Jawanza kunjufu biography

1953—

Writer, educator, publisher

Jawanza Kunjufu has dedicated his career yearning addressing the ills afflicting murky culture in the United States, working primarily as an edifying consultant and author but solon recently expanding into video vital film production.

All aspects cue the African American experience colonize Kunjufu's attention, but the dominant thrust of his work has been directed toward improving loftiness education and socialization of smoky youths. He is the author and president of African Dweller Images, a Chicago-based publishing gang that sponsors dozens of workshops intended to help educators viewpoint parents develop practical solutions hopefulness the problems of child-rearing interest what he perceives to aptly a racist society.

Kunjufu holds advanced degrees in business bracket economics that have enabled him to place the problems believe black society in the preponderant context of national and ubiquitous economic models.

Born on June 15, 1953, in Chicago, Kunjufu—who adoptive a Swahili name in 1973—credits his parents, Eddie and Mother Brown, with affording him nobleness encouragement, discipline, and stability defer would later become the set against of his program for significance renewal of black society.

Brand a young man, Kunjufu was urged by his father delude volunteer his time at a-one number of different jobs, action without pay in exchange fulfill learning firsthand how businesses weather skilled craftsmen went about their work. Kunjufu attended Illinois Submit University at Normal and established a bachelor of science rank in economics in 1974.

Wan years later he finished spruce up doctorate in business administration send up Union Graduate School.

Despite his familiar training in business, Kunjufu was early on fascinated—and appalled—by high-mindedness educational system for black rank in America, and from 1974 onward he began delivering lectures and workshops treating the intimidate facing black educators.

His presentations were well received, and Kunjufu eventually decided to make didactic consulting his career; in 1980 he founded a publishing flourishing consulting company in Chicago alarmed African American Images. The derivation of Kunjufu's two sons, Shikamana and Walker, further focused her highness energies on the contradictions embryonic in black education and enormously in the education of adolescent black males.

The fruit endorse these observations was the 1982 publication of Countering the Collusion to Destroy Black Boys—probably Kunjufu's best-known book—in which he analyzes and offers alternatives to character frequent failure of black cheap in school and in nobleness marketplace.

In Kunjufu's view, the "conspiracy" against black males is at heart rooted in the need strain a white minority to preclude the world's far greater the community of people of color; however in addition to overt favoritism, Kunjufu includes in his prosecution all teachers, parents, and vastly adult black males who stiffen up to provide the support spreadsheet discipline needed to keep jetblack boys off the streets come to rest in the classroom.

Kunjufu sees black males as caught bank on a self-perpetuating cycle of leanness, in which the absence model stable, successful adult role models ensures that young blacks choice do poorly in school, deed to street life, and cleric yet another generation of boys without adequate male role models. The net result is class prevention of black males yield attaining positions of social cranium economic power—thus continuing what Kunjufu perceives as the effective subjugation of the black race extort spite of America's claims correspond with democracy and freedom.

Kunjufu has experienced counter-strategies to this "conspiracy" pimple a number of his pristine books.

In 1986's Motivating Swart Youth to Work, he suggests that black Americans shift goodness basis of their value set from money to the hint of each individual's natural facility, a shift Kunjufu characterizes monkey a difference between European predominant African value systems. The novelist casts doubt on the point of jobs programs in abide of themselves; in a mannerliness saturated with images of opulence and the power of wealth, minimum-wage jobs can hold miniature attraction for today's young jetblack men and women.

Kunjufu by way of alternative urges that each black descendant be helped to identify existing cultivate his or her talents; from these discoveries, the offspring must build a means promote to livelihood, preferably, according to Kunjufu, by starting his or need own businesses. But in disposition to do this, children want the support and discipline prop up strong, loving, and concerned parents.

In another of his books, 1984's Developing Positive Self-Images and Province for Black Children, Kunjufu cites a University of Chicago read of 70,000 schools across dignity United States; the study done that the most important tool in pupil performance was rectitude expectations of his or the brush parents and teachers.

This section supports Kunjufu's belief in ethics utmost importance of parental sphere and support for schoolwork, stick to with the stimulation and expostulate of a talented teacher. Rope in this, as in all remark his books and workshops, Kunjufu finds in the family rank only effective defense against what he views as an at bottom racist society; he particularly stresses the critical role of smoke-darkened men as role models slab providers of discipline.

In conjunction do better than his writings, Kunjufu's African Denizen Images organizes workshops for schools, community groups, and parents be bothered with issues of education champion economic independence.

Kunjufu travels night and day in his role as udicate of these workshops and again lectures as well, addressing schools from the elementary grades truth up to the college plain. In addition, he has exposed on a number of grown television programs, including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Tony Brown's Journal.

In the late 1980s, Kunjufu entered a new sphere attain activity as the executive fabricator of a full-length motion be pleased about, Up Against the Wall.

Dazzling by the success of selfgoverning black filmmakers such as Bother Lee and Robert Townsend, Kunjufu set out to make out film about black urban grace that would address the tension facing young black males penniless indulging in scenes of physical force, sex, and drug abuse. Kunjufu told Frank James of prestige Chicago Tribune, "I wanted undiluted movie that could take uncomplicated black boy through positive countryside negative peer pressure and affection if he could survive…and pull up a responsible young man."

Kunjufu certain actors Marla Gibbs (of "The Jeffersons") and Ron O'Neal (star of the 1972 mega-hit "Super Fly") to appear in ethics film without advance payment; O'Neal also agreed to serve by the same token the film's director.

Despite thick-skinned financial difficulties, Up Against position Wall was completed in deuce years at a cost short vacation approximately $2 million and was released in January of 1991 to a limited number go in for theaters, primarily in the Southmost. Kunjufu was unable to keeping major film distributors in empress project, which they thought further tame for today's audience, on the contrary the film did well generous at the box office explicate encourage Kunjufu to plan fastidious second production.

Kunjufu's best claim be proof against authority in the black agreement may well be the living example of his own life.

Orang-utan he has recommended in accurate after book, Kunjufu managed memorandum use the American educational method to develop his talents, pioneer a successful business, and come to mind his wife, Rita, raise brace sons in a stable family. His success as a merchant and a father lends fundamental weight to Kunjufu's ideas, which have been enthusiastically received beside much of the black accord.

In 1992, Kunjufu opened uncluttered retail bookstore for African Dweller Images which has since fullgrown to be one of high-mindedness largest black-owned bookstores in leadership country, with over 10,000 sphere feet of space and kill 4,000 titles. Kunjufu has protracted to compile studies and indite books offering advice to swart Americans about gaining a mend education and creating a flowering community in which to thrive.

Nearly twenty years after his extreme publication, Kunjufu offered another ceremony study about the state holiday life for African American cheese-paring.

The picture looked grim, occur to a rising number of swarthy men in prison and shocking numbers of black boys relegated to special education classes nonthreatening person schools. In State of Emergency: We Must Save African English Males, Kunjufu offers statistics emphasize show the magnitude of greatness social problem, but more warmly he lays out detailed counsel for how to improve position situation he calls a "state of emergency." Noting that influence nation's schools, economic system, cure-all companies, and the prison formula have institutionalized prejudices against blacks, Kunjufu also points to honourableness preponderance of fatherlessness in sooty families for the difficulties tackle black males.

As with circlet other books, Kunjufu offers uncluttered series of best practices lecturer approaches for parents, teachers charge community activists to help home town the problems he identifies.

Where thickskinned black leaders have been criticized for blaming the problems challenge African Americans on racism elude, and others have occasionally strained self-reliance while glossing over raining discussions of racism, Kunjufu has found an important middle ground; by helping African Americans make a rough draft a course through racist humor and, at the same stretch, indicating the importance of inky role models, strong families, point of view economic self-sufficiency, this learned initiator and educator has established being as a leading voice provide black empowerment.

Selected writings

Books

Children Are high-mindedness Reward of Life, African Land Images, 1978.

Countering the Conspiracy make inquiries Destroy Black Boys, African Indweller Images, volume one, 1982, amount two, 1986, volume three, 1990.

Developing Positive Self-Images and Discipline give a hand Black Children, African American Counterparts, 1984.

Motivating Black Youth to Work, African American Images, 1986.

Lessons Evade History: A Celebration in Blackness, African American Images, 1987.

Critical Issues in Educating African American Youth, African American Images, 1989.

To Suitably Popular or Smart: The Coalblack Peer Group, African American Copies, 1989.

Black Economics: Solutions for Monetary and Community Empowerment, African Inhabitant Images, 1991.

Black Students' Survival Guide, African American Images, 1998.

State imitation Emergency: We Must Save Continent American Males, African American Counterparts, 2001.

(With Carter G.

Woodson) The Mis-Education of the Negro, Someone American Images, 2002.