Ebony Lumumba is balancing a full load. She’s a mother and a college professor, a doctoral student and Jackson’s first lady. On top of that, she recently founded Mothers Obtaining Justice and Opportunity (MOJO), a new nonprofit that focuses on providing support to mothers seeking their education. Lumumba is a graduate of Spelman College and Georgia State University and is currently working on her doctorate at the University of Mississippi. She and her husband, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, have two daughters. She recently spoke to Sun Senior Staff Writer Anthony Warren about the group.
What is MOJO?
“MOJO is an organization that supports women who are obtaining an education at any level. One way is with financial resources. We have scholarships we offer at various levels, whether it’s to help women with childcare or books, or anything they see fit to assist them in achieving their education. One thing I find is that just the act of being a mother hinders career progress or creative contributions. We try to make it easier by providing financial support.
“Another thing MOJO seeks to do is advance young women with academic matriculation. We give them a trajectory for what it will take for them to get their degrees. They may need to go longer than four years and may need to take hybrid or online classes. We help them achieve what is doable for them and their children.
“We also advise women in terms of holistic health … and encourage them to participate in various service projects. One project this semester was to collect resources for shelters of battered families. Our MOJO mamas participate because I remind them they are not victims. To provide them with opportunities to serve, that’s justice to me. Also, if they’re awarded a scholarship, they’re required to dedicate 10 percent of it to support another mother in another way.”
How much in scholarships has MOJO awarded so far?
“This is the second semester we’ve been able to award scholarships. The first semester, we had a MOJO fellowship, which was awarded to one student fellow to help get MOJO off the ground. She was awarded $1,500. This semester, we’ve awarded another $1,500 to $2,000. We are fund raising so we can do more in the coming semesters. There is a donate tab on the Web site we ask folks to engage with if they’re so moved.”
And how many students?
“Five since last semester. Scholarships are only one way we help. We also have healing sessions to allow women to come and share their experiences and what they’re going through on campus.”
Who do you serve, exactly? Rather, who is eligible for the awards?
“It’s not just single mothers. Any woman who is a mother and is obtaining her education at any level. Most of them are at Tougaloo, but we have one at Ole Miss who is a graduate student. It doesn’t matter what level of education (they’re seeking), or whether they’re married or not. If mothers are going after their education, MOJO is here to support them.”
How did you start the program?
“Five years ago, I started as a professor at Tougaloo and was pregnant with my first child. I had all the ‘woe is me’ moments about gestating a child and having a full-time job. I noticed in some of my classes there were women who were pregnant or had small children, and at some point, there were ladies who wanted to bring their children to class because it was their only option. There were ladies who were ill and had to take off because of complications with their pregnancies. (Those situations) helped me refocus, re-prioritize and gain perspective. They needed support that was not available to them in college.
“Over the course of time, I started to gather info … and this time last year, maybe a little later, I was awarded a fellowship from an organization to help get things started. We generated a Web site, got incorporated and did marketing to let women know this resource was available to them.”
Do you allow mothers to bring students to class?
“I don’t. What I do is set up time outside of class, so they can come to my office to make arrangements (to make up what they’ve missed). Having a child in the classroom space is such a liability. I don’t want to take a risk that there would be an accident or a disruption that could harm the child. I do work with mothers who have that issue. One of the things we try to generate with MOJO is community child care.
“We introduce these women to one another on campus, and we hope they can establish childcare models within (those units). If you have a class at 8 a.m., and I have one at 10, maybe we could care for each other’s children during the intervals.”
Do student mothers discuss their concerns with you?
“That happens from time to time. It’s all about establishing relationships with students. When they feel that the care I have for them goes beyond their success in the course, then they will engage with me what they’re dealing with personally.”
How much are scholarships, usually?
“It varies; I try to make it based on the circumstance. When women apply, they write a narrative about their experience and where (the funding) can be most helpful. One of our graduate MOJO mamas was going to school in Oxford Monday through Friday and having to leave her child in Jackson with her parents. She traveled home every weekend. We gave her money to supplement her travel experience.”
What is your budget and how many staff members do you have?
“I am the only staff member. I work with volunteers. I had a student fellow for the fall, but the funding for her that was generated through a grant (has gone away). If I get more funding, I will bring on another (student) to help. The budget depends on what we can generate from fundraising and grants, and it varies semester to semester.”
You do have nonprofit status?
“Yes, we are a nonprofit.”
How do you plan to grow the organization?
“Obviously, I’ll continue to fund-raise and do grant writing. I look forward to going to more campuses. I would like to have satellite campuses all over Mississippi and outside Mississippi. My sister lives and works and teaches in North Carolina, and she is interested in bringing this to college campuses there. What we would like to do is bring in more health forums, have more meet and greets (to connect student mothers), provide resources to other campuses and make scholarship opportunities available on those campuses as well. We want mothers to become a supportive demographic within the student body.”
Do you think colleges and universities need to play a greater role in supporting mothers?
“Absolutely, as a society, we look at mothers to provide so much for future generations. I’m dealing only with educational institutions, but that goes for the corporate arena and other facets of our society. There should be support for mothers in those spaces.”
For more information, log on to mojomama.org.
