“font-size: 9pt;”>A Celebration of Life will be held for Mrs. Frances Elizabeth Jarnegan, fondly referred to as “Mama Frances,” on Monday, September 26, at Friends – A Meeting Place, 716 North Compton Ave. After the celebration, family and well wishers will gather at Samaritan United Methodist Church to partake in a karamu (feast).
“font-size: 9pt;”>Mrs. Jarnegan transitioned into her new role as “honored ancestry” on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at the young age of 83. Originally from the Mill Creek area, Mama Frances credited her philosophy on life from her experience in that community. She was preceded in her homecoming by her loving and supportive husband Joseph and left many loved ones to celebrate her vibrant life as an activist in the African-conscious community, as an educator, as a home health care nurse and as a caring mother, grandmother and “a supportive presence” for countless others in her family and extended family.
“font-size: 9pt;”>Mama Frances participated in the black power and civil rights movements and was active in anti-apartheid campaigns and supported Afrikan liberation struggles. A fighter for social justice and change, her activities spanned her lifetime. Long before the 1960’s wave of “I’m Black and I’m Proud” she was an advocate of African self-determination.
“font-size: 9pt;”>Mama Frances co-chaired the St. Louis Kwanzaa Committee which have sponsored Kwanzaa cultural events for over 30 years. She has continued to be an active member of this committee since its inception mentoring a generation of Africans into a blossoming understanding of the holiday as an early celebrant and advocate of Kwanzaa.
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“font-size: 9pt;”>Mama Frances co-founded the Uhuru Freedom School in the early 1970s, where she sought to provide African-American youth with the necessary education they were not receiving in public schools. She also served on the education committee of the St. Louis Council of Black People and was a participant in the “Poverty-Racism-Power” workshop held by the Institute of Black Studies. During this period, she was prominent as a grassroots leader who attended Black Unity Day and worked in many other consciousness-raising events.
“font-size: 9pt;”>Throughout the 1980s, Mrs. Jarnegan was a member of Friends of Black Journal, Night Talk Family, and Bob Law’s “Respect Yourself” youth organization. She supported Institute of Black World, National Black Theater, and organized the cultural event of bringing the film of
“mso-bidi-font-style: normal;”>Sugar Cane Alley Louis Community for viewing at the St. Louis Art Museum. She was a guest on and supporter of “Bill Fields” and “The People Speak”.
“font-size: 9pt;”>During the 1990s Mama Frances participated in Tri-Union A.M.E. Church Women’s Conference, presented at the 11th Annual Black Child Development Institute Conference, served as a St. Louis representative of the Million Women March commemorative event, and was enstooled as the Elder representative from St Louis representing the Simba na Malaika Wachanga of the Afrikan National Rites of Passage United Kollective and was an attendee of African Liberation Day events.
“font-size: 9pt;”>Across several decades, Mama Frances actively supported several grassroots and activist organizations including Organization of Black Struggle (OBS), Frederick Douglass Institute (FDI), Sudan Illustrators, NGOMA, Progressive Emporium, and Congress of African People. During the last decade Mama Frances continued her work as an active elder in the village community.
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