Umoja Breakfast

2701 Freedom Drive,Charlotte NC 28208

15 October, 2022

Description

Eat a delicious breakfast prepared by our very own event concierge. Be Inspired by Black people that promote unity and liberation.Tiawana Brown, was born and raised in Southside Homes Housing Projects in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is an overcomer of Domestic Violence, generational poverty, mass incarceration and a defender of truth. Tia is mother of two adult daughters Antoinette and Tijema. At time of her Federal sentencing she was pregnant with her youngest daughter, Tijema which resulted in Tijema being born in Federal Prison. Tia had a phenomenal role model, in her hard-working, single mother, Artie Mae Brown. Tiawana adapted her work habits and the authentic love that she has for her community from her mother. She is a part of restorative and re-imagining justice, as well as an advocate for her community. Tiawana has committed her life and her work to empowering and serving the community. She is the Founder of Beauty after the Bars, a 501c3 created to prevent the incarceration of women and girls, a North Carolina Certified Peer Support Specialist, Community Health Care Worker, an employee of American Airlines, She attends Johnson C Smith University where she maintains a 4.0 GPA. Her newest Project is Tiawana Brown Safe Homes, where she provides safe housing that for women and girls needing a safe place to live. Tiawana ran for political office for the seat of the City Council, District 3 in 2022 in Charlotte, NC. Currently- she is the Regional Director of Constituents, Community engagement and Coalition’s for Cheri Beasley’s campaign for US Senate. Shamaiye Haynes is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and since 2012 the west side of Charlotte has been her home. She has over 30 years of organizing for social justice. She is a guest lecturer at UNC-Charlotte and the Co-Director for QC Family Tree where she co-directs the organization and organizes for the common good in the Enderly Park Neighborhood and beyond. Shamaiye dedicates her volunteer service to the following organizations: Founder and Executive Director for the Charlotte Community Think Tank (formerly Westside Education Think Tank), former Co-Chair, Poor People's Campaign - Southern Piedmont Circle, Bond Oversight Committee for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, a former board member for the Westside Landtrust, former member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, member of the Black Political Caucus, and an associate member of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Association of Educators. Her passion is to improve education outcomes for Black people and other marginalized groups. She believes strongly in the ability of the community no matter the social-economic status or race to identify and collectively solve problems. ​She loves her friends and especially family including her husband Michael and her children. Her mother has been a tremendous influence over her life and even as she is a grown-up encourages her every ambition to improve the lives of all marginalized people. Greg Jackson, 2021 Charlottean of the year and father of 3 girls, was a rapper and a sous chef when protests began following the Keith Lamont Scott shooting in 2016. Greg led a group to protest at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department headquarters. A crucial conversation that day changed his trajectory. Shortly after he started the non-profit Heal Charlotte. Through Heal Charlotte, Greg has helped train officers to communicate with the community in volatile situations, created an after-school camp for at-risk youth in his northeast Charlotte neighborhood of Orchard Trace Condominiums, and deployed efforts that focused on revitalizing the area with a holistic approach to the family unit. Serving the community and being a bridge of communication between the community and its officials is what drives him. In his words ``"If everybody did a little, no one will have to do a lot". The entertainment will make your soul happy!