Rising Stars: Meet Jerjuan Howard

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerjuan Howard. 

Hi Jerjuan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Jerjuan Howard. I am an author, educator, and community organizer. I am also the Executive Director of Umoja Debate Team, which is a youth debate team that I started to teach students conflict resolution skills, confidence in public speaking, and increase their literacy. 

I do a lot of things but the root of everything that I do is my love for my people and my community. That is the basis for why I wrote “A Message to Black College Students”. That is the basis for Umoja Debate Team and me becoming an educator. 

My love for my people has been installed into my entire life. Growing up in Detroit, I felt a lot of love from my community and people who looked like me. Aside from that, I am a student of Black history and the great leaders of the past. As I learned more and more about all the great things they did for the community, I felt compelled and made it my purpose to empower us however I could. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe that empowering our people can be very challenging at times. The biggest challenge form my experience is getting us believe something that is the opposite of what we’ve been taught all our lives. 

The topic of Individual success vs collective success is an example of this. Getting my community to understand the importance of collective success is something that can challenging because for so long we’ve been taught to view individual levels of success as the end goal. We are getting better at this and I’m proud of us for it. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am in the midst of a job transition. I currently serve as an Academic Interventionist for Detroit Public Schools, but starting next week I am taking a Special Projects and Community Partnerships position for District 1 in Detroit. I also am the Executive Director for Umoja Debate Team, but for the purpose of this interview, I’ll talk about the District 1 position. In this position, I’ll be establishing stronger community partnerships between organizations and District 1, helping develop a gun violence prevention initiative, and creating solutions for citizen concerns. 

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
My favorite books is the Miseducation of the Negro, Visions for Black Men, and Powernomics by Calud Anderson. My favorite podcast at the moment is Earn Your Leisure. 

Pricing:

• 17.00 for “A Message To Black College Students”

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: teamumoja.com
• Instagram: jerjuan.howard

Image Credits
La’cellia Pruitt
Rodney Coleman
Kenneth Moorer