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UMOJA

Umoja (a Kiswahili word meaning unity) is a learning community dedicated to the academic success, personal growth, and self-actualization of African-American and other students. All Umoja values and practices are inspired by African and African-American intellectual, cultural, and spiritual gifts.

The Umoja community at MSJC is dedicated to its students and provided them with a "family"  environment where individuals lift and support one-another. Those within Umoja understand the progress made by our ancestors and strive to be as strong as they were. The Umoja community understands that our ancestors come from royalty, yet, we are often only taught about the struggles since our ancestors have been enslaved. However, within Umoja, the knowledge of the rich culture of those from the African Diaspora is sought after to help build the strength and courage needed to navigate experiences in life and navigating college.

The Umoja program is designed to increase retention, certificate completion, degree completion and transfer rates of African-American and other historically underrepresented students. Umoja students are provided with designated counselors to assist with career, educational and personal counseling.

Umoja Offers Students:
  • Career, academic and personal counseling
  • Umojafied courses with culturally-relevant content (degree applicable and transferable courses)
  • Supplemental Instruction/Tutoring
  • Academic and cultural enrichment activities
  • Opportunities to attend Umoja sponsored events and conferences
  • Increased self-confidence
  • A brave place to discuss real issues that affect students and the broader community
  • Mentoring
  • University visits
  • Resources to transfer to University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) schools, as well as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's)

Umoja Courses Offered:

ENGL-101 College Composition (formerly Freshman Composition)

ENGL-103 Critical Thinking and Writing 

SOCI-101 Principles of Sociology  

MATH-140 Introduction to Statistics

PS-101 Introduction to American Government and Politics 

HIST-160/ETHS-160 Black History in American Context 

LIT-260 Introduction to African American Literature (formerly ENGL-260) 

CSCR-100 College Success and Career Readiness

Umoja Counselors:

Ms. Tia Beasley - tbeasley@msjc.edu

Dr. Quinlan Strong - qstrong@msjc.edu

Dr. Darnell Bing - dbing@msjc.edu

Umoja Administration:

Dr. Von Lawson

Seeking additional information regarding Umoja, Contact:

umoja@msjc.edu