Reginald 'Mtumishi' Moore, tireless mentor and 'servant of the people'

THE YOUTHFUL members of the Black Hawks Athletic Club are encouraged to excel not only at sports, but also in academics, and all are expected to be able to recite the Nguzo Saba.

That is the Swahili term for the seven principles of Kwanzaa, the annual African-American harvest festival that promotes self-esteem, self-development and the strengthening of the black community.

When Reginald "Mtumishi" Moore founded the Black Hawks in 1968, he saw the club as a way to build character and a desire in the participants to be of service to their community.

Mtumishi, as he was most often called, a 25-year social worker for the Department of Human Services, a tireless promoter of the Kwanzaa ideals and a busy activist in the black community, died Oct. 25. He was 64 and lived in North Philadelphia.

His name in Swahili means "servant of the people," and Mtumishi spent his life living up to that title.

Tyrone Reed, a fellow social worker and community leader who was mentored by Mtumishi, said that his mentor's "remarkable zest for life poured out of him any and every time you were in his presence.

"The love and respect he had for our people was heartfelt and very real. His life understanding was God-sent, and Mtumishi's energy was pure and ever-flowing."

Mtumishi was "Coach Um" to the young members of the Black Hawks. The club usually fielded a potent football team that regularly won Pop Warner League championships.

Rob Carter, a social worker and educator who, as a young man, worked for Mtumishi as an assistant on the Black Hawks football team, said he had "gained much from working with Brother Mtumishi, who taught me how to love the young brothers and hold them accountable at the same time."

Mtumishi was a pioneer in the observance and promotion of Kwanzaa in Philadelphia. He attended the initial celebrations and then became a leader in the Kwanzaa Cooperative, organizing the observances every year.

Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival that begins Dec. 26. The seven principles of the holiday are umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity) and imani (faith).

One of the principles is observed and discussed every day of the festival.

"Kwanzaa is an African-American celebration of ourselves, of our accomplishments and of our hopes, and of our intentions to recommit ourselves to a higher level of accomplishment," Mtumishi once said.

Mtumishi organized an annual weeklong family program at the main branch of the Free Library during the Kwanzaa holiday.

Maisha Sullivan Ongoza, co-chair of the Kwanzaa Cooperative, said: "The growth and acceptance of Kwanzaa in the tristate area would not have been possible without my good brother's involvement.

"He was committed and dedicated to the celebration and sharing the values it provides to as many as possible."

Mtumishi was born in Philadelphia to John Henry Moore and Anna Herbert-Moore. He graduated from Thomas Edison High School, did a tour in the Army and worked briefly as a Philadelphia police officer before joining the DHS in prevention services.

For more than 20 years, he worked part-time with the Distance Learning Center in its physician-scientist-training program.

The program seeks to find seventh-grade prodigies interested in science and medicine and train them at the Temple University School of Medicine as the next generation of minority scientists and physicians.

Mtumishi participated in the selection of talented students for the program. After he retired from the city, he worked in the summers advising and supervising the cadre of young scientists who worked at the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Moses Williams, founder of the program, said: "Mtumishi was the person most responsible for instilling the proper attitudes and values in these whiz kids as they matured into responsible adults. He was truly a mentor."

Mtumishi was a man of many talents and interests. He was a lover of classical jazz and collected high-end equipment with which to listen to it. He loved sports, fine wines and traveling, and was a student of black history and political science.

He is survived by a son, Bakari Gallaway; a daughter, Nia Brody; a sister, Patricia Moore; and one grandchild.

Services: Memorial service 2 p.m. Saturday at the Church of the Advocate, 17th and Diamond streets.