generation. An award-winning poet, recording artist, book publisher, activist, cultural arts curator, and filmmaker, she is executive producer and founder of Black WOMEN Rock! - Daughters of Betty, a 20-year-old rock & roll institution, concert and empowerment weekend, and she is the founder of the literacy driven 501c3, The Moore Art House. Her nonprofit organization in Detroit dedicated to elevating literacy through the arts in neighborhoods and schools.

Ronald F. Ferguson is an MIT-trained economist who focuses social science research on economic, social, and educational challenges. He has been on the faculty at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government since 1983, after full-time appointments at Brandeis and Brown Universities. In 2014, he co-founded Tripod Education Partners, and shifted into an adjunct role at the Kennedy School, where he remains a fellow at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy and faculty director of the university-wide Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI).

During the 1980s and ‘90s, Ron focused much of his attention on economic and community development. That work culminated in the social science synthesis volume Urban Problems and Community Development (1999), which remains an important text in graduate policy courses.


By the late1980s, he had begun to study education and youth development because academic skill disparities were contributing to growing wage disparity. During the 1990s and early 2000s, his writings on the topic appeared in publications of the National Research Council, the Brookings Institution, the U.S. Department of Education, and various books and journals. In December 2007, Harvard Education Press published his book Toward Excellence with Equity: An Emerging Vision for Closing the Achievement Gap. A February 2011 profile of Ron in the New York Times wrote, “There is no one in America who knows more about the gap than Ronald Ferguson.”

Ron’s current focus as AGI director is an initiative entitled the Boston Basics. It takes a socio-ecological saturation approach, collaborating with many partners to reach extended families with caregiving advice for infants and toddlers. In addition, Ron is co-authoring a book with journalist Tatsha Robertson on the ways that highly successful people were parented.
Ron holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a PhD from MIT, both in economics. He has been happily married for 38 years and is the father of two adult sons.

We're thrilled to welcome Dr. Ronald Ferguson to our annual Umoja Conference! Get ready for an impactful experience!

Angie Franklin is the founder and CEO of Afro Yoga, a global movement redefining wellness. She is a 4x lululemon ambassador and 20 year yoga practitioner with over 400 hours of certifications in Kemetic, Vinyasa and Yin yoga. Her work also intersects where wellness and social justice meet. She's led corporate wellness programming, leadership retreats and trainings for Fortune 500 companies like Lululemon, the NBA, Microsoft, New York Times, Kaiser Permanente and more. From CEO's to everyday practitioners, she is deeply passionate about helping people improve their quality of life through ancient yogic traditions.

 

 

John Jennings is a professor, author, graphic novelist, curator, Harvard Fellow, New York Times Bestseller, 2018 Eisner Winner, and all-around champion of Black culture.

As Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside (UCR), Jennings examines the visual culture of race in various media forms including film, illustrated fiction, and comics and graphic novels. He is also the director of Abrams ComicArts imprint Megascope, which publishes graphic novels focused on the experiences of people of color.   His research interests include the visual culture of Hip Hop, Afrofuturism and politics, Visual Literacy, Horror, and the EthnoGothic, and Speculative Design and its applications to visual rhetoric.

Jennings is co-editor of the 2016 Eisner Award-winning collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art (Rutgers) and co-founder/organizer of The Schomburg Center’s Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem. He is co-founder and organizer of the MLK NorCal’s Black Comix Arts Festival in San Francisco and also SOL-CON: The Brown and Black Comix Expo at the Ohio State University.  

 

Come be a part of this amazing experience with the Umoja Community!

We are excited to announce we will be at the JW Marriott Los Angeles | L.A. Live. This year’s theme is "Voices of the Future: Elevating Student Leadership and Agency" and we aim to inspire and empower students to recognize their potential and advocate for themselves and their communities. 

Below is a list of immediate action items: 

Register for the Umoja XX Conference 

Learn more about the Conference Hotel! 

For those seeking additional accommodation options, we have arranged discounted rates for the same dates at two overflow hotels: the Residence Inn Los Angeles L.A. Live and the Courtyard Los Angeles L.A. Live. Both hotels are conveniently located across the street from the conference venue.

Booking Link for Residence Inn Los Angeles L.A. Live and Courtyard Los Angeles L.A. Live:

Book Your Group/Corporate Rate | Marriott International

The last day to book at a discounted rate for all hotels will be October 9th at 5pm.

We encourage you to book your accommodations early to take advantage of these special rates.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference!

Partner with us for a great conference! 

Important Dates & Deadlines 

  • UPDATE: September 11, 2024 - Call for Proposals Submission Deadline 
  • October 2, 2024, at 5 PM - Last day to reserve hotel rooms 
  • October 23, 2024 at 5 PM - Last day to register for the conference

 

 

 

CONFERENCE UPDATES: 

Conference Update - update on 10/3/2024 

Please see the agenda listed above. 

JW MARRIOTT PARKING | The JW Marriott ONLY has valet parking onsite. Umoja is not covering the cost for parking. Please continue to watch the site for updates on additional parking and bus parking. 

 

Conference Meals Provided - update on 8/19/2024 

Thursday, October 31, 2024 | Breakfast and Lunch provided 

Friday, November 1, 2024 | Breakfast and Lunch provided 

Saturday, November 2, 2024 | Breakfast provided 

 

Skelton Conference Agenda to assist with travel arrangements- update on 8/19/2024

Thursday, October 31, 2024 | Full day of programming  

Friday, November 1, 2024 | Full day of programming 

Saturday, November 2, 2024 | Half-day of programming 

 

Conference Hotel Availability - update on 8/19/2024 

Additional availability has been added for Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at the JW Marriott. However, space is still limited. If you're unable to secure a booking at the JW Marriott, please check the other hotel options listed on the event site. https://umojacommunity.org/Events/891