JAYFORCE

Although I don’t speak with Dr. Umar Johnson on a regular basis I still consider him a friend. I went to school with Umar Johnson before he became “Dr. Umar” & it wasn’t uncommon for us to have many conversations years ago about what’s going on within the black community. Not only are we both from North Philly, but we have both served as the President of our school’s Black Student Union at different times. We’ve organized & traveled to the historic Million Man March in D.C. with a large group of brothers as well has having mentored young students through an organization called ‘Positive Images’ back in Pennsylvania for a few years.  He was always an avid debater on a variety of issues & always held true to his convictions.  Rarely have I’ve seen him back down from a heated debate even if it centered on something as simple as hip hop music or sports during lunch in the cafeteria.  One thing that I can co-sign is that Umar has always been consistent in who he was & in his beliefs.

So of course it’s difficult for me to believe any of his recent detractors who try to say he’s anything less than authentic. Dr. Umar Johnson didn’t just pop up overnight because he’s been doing this for as long than I’ve known him.  I’m excited yet not surprised to see him finally breaking through with his greater message to better the situation for African-Americans & others around the world through a Pan-Africanist viewpoint. Although he continues to travel around the globe delivering his message & through a variety of grassroots lectures that most people have posted on youtube, I feel proud & happy to finally see him start to reach the audiences who best need to hear his message. It was always his life work to do what he’s doing at this very moment. Check the interview with Dr. Umar Johnson with “The Breakfast Club” at Power 105 in New York above & get some food for thought.