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09 September, 2009

A LOOK AT STEPHEN C. SATELL'S NEWLY RELEASED BOOK "NO GANG WAR IN 74 PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE" WHICH EXPLORES THE LEGACY OF HOUSE OF UMOJA, INC.

Educator, Founder of Bridging Worlds, and Author Stephen C. Satell (right) chats with Martin Miller (left)

NO GANG WAR IN 74 PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE: STEPPING OUT ON FAITH ... CREATING A BLUEPRINT FOR PEACE

Through No Gang War In 74 Past Present And Future, Stephen C. Satell, a prolific author, “lead-the-field” educator, and Founder of Bridging Worlds (http://www.bridgingworlds.net), an innovative and successful mentoring program for at-risk students, paints a poignant picture of how two brilliant, compassionate, courageous, and socially responsible Thought Leaders, Queen Mother Falaka Fattah and her husband David Fattah, stepped out on faith, co-founded an internationally acclaimed institution – the House Of Umoja, Inc. (http://www.houseofumoja.org) -- and created a blueprint for peace and building a bridge to the future that has become a global model for moving children to commit to nonviolence and to “want more, be more, and do more”.

No Gang War In 74 Past Present And Future is a boundary transcending literary work written with the rhythmic intonations of a jazz composition that speaks volumes about hope, building a bridge to the future, and creating a blueprint for peace that withstands the test of time. Mr. Satell interviewed approximately 100 individuals who recounted with unabashed honesty their tumultuous journey from childhood to manhood in the City of Philadelphia, beginning with the late 1960s – 1968 through 1974. These individuals point to a time of great social change and a time of great turbulence that was punctuated, on the national level, by the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the first manned flight to the moon by American astronauts. On the local level, this time of great turbulence was punctuated by an influx of drugs and guns which heightened friction among gangs which led to bloody gang wars in the streets of the City of Philadelphia. Satell’s soulfully mesmerizing and breathtaking epic transports us to this very critical time in the history of the City of Philadelphia and captures the feelings of hopelessness and “not having a way out” that engulfed these individuals. No Gang War In 74 Past Present And Future offers a riveting account of how two dynamic individuals – Queen Mother Falaka Fattah and her husband David Fattah became the architects of a peace pact which ended years of bloody and deadly gang wars in the City of Philadelphia in 1974 and how the House of Umoja, Inc. has positively shaped the minds and souls of over approximately 3,000 young urban males.

So, how did Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, her husband David Fattah, and the House of Umoja, Inc. bring peace to a city? A few clues are offered in a heartstring-tugging Foreword crafted for No Gang War In 74 Past Present And Future by The Honorable Curtis Jones, Jr., a Councilman for the City Of Philadelphia. Councilman Jones, a former gang member and resident of the House Of Umoja, Inc., bears witness to the positive transformation of lives, communities, and a city which two compassionate Thought Leaders -- Queen Mother Falaka Fattah and her husband David Fattah – set into motion through what he succinctly describes as “sheer will, determination, and most importantly, their genuine belief in the goodness of people” . He reverently points to the House Of Umoja, Inc. as a place where “enemies became friends”.

No Gang War In 74 Past Present And Future offers valuable life lessons about hope, redemption, sacrifice, unconditional love, faith, transformation, the power of thought and the positive consequences of daring to dream. No Gang War In 74 Past Present And Future is recommended reading for community leaders, educators, social services professionals and providers, children, mothers, fathers, Fatherhood Practitioners, legal professionals, law enforcement professionals, religious leaders, health care professionals and providers, business leaders, social entrepreneurs and legislators.

No Gang War In 74 Past Present And Future is distributed by Black And Nobel (www.blackandnobel.com), 1411 W. Erie Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Black and Nobel can be contacted by telephone at (215) 965-1559. Review copies of No Gang War In 74 Past Present And Future are available and can be obtained by contacting its author, Mr. Stephen Satell at (215) 432-2898.


HOUSE OF UMOJA, INC. ANNOUNCES “NEXT STEPS” FOR “READING IS RESISTANCE” COMPONENT OF PHILADELPHIA’ S OBSERVANCE OF NATIONAL MILLION FATHER MARCH

CONTACT:   Queen Mother Falaka Fattah President and Chief Executive Officer House of Umoja, Inc. (215) 473-5893 E-Mail:  falakafattah@aol.co...