… Americans and other students while increasing their persistence and retention rates through combining academic learning with counseling, social support, and opportunities for cultural exploration. The Umoja Scholars Program at East Los Angeles … artists and spiritual leaders. Umoja sees individuals like Phyllis Wheatley, David Walker, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells Barnett, Robert Johnson, W.E.B. Dubois, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Alan Locke, Thelonious Monk, Malcolm X, Romaire … in the spirit of dual commitment-" I commit to you, you commit to me." When we embrace our posit ion, Umoja becomes more than a program; it is a privilege that will be leveraged, a power base from which action and commitment to success for …