The design was created by Carleton undergraduate student, Teju Oladipo.

All proceeds from the sale of these shirts will go towards the Umoja Student Bursary Fund for Carleton African, Caribbean and Black students who are going through financial difficulties during their academic journey and to supporting Umoja’s African, Caribbean, and Black students programming at Carleton University.

“My design was inspired by a Black History Month (BHM) poster that I saw last year that read: “History Through Our Eyes”. This quote stuck with me because I believe it captures the essence of what BHM is: looking at history from a Black perspective. Through my addition of a surreal portrait, bold text and intense colours, my hope is that my design will catch people’s attention and push them to consider how listening to Black stories may change the way they see the world.” -Teju Oladipo

The Umoja Black Community Engagement Program is a recently established, student led program at Carleton University. Umoja is a Swahili word that means “unity”. When founding the program, our team handpicked this name to represent our dedication to this Pan-Africanist principle in the struggle against anti-Black racism. Umoja is committed to empowering African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities through knowledge and collaboration.    

Our goal is to contribute to the academic, professional, and personal empowerment of ACB people in the Ottawa region. We seek to act as a hub for the ACB community out of Carleton University that will connect Black high school and university students, community members, leaders, thinkers, and community organizations in efforts to address anti-Black racism in post-secondary education.