African People’s Education and Defense Fund (APEDF) Oakland Program Director, Nyisha Moncrease, won the Comrade of the Quarter award for the period of July through September 2011.
Through the summer of 2011, Nyisha showed the city of Oakland and the entire Uhuru Movement that she is an extraordinary organizer and leader. She started this past spring with a proposal to the APEDF national office that the Oakland Uhuru House be renovated and rededicated to serving the African community.
The new program is called the Marcus Garvey Upliftment Project (MGUP), a free arts and education center with the mission to "provide a safe environment for tomorrow’s leaders by teaching skills needed for African community self-determination."
Her proposal was accepted and she began implementing it like she was shot out of a shotgun. She simultaneously recruited a dynamite leadership team, fleshed out the curriculum and pushed its promotion, steered the fundraising (car washes, Uhuru Vintage, ice cream sales, etc.), won donations of necessary materials (free boxed lunches, school/office supplies, etc.), guided the Uhuru House clean out and worked on a vision for APEDF programs in Oakland beyond the summer project.
This was all done under a compressed timetable of a few weeks. The Marcus Garvey Upliftment Project opened on schedule in early June!
The Marcus Garvey Upliftment Project was a triumph for APEDF as well as for the children, their families and the community of East Oakland. The children lined up outside the Uhuru House in the mornings–eager for the doors to open–and then didn’t want to leave at the end of the day. The community embraced the project and applauded the Uhuru House.
The Marcus Garvey Upliftment Project concluded on September 3 to a packed house that showcased the knowledge and arts the children obtained over the summer. APEDF President Ona Zené Yeshitela and Executive Director Nykeba Griffin also gave presentations.
Throughout the project, Nyisha upheld a commitment to excellence for the African community. She provided the leadership of a general–fighting for accountability on all aspects of the proposal; solving contradictions; uniting and developing the children, their families and the MGUP staff.
The kids of the Marcus Garvey Upliftment Project nicknamed Nyisha “Crazy.” If they were to expound on that, they might say “crazy” as in a whirlwind of positive energy, an unrelenting fighter for African people, a joy to work with, a visionary who uplifts and inspires those around her, a whirlwind of goal-oriented achievement and a powerful African woman.
Nyisha Moncrease is a shining example of the talent and brilliance of the African working class in this period of the rising African revolution. She is a force of nature and her love and dedication to African people is the clear source of her power.
Although Nyisha has been working with the Uhuru Movement for a little more than a year, her stance in building and developing the MGUP is that of a cadre. That is why Nyisha Moncrease has won Comrade of the Quarter.
The Recognition Committee wants to recognize the other nominees who did a terrific job as well:
Nate Gilliam, Director of Economic Development, AAPDEP, Milwaukee, WI
Baye Moye, InPDUM IEC Treasurer, St. Petersburg, FL
Tommy Washington, Building Maintenance Specialist, St. Petersburg, FL
Princess Williams, Interim President of InPDUM, St. Petersburg, FL
