OUR PEOPLE
Yafeuh Balogun (he/him) has always been surrounded by the socially conscious movement through his parents and extended family who were active in the Black Power era. He was taught the value of community by his father’s consistent example of love for his fellow neighbor. Yafeuh has developed many social programs in Dallas including Community Unification Day to detour fratricide, seek unity and to promote a holistic lifestyle and healthy living. He is a co-founder of Guerrilla Mainframe (GMF) and the Huey P. Newton Gun Club. He and his comrade Rakem Balogun were targeted by the FBI for advocating community self-defense. Rakem was arrested by the FBI under the guise of the Black Identity Extremist Label. Yafeuf started the Balogun Defense Committee which helped in the dropping of all charges against Rakem. Yafeuh is a graduate of El Centro College with a Degree in Applied Science. Yafeuh has been interviewed within the community by some top publications, including: CBS, NBC, and The New York Times.
Darren Rainey Sr. serves as a Chapter Lead for the Delaware Chapter of CMB. Originally from Philly, he transitioned into the classroom in Wilmington, DE, after serving as a military officer in the U.S. Army. Darren taught English and Language Arts in middle and high school before transitioning into school leadership. Darren currently serves as an Adjunct Professor and Program Manager in Delaware State University’s education department. In his role at DSU, Darren focuses his efforts on rebuilding the Black teacher pipeline, with a particular emphasis on recruiting Black male educators and developing the next generation of educator-activists. Much of his organizing work has taken place in educational spaces in Delaware. In the CMB Delaware Chapter, Darren leads political education programming and is committed to building a community in Delaware that embodies the principles of Black love, liberation, and justice.
Sherrie Smith (she/her) is native of Detroit’s West Side. She has served her community volunteering for numerous groups and is a proud mother who homeschooled two of her children. Sherrie has been involved in Food Sovereignty and urban agriculture since 2018. Growing food, introducing others to the amazing world of gardening and seed saving are her favorite land based activities. Sherrie loves to create opportunities for people to reach their carry out vital, non-capitalistic work and has curated multiple mutual aid fundraisers to support the work of local organizations and farmers. Sherrie sees it as her assignment to connect with others and foster connections between people and the world around them. Through these connections she plans to increase loving relationships everywhere she goes.
“Shabazz” (comrade/they) is a Panther cub born and raised in south Kansas City, MO. They were heavily influenced by their fraternal uncle Pete O’Neal of the Kansas City BPP, and their big cousin Donald D.C. Cox of the Oakland BPP. Growing up, Shabazz understood the importance of education and aspired to become a teacher. They worked in Kansas and Missouri in various Early Childhood/Pre-K positions until being laid off during the pandemic. Shabazz moved to Atlanta where they linked up with an urban grower comrade from KC who was building hydroponic systems and taking care of the community garden for CMB. Over time, Shabazz took on a point-person role with the CMB’s organizing committee, as well as the mutual aid program. They helped organize rallies/demos/protests regarding Rayshard Brooks and gentrification in SW Atlanta. They returned to KC when their father passed in 2020.
DonShae (Shae) Marshall is an organizer based in Atlanta, Georgia with a deep love for Black folks and her community. Before finding a home in CMB, Shae organized with several left-leaning organizations, rooting herself in revolutionary socialist politic she now engages with from a Pan-African perspective. She currently serves as both a member of the CMB Atlanta leadership team and as the lead organizer for the chapter’s Survival Program, which distributes food and provides utility assistance to residents in the Pittsburgh neighborhood.
Nicole Crawford (they/them) the Chapter Lead Organizer for CMB in Los Angeles California. They are a writer, poet, community organizer, student and advocate for the dismantling of imperialism, colonialism and white supremacy in every aspect of their life. Nicole is the Editor-in-Chief of NOMMO Magazine at UCLA and is currently pursuing two bachelor’s degrees in sociology and political science. They also teach and tutor middle school and high school students in math and language arts and they are a lead instructor for YOLO Ethnic Studies Academy.
Jordan McGowan (he/him) is a Pan-Afrikan educator, organizer and griot. He currently serves as the Minister of Programs for CMB Neighbor Program in occupied Nisenan Terrority (Sacramento), as well as serves on CMB’s national political education and communications committees. Jordan is also an adjunct professor of Ethnic Studies and Teacher Education at American River College and Sacramento State University.
Shane Williams (he/him) is an educator, journalist, and photographer from the Historic South Side of Ypsilanti, MI. He works on CMB’s political education committee, and is CMB’s liaison to an international solidarity committee. Shane has assisted in documenting Black Panther Party reunions, collaborating on mutual aid networks, coordinating international solidarity brigades, and contributing to Neighbor News and Hood Communist. He's a Black revolutionary nationalist who believes that Black/African liberation must be tied to the international socialist revolution.
JP Sloan is an organizer and a chapter co-lead for CMB Newark. His upbringing in the church shaped his belief in the power of mutual aid, collective learning, and protracted, principled struggle. A doctoral student in English literature, he researches early Black writing and organizing. As a graduate student worker, JP has been involved with organizing and political education programming at campuses across the state of New Jersey. As a writer and poet, he sees art as a weapon that can and must make revolution irresistible.
Raiin Ali was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in Sacramento, California. She earned her degree in Education in 2015 and moved to Asia, where she began her teaching career at the Palace School of Thailand. During that time she traveled through 11 countries, expanding her worldview within what she describes some of the communities as the most liberated spaces she has encountered. In December 2019, Raiin returned to California and pursued her teaching credential. She integrated her passion for holistic wellness and community service, dedicating her efforts to the empowerment of the Afrikan community and Afrikan liberation.
Gabriel Mont-Reynaud owns and operates Pangea Farms, an innovative sustainable off grid aquaponic farm located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Pangea Farms is the culmination of 14 years experimenting, designing and implementing aquaponic systems large and small. Gabriel has designed his system around resource conservation and renewable energy, such as rainwater collection and solar power energy. What makes Pangea Farms truly unique is the incorporation of marine shrimp as the primary aquatic species as opposed to more common freshwater fish such as tilapia. Gabriel’s vision for Pangea Farms in the future is to establish aquaponic farms in every major city nationwide and eventually worldwide.
Kamau Franklin (he/him) is the founder of Community Movement Builders. He’s been a dedicated community organizer for over thirty years. For 18 years, Kamau was a leading member of a national grassroots organization dedicated to the ideas of self-determination and the teachings of Malcolm X. He’s spearheaded organizing work in areas, including youth organizing, police misconduct, and developing sustainable urban communities. Kamau has coordinated community cop-watch programs, liberation schools for youth, electoral and policy campaigns, large-scale community gardens, organizing collectives and alternatives to incarceration programs. Kamau was an attorney for ten years in New York with his own practice in criminal, civil rights and transactional law. He now lives in Atlanta with his two children.
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