Communications entrepreneur and social engineer

Kwesi Sipho Umoja, EE’67, says that Dr. Martin Luther King’s death had a profound effect on his perception of tomorrow. Umoja, one of only 19 African-Americans on the S&T campus when he was in school, would go on to start the first black-owned and operated national radio network, National Black Network, in 1971. 

“While I was in the streets I made the decision that I was going to leave my job as an electrical engineer at Colgate-Palmolive and go to work ‘finding solutions,’” says Umoja, who was known as Eugene Jackson as a student. Umoja would also go on to serve as a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters and founder of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters. In 1994, he helped launch the World African Network Cable System, which distributed news by satellite to 125 African American-focused stations in the United States.

Share This Story

Spark a Memory?

Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).

James Kreilich and Mary Jane Naeger

James Kreilich and Mary Jane Naeger

James Kreilich and Mary Jane Naeger went to school together at Valle High School in 1960, but it wasn’t until…

S&T’s first building: the Rolla Building

S&T’s first building: the Rolla Building

Missouri S&T’s first building still stands and is home to our mathematics and statistics department. Built for Rolla’s high school,…

Leading Peru’s higher education

Leading Peru’s higher education

After earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from S&T in 1980, Mariana Rodriguez returned to her native Peru to…

Mary (Hilton) and Mike McEvilly

Mary (Hilton) and Mike McEvilly

Mary (Hilton) and Mike McEvilly met in August 1978 at a Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity party. As students, the two…

Katie (Fritts) and Mitchell Niehoff

Katie (Fritts) and Mitchell Niehoff

Katie (Fritts) and Mitchell Niehoff met in fall 2006 during that semester’s first meeting of the Perfect 10 Improv group….

Alyssa Purdy and Ryon Owings

Alyssa Purdy and Ryon Owings

Alyssa Purdy and Ryon Owings met during Opening Week in August 2014. Both lived in TJ Hall’s north tower –…