Published On: Thu, Mar 9th, 2023

Four Local Black Men and Women Honored as Newest Kijana Heroes

New Palm Beach County Kijana Heroes Posters – Eva Williams Mack

Reception celebrates local Black heroes, students, and cross-cultural endeavors

Boca Raton, FL – Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative hosted a reception to honor Black heroes, recognize student winners of an inaugural Black History Month writing contest, and raise funds for its educational facility being built in Kenya. The event took place at the North Palm Beach Country Club on Thursday, February 23, 2023. 10 new Kijana Heroes were unveiled by artist Claire Salmon, including four from Palm Beach County: Cinthia Becton, F. Malcolm Cunningham, Sr., Eva Williams Mack, and Solomon David Spady.

Kijana, a nonprofit founded by lifelong educator Jim Cummings, operates in North Palm Beach and in Kenya–promoting and cultivating youth empowerment through educational development, cross-cultural dialogue, and sustainable and environmentally-friendly economic growth, among American school communities and under-served Kenyan school communities. Around 90 guests enjoyed drinks and food from Farmer’s Table while learning about Kijana and the future of global collaboration.

Kijana teamed up with local Palm Beach County resident and graphic artist, Claire Salmon, to develop the “Kijana Heroes” poster series which leading up to the reception comprised 50 historical and contemporary Black men and women who have shared their wisdom and example by their change-making actions. The full series was on display at the event, and 10 never-before-seen Kijana Heroes were unveiled. In addition to Becton, Cunningham, Mack, and Spady, the other pathbreaking figures added to the ranks of being named Kijana Heroes included: Jackie Robinson, Kofi Annan, Ngugi wa Thiongo, Julius Nyerere, Tegla Loroupe, and Ebby Shiroya. 

Becton and Shiroya were both present and humbly surprised to receive the recognition. 

“I’m in awe of their accomplishments and I’m humbled to be in a pictured form there, by them,” stated Becton. 

Becton taught in Palm Beach County public schools for 32 years, has been instrumental in the community, and today serves as president of the Northside Kiwanis Club. Shiroya lives on-the-ground in Kenya and serves as Kijana Global Innovation School Managing Director.

To encourage educational cross-cultural development and raise awareness of Black individuals who have ‘lit the way’ intellectually, socially, and culturally, Kijana provided local schools, libraries, and other public spaces with the opportunity to display the series of posters throughout Black History Month. The grassroots organization facilitated the teaching and learning by launching a student essay/poetry competition open to all middle and high school students in Palm Beach County and select partner schools outside of the county. Close to 100 students entered the contest, and 14 finalists were recognized at the reception.

The Kijana Heroes poster series distribution, displays, and essay contest were made possible by the generosity of Stephanie & John Pew, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, and Arcadia Books of Spring Green, WI.

The evening also served as a springboard for local capital campaign support to build a multi-purpose educational facility, inclusive of a media center and amphitheater, at Kijana Global Innovation School in Western Kenya. The campaign goal is to raise $500,000 to build the facility and add classrooms, technological resources, books, a dining area, increased staff, sports fields, and a playground to the existing campus that currently has an enrollment of 172 students, serving pre-k through eighth-grade classes. Kijana School aims to graduate its first high school class in 2026.

Unparalleled to anything in rural Western Kenya, the new facility will provide access to contemporary resources and technology, enabling students and educators in Kenya and here in the U.S. to connect with each other. 

Cummings believes: “Human society suffers as significant human capital is underutilized and unfulfilled by our traditional socio-economic and global educational systems. The inaugural Kijana Global Innovation School invests creatively and energetically in this underutilized global human capital, improving our collective global well-being. Their expanded opportunity will be the world’s gain as these young people fulfill their academic, social, and creative promise, becoming positive world change-makers.”

Another benefit of this project is that the economic opportunity will stay in the region. New York architects Harpreet Dhaliwal and Chris Dameron are playing a central role in the planning and development of the contemporary structure with their commitment to voluntary (pro-bono) guidance and support from start to finish. They are working with people on the ground in Kenya to make something that can be inspirational and realistically buildable with maximum impact. The resources and materials will be purchased locally in Kenya and the building will create opportunities for local craftsmen to work.

For more information on the Kijana Heroes poster series or the Kijana School or to provide financial support, visit kijana.org

About Kijana:

Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that promotes and cultivates youth empowerment through educational development, cross-cultural dialogue, and sustainable and environmentally friendly economic growth, among under-served Kenyan school communities and American school communities. Kijana has served a pivotal role in transforming education in Western Kenya. With hundreds of thousands of dollars of investments, Kijana altered the educational trajectory and raised expectations of citizens by investing in over 30 schools countrywide. Kijana is currently in the process of building a modern pre-k through 12th-grade independent school, Kijana Global Innovation School (KGIS), to serve primarily average-income and highly-talented Kenyan youth and infuse new options in our global educational capacity. For more information or to provide financial support, visit: kijana.org.

About the Kijana Heroes Poster Series:

The series currently includes illustrations with inspiring quotes and facts of: 

Hatshepsut, Alara of Nubia, Marcus Garvey, James Baldwin, Queen Nandi, Leymah Gbowee, Matthew Henson, Queen Amanirenas, Madam C.J. Walker, Saint Augustine, Miriam Makeba, Queen Nefertiti, Ruby Bridges, John Lewis, Nelson Mandela, Nina Simone, Sojourner Truth, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nanny of the Maroons, Imotep, Shirley Chisholm, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Harriet Tubman, Wangari Maathai, Ibn Battuta, the Dahomey Warriors, Bessie Coleman, Mansa Musa, Ida B. Wells, Patrice Lumumba, Toni Morrison, Queen Nzinga, Maya Angelou, Medgar Evers, Oprah Winfrey, Muhammad Ali, Frederick Douglas, Harry and Harriette Moore, Zora Neale Hurston, Amanda Gorman, Edwidge Danticat, George Washington Carver, Jason Reynolds, Rihanna, Saint Josephine Bakhita, Saint Martin de Porres, Thea Bowman, Thurgood Marshall, Julia Greeley, Jackie Robinson, Kofi Annan, Ngugi wa Thiongo, Julius Nyerere, Tegla Loroupe, Ebby Shiroya, Cinthia Becton, F. Malcolm Cunningham, Sr., Eva Williams Mack, and Solomon David Spady. 

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