User:Yumy ecbacc/sandbox

Career
Odom has worked as an innovative strategist, educational consultant, curriculum developer and independent contractor since 1982. He founded the Frator Heru Institute (The Frator / Soror Heru) in 1986 as an educational consultancy. He has served in several capacities and worked with various agencies, companies and universities since coming to Philadelphia in 1988. Among the most notable: The Center For Literacy (CFL); Temple University; Pierce College; Arcadia University; and Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America (OICA). Community-based Initiatives Mr. Yumy Odom is an award-winning educator, curriculum developer, administrator and community ambassador with over 35 years of experience and an amazing body of work accomplished in his lifetime, including a unique grassroots prison outreach program that empowers the participants to place themselves at the center of their own reality; the longest-running public Rites-of-Passage initiative in Philadelphia; and the only urban community-based comic book convention in the region - “The Original Black Comic Book Convention in Philadelphia.” In his varied capacities, Mr. Odom’s programs and initiatives have given a platform to many “voiceless” people to have a say in this world and have made a way for many fledgling organizations to gain a foothold. He is the curator of a most unique exhibit entitled The Heruic Age: Ten Thousand Years of Gods, Heroes, Amazons, Wizards & Warriors, inspired by over 35 years of researching, reading, imagining and collecting the myths and lore that connect the genre of modern sci-fi / spec-fi, superhero tales and comic books, bringing to the fore the undeniable link among all of the world’s myths, fables and folklore.

For the record: Mr. Odom (TU CLA ’93) came to Philadelphia, PA in A.D. 1988, inaugurating the Temple University African American Studies Department M.A. / Ph.D. program, and served as an adjunct faculty member at the University. He joined the TU Pan-African Studies Community Education Program (PASCEP) shortly thereafter where he volunteered to teach. He served as co-Chair and, ultimately, Chair of the PASCEP Advisory Council (PAC). Mr. Odom instructed over 12 PASCEP courses (A.D. 1989 - 2008), among them: CEP #160: Introduction to African Continental & Diasporan Languages; CEP #180: Introduction to Global Mythology; CEP #239: The African Diasporan Men’s Health Consortium (ADMHC); CEP #268: The Human Race Studies Certification Course (HRSCC); CEP #300: PASCEP 101 – Creating Community-based Educational Initiatives; CEP #355-A: Conversational Spanish 101; and WS-57: The Black Age of Comics Legacy in the 21st Century.

For over a decade Mr. Odom served on the administration of TU PASCEP, as Director (2002 – 2008), Acting Director (2001 – 2002) and Asst. Director for Administration (1997 – 2001). As the Director, he tripled program output and outreach, and made PASCEP the “5th largest school” in the University.

He is also the Founder of several innovative and effective community-based initiatives, among the most unique: The SCI Educational Institute Curriculum Project (SCI-EICP): Seminars in Knowledge & Praxis, which is a correspondence and on-site prison outreach program in Philadelphia (A.D. 1990); The FHI Rites-of-Passage for Young Men (ROP-YM) and the ROP Facilitators Intensive Training Workshop (ROP FIT WS), which are the longest-running public ROP initiatives in Philadelphia (A.D. 1990) and on which several articles and a Ph.D. thesis have been written; and First World Komix, Inc: Creators of Human, Heroic & Mythic Images (A.D. 1986), which is responsible for establishing the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention, Inc. [ECBACC, Inc.] in Philadelphia, PA in May 2002. ECBACC is an urban community-based comic book convention (“The original Black Comic Book Convention in Philadelphia”) that focuses on combating statutory / historical illiteracy, creating ennobling images and promoting professionalism in the comic book industry.

FHI / ECBACC Flyer / Poster images

Academic Background
For historical purposes, it is important to note that Odom holds a High School Regents Diploma from Erasmus Hall H.S. (Erasmus for Excellence), the oldest high school in Brooklyn, NY, where he and several others were among the first to be enrolled in the Erasmus for Excellence Program(10th – 12th grades). He was also instrumental in re-activating the then-defunct student government and several other school programs, among them the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) … He was also a participant in the Midwood Model Congress. He holds a B.A. in Pan-African Studies and Spanish earned as a student in the CUNY Baccalaureate Program, a unique program instituted through the Graduate School of CUNY. In this program undergrads had the opportunity to design their own B.A. program while attending several CUNY Colleges simultaneously. Odom holds a Master’s in African American Studies earned as one of the first few graduate students enrolled in the Temple University M.A. / Ph.D. Program initiated in 1988 under the chairmanship of Dr. Molefi Kete Asante. And, an honorary Ph.D. from the African Diasporan Affairs…

Books (Unpublished)
Human Race Studies: Critical Thoughts & Collected Works, 1995.

Kiswahili Foundations (Misingi ya Kiswahili), 1993. Kham Chi: An Africentric Heroic Graphic Novel, 1992.

A New Direction in Contemporary Myth: The Africentric Comic Tradition (1980-1992), Revised 1992 / 1995. African American Linguistic Forms: A Discourse on Afrinics / Ebonics, 1991. Featured in Published Works Read For Fun (RFF) (2007) ECBACC Publishing produced the very first collaboration among several independent African-descended artists, writers and creators, including William H. Foster, Alex Simons, Akinşeye Brown, Gregory Walker, Shawn Alleyne, Kamau Mshale, et al, in the form of the Read For Fun Workbook (2007). The RFF, now in its 2nd printing, is filled with original stories and art, puzzles, word games, and more, for anyone who enjoys sci-fi, superheroes, adventure and learning.

ISBN – 10:      0-615-31458-9 ISBN – 13: 978-0-615-31458-7

Public Resource & Guide to the Epic Myth Continuum (2010) This full-color simplified timeline to the epic myth continuum (myths, legends, fables, tales and comic books) was created in August 2010 and updated / revised December 2010. This 250-page document connects the ancient epic myths and their story-telling intermediaries to the contemporary comic book, sci-fi / spec-fi and film industries, demonstrating that this continuum has not been broken, only disjointed. www.firstworldkomix.com

Black Comix (2010) Damian Duffy & John Jennings with a foreword by Keith Knight. The immense popularity of comics and graphic novels cannot be ignored. But in light of the comics boom that has taken place over the past 10 years, the artists, writers and publishers that make up the vibrant African American independent comics community have remained relatively unknown – until now. Black Comix brings together an unprecedented collection of largely unheard of, and undeniably masterful, comics art while also framing the work of these men and women in a broader historical and cultural context. With a foreword by Keith Knight and over 50 contributors, including Phonzie Davis, Jan-Michael Franklin, Eric Battle, Kenjji Marshall, Mshindo Kuumba I, Rob Stull, Ashley Woods, Yumy Odom, and many, more, the cross section of comics genres represented includes manga, superheroes, humor, history, science fiction and fantasy. This book is a must-have for comics readers and anyone interested in popular culture.

ISBN-13: 9780984190652 Publisher: Batty, Mark Publisher

Artistic Rebuttal: Creative Minds Defend the Arts (2012) Artists need to disprove the myths of being elite and their work too complex to be understood. Let’s see what you have to say! Submit your artwork for the Artistic Rebuttal Book Project and join art activists from across the country in showing the world why the arts are essential to humanity. The Artistic Rebuttal Book Project came up with a theme this year: "Art is an Instinct." (As you can see from all the wild animals in our campaigns). Artists often feel an inward impulse to create. Artists of all kinds feel a sense of accomplishment, a very personal reward, from the act of doing, building, making. And more often than not, if that creation is shared, others are then moved and benefit from the work of art created.

Copyright: Standard Copyright License Publisher: Artistic Rebuttal Book Project

Mr. Yumy Odom (aka Y. Thos. Odom-Robinson, TU CLA ’93), award-winning educator, Founder and President of The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC) and Founder and Chair of The Frator Heru Institute (TFHI), is featured in the documentary film White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books premiering at the Schomburg Library in Harlem, NY in 2013.

RECOGNITION / HONORS Yumy Odom, award-winning educator, Creative Connector (2011), was recently honored with two (2) awards: an Institutional Pillar Award at the UPenn MLK Commemorative Symposium on Social Change / Signature Program: Culture and Consciousness - Arts and the Movement for Social Justice for his work as Founder and President of The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC); and a Philadelphia Icon Award bestowed by Philly Word Magazine for his work as Founder and Chair of The Frator Heru Institute (TFHI). And, nominated for the Urban Arts Honor Society Award to be bestowed on Friday, February 22, 2013. Several research articles and a Ph.D. dissertation (2011) written on his award-winning public Rites-of-Passage Program. www.thefratorheruinstitute.org

SUMMER 2003 - Recipient of membership on the Bekwai Traditional Council. Bekwai, Ashanti Region, Ghana, West Africa FALL 2001 - Recipient of the LIFERS, INC. Award for Outstanding Dedication. Graterford SCI. Graterford, PA. SPRING 2001 - Recipient of the PASCEP Millennial Award For 12 Years of Outstanding Service & Commitment. N. Phila., PA. FALL 2000 - Recipient of the State Representative W. Curtis Thomas 181 Points of Light Award. N. Phila., PA. SPRING 1995 - Recipient of Dobbins - Randolph Alumni Association Award For Outstanding Service & Commitment. N. Phila., PA. SPRING 1994 - Recipient of awards for outstanding service and commitment. PASCEP Temple University. N. Phila., PA. FALL 1991 - Recipient of the LIFERS, INC. Award for Humanitarian Service. Graterford SCI. Graterford, PA. FALL 1989 - Recipient of the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Award. Chapel of Four Chaplains. Temple University. Phila., PA. References