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Omekongo Dibinga Senior Professorial Lecturer Peace, Human Rights & Cultural Relations

Degrees
PhD, MA, BS.

Bio
Dr. Om茅kongo Dibinga is the UPstander. His life鈥檚 mission is to inspire all across the globe to take a stand when they witness an injustice, no matter how small or large. He is a motivational speaker, trilingual poet, TV talk show host, rapper, and professor of cross-cultural communication at 猫咪社区app University. His Urban Music Award winning work has best been described by Nikki Giovanni as 鈥渙utstanding, exciting, and new while being very old.鈥 His book, From the Limbs of My Poetree was described by Essence Magazine as 鈥渁 remarkable and insightful collection of exquisite poetry that touches sacred places within your spirit.鈥 He was one of 5 international recipients out of 750,000 to win the first ever 鈥淐NN iReport Spirit Award.鈥 He has received over 1,000,000 views on CNN.com.

Om茅kongo鈥檚 writings and performances have appeared in O Magazine, as well as on TV and radio from CNN, BET, and the BBC to NPR, Music Choice, and Voice of America in millions of homes in over 150 countries. He has also written songs for major motion pictures as well as organizations such as NASA and the Enough! Project. He has spoken before the United Nations, partners with the State Department to conduct youth leadership trainings overseas, and speaks to leadership and youth student conferences across the country. Om茅kongo鈥檚 music and writings have appeared alongside artists such as Sheryl Crow, Angelina Jolie, Norah Jones, Damien Rice, Angelique Kidjo, Don Cheadle, and Mos Def. He has shared the stage with Wyclef Jean, OutKast, Sonia Sanchez, Dennis Brutus, Emmanuelle Chriqui, The Last Poets, and NFL great Aaron Rodgers. Internationally, he has shared his work in over 20 countries on 3 continents.



Om茅kongo has studied at Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Georgetown, Morehouse, and The Fletcher School, where he earned his M.A. in Law & Diplomacy. He earned his Ph.D. in International Education Policy at The University of Maryland (UMD) where his dissertation centered on the global hip-hop phenomenon and Jay-Z. At UMD, he also worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center鈥檚 鈥淭eaching Diverse Students Initiative.鈥 He worked for four years as the lead Teaching Assistant to Dr. Michael Eric Dyson at Georgetown University. He provides leadership, educational and diversity empowerment as a consultant and motivational speaker for organizations, associations and institutions. He has featured/lectured nationwide in venues from TEDx and Harvard to Russell Simmons鈥 Hip-Hop Summit and the Nuyorican Poets Caf茅. His rap mixtape series 鈥淏ootleg鈥 promotes positive hip-hop with remixes of songs by Tupac, Notorious BIG, Jay Z, Nas, 50 Cent, and others. His 1,000,000 Youth Campaign has directly impacted over100,000 youth across the globe to date. He has also partnered with Intel on its campaign to make their computer processors free of minerals that come from the war in the Congo.



Om茅kongo has published and produced 7 books, 7-fusion music and motivational CDs, and one independent DVD. His motivational book G.R.O.W. Towards Your Greatness! 10 Steps to Living Your Best Life has received praise from great motivational speakers such as Willie Jolley. His most recent book 鈥淭he UPstander鈥檚 Guide to an Outstanding Life鈥 is a life balance book for students. His latest book is entitled 10 Lies About Black People: Challenging Common Racist Lies On Our Path to Finding Antiracist Common Ground and will be published by Prometheus Books in the spring of 2023. For more information, please visit www.upstanderinternational.com.

See Also
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Fall 2024

  • CORE-106 Complex Problems Seminar: Global Hip-Hop and Resistance

  • HNRS-150 AU Honors Exper Learning

  • SISU-106 First Year Seminar: Appropriation or Appreciation

  • SISU-205 Intercultural Communication

Spring 2025

  • CORE-105 Complex Problems Seminar: Global Hip-Hop and Resistance

  • SISU-205 Intercultural Communication

  • SISU-306 Adv Int'l Studies Research: Jay-Z & Historical Biography

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

Diversity, equity, & inclusion; Antiracism; education; intercultural communication; culture & politics; hip-hop culture; Black Lives Matter; cultural appropriation; motivation; youth culture

Additional Information

Prof. Om茅kongo Dibinga is an expert in diversity, equity & inclusion, and race and politics. He is an international speaker, poet, TV talk show host, rapper, and professor of Inter-Cultural Communication. He also serves as a faculty affiliate to the Antiracist Research & Policy Center. In 2010, Prof. Dibinga was one of five recipients of the CNN iReport Spirit Award. He is a weekly contributor to the 鈥淩oland Martin Unfiltered鈥 show and his work has appeared in media outlets that include O Magazine, as well as on CNN, BET, BBC, NPR, and Voice of America. Prof. Dibinga has authored 3 books and has a chapter in a forthcoming book entitled "Liberation & Education" (Rutgers University Press) in 2023. His book, 10 Lies About Black People (Prometheus Press), is scheduled for release in 2023. In addition, his "Upstander's Podcast" was rated a top 20 "must follow" social justice podcast in 2022.

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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