In his message “Educate Us to Liberate Us: Voice of the Afrikan Child” delivered at Alkebu-Lan Shumira on Osgayefo (Sept) 6th remarked, while referencing Carter G Woodson:
“When you educate, you are moulding and shaping the mind and the spirit of a person. And children are born with a natural will to be free. When you look at the definition of education from the Greco-Latin it means to bring out. What we are supposed to be doing through educating our children is bringing out the best in them. When we bring it out the product we get is a confident, well-rounded Afrikan prince or princess and that’s what we should be aiming for. The so-called mainstream educational system cannot provide it’s not designed for that purpose.
It’s extremely important that we think seriously as Afrikan people about the need for us to move forward with our Afrikan-centred educational programme. Education does not exist in a cultural and political vacuum. Every system of education is grounded in politics and culture. It serves the interests of a nation. Every system of education is a nation building building-block. So if we’re serious about Afrikan-Centred education, we be even more serious about nation building because the education system must be designed to serve the nation.” (1)
Currently lacking a full-time institution to advance this agenda, the responsibility then falls on our foundation schools (also known as Saturday Schools), that have been feature of the community for more than sixty years. (2)
One such establishment is the Alkebu-Lan Academy of Excellence (AAE), founded in 2007, out of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement’s children’s programme. Excellence isn’t simply just a name. Last July the east London based school retained the Hewie Andrew Trophy at the Pan-Afrikan Sports and Culture Day. This came a few months after victory at the Pan-Afrikan Unity Quiz. Former students have gone on to successful academic and professional careers but perhaps most crucially, many have become activists in their own right, even starting organisations.
AAE had it’s registration day on Osagyefo 5th for the new term that starts on the 12th at their new venue, the Hibiscus Community Centre, Buckingham Road, Stratford E15 1SP. The school caters for the age range 3 to 16 and subjects taught include Afrikan World History, Maths, English Language & Communication, Science, Astronomy & Astrology, with Afrikan languages scheduled to added in the future.
Foundation schools have proven their worth over the decades but continue to face challenges, not least how to transform them into sustainable full-time institutions. (3)
(1) Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka (06/09/26) Educate Us to Liberate Us: Voice of the Afrikan Child. Delivered at Alkebu-Lan Shumira.
(2) Kehinde Andrews (22/06/18) The Black Studies Movement in Britain. https://www.aaihs.org/the-black-studies-movement-in-britain/; Kayleigh (29/04/25) The Quiet Power of Saturday Schools in Black British Education. https://fobbs.uk/the-quiet-power-of-saturday-schools-in-black-british-education/
(3) Aaron Walawalkar (12/08/20) ‘It’s Always Been A Battle’: The Future Of Britain’s Black Saturday Schools. https://eachother.org.uk/black-supplementary-schools-the-path-ahead-in-britain/; Sinai Fleary (12/11/25) Campaign launched to reawaken Black supplementary schools. https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2025/11/12/campaign-to-reawaken-black-supplementary-education-in-britain-launched/
we ask the question:
How do we Educate to Liberate?
1) Did you/children/family member attend a foundation school? What was your experience?
2) What does Afrikan-Centered Education look like in practice?
3) Why have we been unable to transform our foundation schools into sustainable full-time institutions?
4) How do we measure the value of foundation schools to our community?
Our Special Guests:
Sis. Kai Ouagadou-Mbandaka: has been on Liberation Road since her teens and is the Chief Officer of Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement’s Education Department, Head Teacher for the Alkebu-Lan Academy of Excellence Saturday School. Sis. Kai is one of the original co-hosts of Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan when it first launched in 2006.
Sis. Amitiye Lumumba: is a veteran activist, community historian and teacher. She trained as a historian alongside Black History Man Robin Walker under Dr Femi Biko. Sis. Amitiye has been involved in setting up and teaching in a range Supplementary Schools in the community and teaches Afrikan World History in the Alkebu-Lan Academy of Excellence.
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Apologise and hold inquiry into ESN schools in the 1950s to 1980s: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/769015
Set up an independent inquiry into West Indian children placed in ESN schools: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/760415
Support the T21 Alchemy campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/t21-alchemy-raising-consciousness-around-around-disability
Support the Black Child Down Syndrome Project: https://blackchilddownsyndrome.com/about-us/
Afrika Speaks Archive: https://www.mixcloud.com/AfrikaSpeaks/