On Saturday December 19th the Big Dog Riders motorcycle club of Raleigh - Durham organized a monumental community service project. "What was so monumental about this event?" you ask. The Big Dog Riders were actually the recipients of a very special gift. The gift was "Hope". Omuteko Gwamaziima (pronunced oh-moo-TAY-koh Gwah-mah-Z-mah) means a place of higher learning and spiritual development where youth are grounded in truth.
The school's mission is to provide an educational setting in which true academic excellence can be achieved within the context of African-centered education. This is accomplished through a holistic pedagogical approach which integrates theory and application through an interdisciplinary curriculum. The charter school is non-profit and enrolled their first class in 1998. Big Dog Rider "Devil Dog" worked to obtain chairs and desks from the U.S. Marines.
These fundamental parts of a classroom were scheduled for delivery to the school with Sister Mary Wright. Upon arrival at the school we(the Big Dogs) were fascinated by the open arms and reception Sister Wright had. The chairs and desks were easily loaded into the school in what seemed to be moments by our group. As we looked around eye contact from one another seemed to emit a glow that was transparent to anyone there. It was a sense of pride of doing for self.
This was something that could not be replaced. After the work portion was done we were given a full tour of the school by Sister Wright. It was magnificent to see the clean environment and that stressed both male and female African American leaders and history makers. Chuckles and laughs flowed freely as each of us related to school as we knew it compared to this. Amongst the murals and daily point reminders was a creed from the Council of Independent Black Institutions next to the chalk board in one of the classrooms. This struck each of us to the core it read "We are African people struggling for national liberation.
We stress the development of our bodies, minds, souls, and consciousness. We are preparing leaders and workers to bring about positive change. Our commitment is to self determination, self defense, and self respect for our race." We marched out after reading that creed and unloaded computers, audio visual aids and other equipment that a brother was bringing to the school. The whole time knowing this would be the room our next Ossie Davis, Malcolm X, or Adam Clayton Powell might come from. After the work was done pictures were taken and the Big Dog prayer was given.
Now plans of a Tri-county wide Spelling Bee and the Big Dog Scholarship fund are underway. The Big Dog Mission statement was coming through and through that morning "A group of intellectual riders who share a love of riding, seek to project and maintain a positive image(both physically and mentally) and who are especially dedicated to uplifting the African American community" It was a great day to be a Big Dog. We thank everyone who helped in every way and look forward to more Big Dog community projects with the school.
On Saturday December 19th the Big Dog Riders motorcycle club of Raleigh - Durham organized a monumental community service project. "What was so monumental about this event?" you ask. The Big Dog Riders were actually the recipients of a very special gift. The gift was "Hope". Omuteko Gwamaziima (pronunced oh-moo-TAY-koh Gwah-mah-Z-mah) means a place of higher learning and spiritual development where youth are grounded in truth. 
