Welcome to the Web page of Kuumba Events and Communications. This page serves as a jumping-off point for several initiatives that have worked to bring positive change to our community over the past twenty years. The concept of Kuumba comes from the Kiswahili language and is inspired by the Afrikan-American Kwanzaa celebration invented by Dr. Maulana Karenga in the 1960’s. Kuumba is the principle of Creativity, “To do what we can, in the way that we can, to leave our world more beautiful and beneficial than we found it.”
Kuumba Events and Communications is comprised of the following divisions:
KUUMBAEvents: an event-planning group which occasionally sponsors community meetings, parties and cultural events.
KUUMBAMUSIC: a disc jockey and live sound-reinforcement company that concentrates on music from the Afrikan American tradition. Our motto is “Exploring the Spectrum in Black Music from Afrika, the Americas and the Diaspora”. KUUMBAMUSIC is available to help plan and perform at parties, receptions, lectures and cultural events. More information can be found on the Music page.
KUUMBAReport Online: our initial foray into the “communications” aspects of our company name, KUUMBAReport Newsletter was published as a small, hard-copy community paper in the Baltimore-Washington, DC area from 1997 to 2011. Over 44 issues, we examined issues such as Pan-Afrikan organizing, political prisoners, police misconduct, political corruption, Afrikan issues, global war, historical issues that are little-known or poorly-understood, and activists who are working to heal the suffering and divisions within and between our communities. After the newsletter ceased publication in 2011 due to financial concerns, the Web site https://kuumbareport.com was launched a few years later. On that site, most of the original issues of KUUMBAReport can be found in PDF format, and regular blog posts discuss many of the issues of the day as they impact on the Afrikan, Afrikan-American and global communities.
WorldHouse Music and Sound: a subsidiary of KUUMBAMUSIC which concentrates on music from around the world. This was inspired by our discovery of the beauty that exists in music from Afrika, South America, the Caribbean, Asia and Europe. Much of the music here is also available through KUUMBAMUSIC.
What’s New
“The R-Evolution Is Black Love” Looks At The Past Year
The December 25, 2024 edition of “The R-Evolution Is Black Love” welcomes special guests Grandmother Walks On Water and Baltimore activist and author Baba Bill Goodin as they discuss the last year in the United States and the Diaspora. Be sure to check out this hard-hitting discussion with show host Sis. Tomiko and two of our powerful activists.
To listen to the podcast, click here.
“The R-Evolution Is Black Love” is broadcast Wednesdays at 3:00 PM on Hand Radio (https://handradio.org). After the show broadcasts, you can catch the show on our Media Page as well as this post.
The R-Evolution is Black Love
Wednesdays @3pm EST.
https://handradio.org/
https://kuumbareport.com/
webuyblack.com
kweli.tv
“The seed you plant in love, not matter how small, will grow into a mighty tree of refuge” Afeni Shakur
“I believe in the sweat of love and in the fire of truth” Assata Shakur
Pre-Kwanzaa and Kwanzaa Week Events in the Baltimore, Maryland Area from MPACC
The Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition (MPACC), a Baltimore-area organization working to build bridges and encourage cooperation between Pan Afrikan organizations in Baltimore, Maryland and across the Diaspora, shares information about the December 14, 2024 Struggle Week Drop-Off event to benefit Baltimore area seniors, sponsored by the Seniors Advocacy Network. Also, information on upcoming Kwanzaa events, including several one-day events and two week-long Kwanzaa observances, is included. For more details and how to connect with the various Kwanzaa events, click here.
“The REvolution Is Black Love” Talks to the Leadership of Washington, DC’s Industrial Bank
The December 11, 2024 edition of “The REvolution Is Black Love” speaks with members of the leadership team of Industrial Bank, a historic Black family owned and led bank in Washington, DC. Show host Sis. Tomiko interviews Ms. Patricia Mitchell, retired Executive Vice President; Ms. Latoya Ranae Williams, Assistant Banking Center Manager, U Street Branch; and Mr. Daryl P. Drumming, Vice President Banking Center and Business Development Manager, U Street Branch. Topics discussed included the history of Industrial Bank, the situation with Black-owned and Black-led institutions for the community, the need for improved financial literacy and their involvement in teaching financial literacy to students. During the visit, they were honored by a surprise visit from Mama Virginia Ali, owner of the legendary Ben’s Chili Bowl.
To watch the video, click the link below:
To listen to the audio, click here.
“The REvolution Is Black Love” is broadcast every Wednesday ay 3:00 PM Eastern Time (United States) on HANDRadio (https://handradio.org). After the broadcast, the show can be listened to below and on the Media Pages of KUUMBAReport Online (https://kuumbareport.com) and the Web site of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).
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The R-Evolution is Black Love
Wednesdays @3pm EST.
https://handradio.org/
https://kuumbareport.com/
https://webuyblack.com
https://kweli.tv
“The seed you plant in love, not matter how small, will grow into a mighty tree of refuge” Afeni Shakur
“I believe in the sweat of love and in the fire of truth” Assata Shakur
The Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship Fund
Sehwah-Liberia, Inc. and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) are announcing the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship for high school students in Liberia.
The Scholarship Program represents part of SRDC’s continuing efforts to build bridges between the Pan-African Diaspora and the African Community on the Continent, and Sehwah-Liberia’s continuing commitment to lift up the people of Liberia as the country continues to rise up from decades of civil war.
The Scholarship Program is named after Mama Maisha Washington, who as a member of the Maryland SRDC Organization and the Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE) had led efforts to launch a successful 2020 Pan African Summer Camp in Liberia, administered and taught by teachers in Liberia and the United States. Mama Maisha was also one of the leaders of the Pan-African Library Project, which will build the first-ever public library in Monrovia, Liberia, and which will primarily serve the countries of Liberia, Guinea-Conakry, Siera Leone and Cote D’Ivoire.
Mama Maisha transitioned to the Honored Ancestors in October 2020.
The initial goal of the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship is to grant educational scholarships to 150 high school students (9th, 10th, 11th and 12th graders) in Liberia during 2022, and to expand the Scholarship Program from there. Also, in support of the Pan-African Library Project, Liberian college-age students will be trained in Library Science to equip them to manage and operate the library once it is completed.
Another objective of the Scholarship Program will be to build relationships between Scholarship donors and students in Liberia who will benefit from the Scholarship Program. SRDC has included a Scholarship Program Donor Form, which can be completed by checking out the SRDC post at https://srdcinternational.org/maisha-washington-education-foundation-scholarship-fund/ or by visiting the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Web page at https://srdcinternational.org/scholarship/.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship Program using PayPal, please visit the SRDC post at https://srdcinternational.org/maisha-washington-education-foundation-scholarship-fund/ or the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Web page at https://srdcinternational.org/scholarship/.
For more information and updates, check out our post or the Web site https://srdcinternational.org/scholarship/.