About Wakumi (she/her)

Tanisha “Wakumi” Douglas is a creator, mother, survivor, social justice leader, organizer, educator/trainer, restorative justice practitioner, curator & ritualist. “Wakumi” means “voice of the people”, “abundant one” and “lover of water”. Wakumi’s people are Jamaican by way of the Maafa, trafficked from West & Central Africa, with legacies of both enslavement & maroonage.  Her matrilineal line is made up of spiritual seers, entrepreneurs & herbalists. Her patrilineal line is made up of land-owning farmers & businessmen. Her people’s migration journey began with her great-grandfather who came to the US in the late 1950s through Miami, Florida - where she currently resides - as a short-term farmer worker.

Wakumi is the daughter of an undocumented immigrant father who served 33 years in prison and a servant-leader, God-fearing mother.  This fueled Wakumi’s 20-year dedication to building leadership & healing spaces among those impacted by mass incarceration and other oppressive systems.  Over the course of her movement leadership, she founded & raised over $8 million for a national youth-led abolitionist non-profit and has won competitive fellowships including a 2020 Soros Justice Fellowship and a  2018 Move to End Violence fellow. She has worked as a restorative justice circle keeper, social worker, community organizer, trainer and popular educator for organizations including the Dream Defenders, Harlem Children’s Zone and Children’s Defense Fund. Wakumi holds a Bachelors from Georgetown University and a Masters of Social Work from Columbia University, where she founded and organized the first Columbia University “Beyond the Bars” conference in 2010 as a student organizer. She takes great pride in her study with renowned African-centered holistic healers (beginning in 2011). Wakumi holds spiritual ceremony rooted in Pan-African spiritual cosmologies. 

Wakumi’s work has been featured in Dr. Monique Morris’ 2019 documentary PUSHOUT: Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools as a pioneer on the subject as well as Huffington Post, NPR and Miami New Times and books including Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues (Morris) and Making Change (Kruse). She has spoken on stages at Google and the National Educators Association and has shared the stage with Dr. Angela Davis, Ericka Huggins and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

Wakumi is currently focused on writing, deepening her practice in the sacred arts, curating healing & spiritual experiences for social movements through recent projects including The Givers Revival and living a joy-filled life.