Umoja Program

Building 9, Room 307, Umoja Village
Phone: (650) 306-3441
Email: canumoja@smccd.edu
Web: canadacollege.edu/umoja 

Cañada College’s Umoja Community (“umoja” is the Kiswahili word for unity) is an academic program that is part of a statewide educational foundation committed to validating and enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African American/Black students, in particular and all students, in general. The program facilitates transfer to all universities with an emphasis on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Umoja Program students benefit from a wide range of resources, including academic, career, and personal counseling, statewide Umoja events, cultural events and experiences, mentoring, university visits, and financial assistance (tuition, textbook, food, and transportation). The Umoja Program promotes student achievement using a curriculum and pedagogical approach responsive to the legacy of the African Diaspora. 

“Mattering” as a key program component: 
Years of institutionalized educational inertia can cause students in general and Black students in particular to feel that they don’t matter to education and education doesn’t matter to them. We encourage our students to reclaim mattering and exercise agency as people who matter. Our curriculum fuses awareness of ongoing oppression, identity, and freedom, increases context, reflects what is urgent in the moment, and sees students themselves as a critical resource for our classes and program.

Umoja Community courses include: 
Fall: ENGL C1000 Academic Reading and Writing (formerly ENGL 100)  and POLS C1000 American Government and Politics (formerly PLSC 210).
Spring: ENGL 110 Composition, Literature and Critical Thinking, STAT C1000 Introduction to Statistics (formerly MATH 200), and POLS 310 California Politics and Local Government (formerly PLSC 310).

To be eligible for the Umoja Program, students must be currently enrolled or plan to enroll at Cañada College, be interested in learning about Black culture, history, and experience, complete the Umoja Program Community Application Form, register for Umoja Program courses, and attend Umoja program events throughout the year.