House of Umoja celebrates its 54th anniversary with Collard Green Cultural Festival

On Saturday, September 3rd, the House of Umoja celebrated its 54th anniversary by hosting its Collard Green Cultural Festival. The event was sponsored by Moravia Health, Star Fusion Express, and Elzina’s Lounge.

- Rosamelia Sanchez

Since 1969, the House of Umoja has been working to protect at-risk youth in West Philadelphia and other areas. After learning that her son was part of a gang, Queen Mother Falakah Fattah and her husband David Fattah took the responsibility of housing young gang members in their homes. Eventually, the House of Umoja became a sanctuary for gang members, and their housing program began.

“Between 1969 and 2010, over 3,000 boys lived on this block from time to time,” said Queen Mother. Their housing program stopped in 2010, followed by Queen Mother’s cancer diagnosis and her husband’s passing. However, the House of Umoja still offers services to fight violence among Philadelphia's youth with programs like the House of Umoja Peace Corps.

The organization decided to celebrate its 54th anniversary on the 1400 block of N. Frazier St, the same block where they have always been located.

“We decided we wanted to celebrate with the community where we have been doing the work for 54 years,” said Queen Mother. “We didn’t want people to spend any money.”

Organizing the Collard Green Cultural festival was a statement.