12/05/2025
TRIBUTE TO THE LEGACY OF DR. JAWANZA KUNJUFU...
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We will honor the life, work, and enduring legacy of Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu — a towering figure in Black education, a truth-teller, and a visionary who refused to let the miseducation of our children go unchallenged.
Dr. Kunjufu spent decades naming what others were too timid to confront: the structural forces undermining Black boys, the cultural disconnect between schools and communities, and the deep need for educational models rooted in African identity, purpose, and possibility. His writings — from Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys to Developing Positive Self-Images & Discipline — reshaped how we understand the relationship between culture, achievement, and liberation.
He stood in the lineage of Carter G. Woodson, Asa Hilliard, Marimba Ani, and other giants who insisted that our children thrive when their education reflects their heritage, honors their humanity, and nurtures their gifts. Dr. Kunjufu didn’t just critique systems — he offered solutions, strategies, and frameworks that continue to guide practitioners, families, and community builders today.
His work challenged us to:
• See our children’s brilliance before the world tries to dim it.
• Build educational spaces where African-centered values are not optional but foundational.
• Confront the lies of deficiency with the truth of our historical and contemporary genius.
• Take responsibility for cultivating the next generation with intentionality, discipline, and love.
Though he has transitioned to the ancestral realm, his impact remains alive in classrooms, community programs, rites of passage work, and every practitioner striving to teach our children in ways that honor who they are.
May we continue the work he modeled so powerfully.
May we pick up the tools he left behind.
May we honor him not only with words, but with action.
Asé to Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu — educator, warrior, scholar, and nation-builder.
Your legacy continues to lift us.
