Institute of African Centered Thought
Where identity and Purpose Meet!
The 10th Annual Conference is featuring a short re-enactment of Pennington with Noah Humphrey, Makeda Ebube, and Lakeema Bell
Noah Humphrey
Noah Humphrey, author and a graduate of Yale University, Masters of Divinity Program, led the Pennington Legacy Group proposed to the Board of Trustees to honor Dr. James W.C. Pennington recently at Yale University and Yale Divinity School, September 14-16, 2023. Humphrey discusses the need to engage in humble practices of an account of our lives through poetry for the good of our souls and bodies, despite how difficult life will be.
"Morgan Boy," his memoir, is about a time in South Central, LA., addressing drug dealing with racism, gentrification, and a combination of his collective experiences and thoughts of a boy looking for inner healing within an environment many don't make it out of. Morgan Boy is a testimony and a resolution to create a place where Noah can rest within his own healing."
Olatunji Drummers celebrate the Journey and Baba Olatunji with West African Drum Talk
Sikiru Adepoju, Grammy Award winner for World Music, is a master drummer, specifically the Talking Drum of Nigeria; He and his brothers Saminu and Lasisi were taught drumming very early by their father, Chief Ayanleke Adepoju, whose very name, Ayan, means "descended from drummers."
Val Serrant
Val Serrant, a Trinidad-Tobago native, now resides in California and is a founding member of Oakland’s Afrika Heartbeat and Co-Producer with Grammy-Award Winner *Sikiru Adepoju, of their CD: IJINLE ILU {“Original Drumming”} …recorded in Ghana, West Afrika, and Alameda, California. Val currently teaches “From Drum To Steeldrum” in schools, especially throughout California & other States. Val's ongoing project, Keep Arts In Schools (KAISO)
Sanga of the Valley
Sanga of the Valley, spent 25 years with Babatunde Olatunji and became Baba's student and one of his lead djembe players. He worked with artists such as Carlos Santana, Nina Simone, The Grateful Dead, the Neville Brothers, and Stanley Jordan.
Dr. Akinsola Akiwowo
remaking the world') were first made public to the Nigerian academic community with the publication of my inaugural lecture, `Ajobi and Ajogbe: Variations on the Theme of Association (Akiwowo, 1983). Apart from his considerable influence in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Ife, Professor Akiwowo is the founder and leader of the Alada Study Circle (ASC) of the same University of which Rowland Abiodun (Department of Fine Arts), Olufemi Morakinyo (Department of Mental Health). and the present writer (Department of Philosophy) are active foundation members. Emancipation of Thought was delivered on August 18 August 1988, at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Bunmi Oyinsan, Ph.D
Dr. Oyinsan is the Co-founder at Lekki Peninsula College (LPC)/Lekki Peninsula Affordable Schools (LPAS), and the Sankofa Pan African Series was created as a medium to share the unpopular but relevant history of the African people. In contrast to today's account brought to the limelight, it highlights Africa's role.
DeReef Jamison, Ph.D.
Dr. DeReef Jamison was raised in Washington D.C. and received his Ph.D. in African American Studies from Temple University. His research attempts to demonstrate the connections between Africana intellectual history and social science that are often seen as disconnected. In particular, he examines how historical figures in the
African intellectual tradition explores the notion of cultural consciousness. His research interests include Africana intellectual history, the intellectual history and diasporic connections of Africana psychology, and the psychology of race and racism. His article "Fanon Revisited" can be downloaded above at ACAH Downloads
Empowerment quote Gallery
IACT COURSES
Independent Study Certificate Programs
Africa Centered Ancestral Healing
Africa Centered Ancestral Healing
IACT offers specialized holistic training based on Africa Centered Thought to compliment general mental health treatment plans that encourage a natural sustainable framework for Black families.
Africa Centered Ancestral Healing
Africa Centered Ancestral Healing
Africa Centered Ancestral Healing
ACAH is a specialization program that is created to equip mental health professionals with approaches to help Black families and individuals
identify purpose based on their lineages and genetics through a holistic approach.
Standing on his Shoulders
Africa Centered Ancestral Healing
The Illumination Research Group (TIRG)
Dr. James W.C. Pennington, my gggrandfather, is the first known Black student to attend Yale University School of Divinity. He was an abolitionist, writer, comrade to the Underground Railroad and Amistad Case, and an ordained minister. He purchased our family's freedom, and after the Civil War, he served congregations in Natchez, Mississippi; Portland, Maine; and Jacksonville, Florida, where he died.
Orisade Awodola, IACT Founder
The Illumination Research Group (TIRG)
Join the Journey
The Illumination Research Group (TIRG)
TIRG is created to provide research that supports Africa Centered healing modalities in the fields of genetics and behavior for African American educators, mental health practitioners, undergraduate and graduate students pursuing careers in STEAM and Black Psychology.
Community Events-Workshops
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Join the Journey
The Institute of African-Centered Thought serves as a catalyst to empower its participants and learners through education, conferences, seminars, summits and debates.
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Join the Journey
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AC Ancestral Healing Video Series
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"Color is not a human or a personal reality; it is a political reality,"
James Baldwin
"Mastery of Language affords remarkable Power," Frantz Fanon
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ACAH Video Series will provide holistic resources and discuss mental wellness and education at our roundtables based on Africa Centered Thought with individuals willing to share their experiences. If you want to share your story or have comments, please email us at our General Contact below. Thanks
About Us
Orisade I. Awodola
Jamilla Wasson Pehan
Orisade I. Awodola
Founder and President
Angela Davis
Jamilla Wasson Pehan
Orisade I. Awodola
Community Liaison
Charmaine Givens
Jamilla Wasson Pehan
Jamilla Wasson Pehan
Public Relations and Marketing
Jamilla Wasson Pehan
Jamilla Wasson Pehan
Jamilla Wasson Pehan
Events Coordinator