PRINTER'S NO. 2884
No. 475 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY WASHINGTON, WHEATLEY, MANN, FORCIER, DONATUCCI,
BEBKO-JONES, BROWNE, CORRIGAN, CRAHALLA, CRUZ, CURRY, DALEY,
DeWEESE, D. EVANS, FABRIZIO, HERSHEY, HORSEY, JAMES, JOSEPHS,
KELLER, KIRKLAND, LAUGHLIN, LEDERER, McGILL, MYERS, PALLONE,
ROBERTS, ROSS, SATHER, THOMAS, TIGUE, WANSACZ, WATERS,
WATSON, WILLIAMS, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD, YUDICHAK AND
CLYMER, NOVEMBER 10, 2003
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
NOVEMBER 10, 2003
A RESOLUTION
1 Commemorating the 35th anniversary of the House of Umoja.
2 WHEREAS, The House of Umoja is a West Philadelphia nonprofit
3 organization that provides shelter, counseling and care for
4 troubled teenage boys; and
5 WHEREAS, Falaka and David Fattah founded the House of Umoja;
6 and
7 WHEREAS, Umoja means "unity" in Swahili; and
8 WHEREAS, This fall, the House of Umoja is celebrating its
9 35th anniversary, holding a block party and compiling a memorial
10 book to celebrate its history; and
11 WHEREAS, Since 1968, more than 3,000 young men have lived at
12 the House of Umoja; and
13 WHEREAS, The philosophy of the House of Umoja is that all
14 women are mothers to all children and all men are fathers to all
1 children; and
2 WHEREAS, Falaka Fattah, who is known as Queen Mother in honor
3 of her service and standing, provides a surrogate family for the
4 young men, giving them a sense of belonging and a sense of
5 respect; and
6 WHEREAS, Falaka Fattah, a former journalist, has said that
7 the idea for the House of Umoja was born from her own experience
8 in the late 1960s, when she learned that one of her sons, Robin,
9 had joined a gang; and
10 WHEREAS, Falaka and David Fattah invited 15 members of their
11 son's gang to live with them in their cramped, two-bedroom house
12 on North Frazier Street and raised the boys as if they were
13 their own; and
14 WHEREAS, The experiment was a success, and the Fattahs
15 quickly realized that if it could work with their son and his
16 friends, it could work with other troubled boys; and
17 WHEREAS, Thus began decades of work in the community,
18 including organizing the first gathering of the city's gang
19 leaders for a summit on ways to bring peace to the streets of
20 Philadelphia; and
21 WHEREAS, As the House of Umoja grew, the Fattahs were able to
22 purchase more than half of the homes on North Frazier Street and
23 remodel some of the facades to resemble the ancient city of
24 Djenne, Mali; and
25 WHEREAS, The rules of conduct include no fighting, and the
26 boys are expected to gather once a week to address any problems
27 they are experiencing and to find nonviolent ways to deal with
28 them; and
29 WHEREAS, As part of its 35-year anniversary festivities, the
30 House of Umoja has officially begun a fundraising campaign to
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1 raise $1 million over the next year for training programs and
2 expanded services; therefore be it
3 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the
4 35th anniversary of the House of Umoja.
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