December 2020 Historical Figure: Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu

“We must demand excellence of ourselves and agitate and advocate justice from the larger society.”

― Jawanza Kunjufu, To Be Popular or Smart: The Black Peer Group

Our historical figure for December 2020 is Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu. I discovered Dr. Kunjufu while getting lost in the YouTube blackhole of old Huey Newton videos. During one of these videos(First Video Below), from 1988, I quickly found out Dr. Kunjufu was talking about me (as my thirty-year-old self) before I was born. During this conversation Dr. Kunjufu stresses the importance of children of my generation immersing themselves in the STEM Fields so that they can dominate the “Technology Boom” that is on the Horizon. 32 years later Dr. Kunjufu could not have been more accurate.

 Since 1984, when he earned his doctorate from Union Graduate School, Dr. Kunjufu has dedicated his time and mental capacity to deeply impacting the area of Black Male research, community development, and cultural appropriate education. Over the course of his life Dr. Kunjufu has constantly been a oracle of sorts in the areas of the School-to-Prison pipeline, the impact of technological on Black community, and a plethora of theories focused on the development (or lack thereof) of Black boys. From his “Conspiracy of the Black Male” lecture to the “Satan, I’m Taking My Health Back” Book, Dr. Kunjufu has provided books, lectures, and speeches to edify his people. Check out these primary sources of Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu.