“A collective of Black men working to build community power through education, advocacy, leadership development, violence prevention, and economic empowerment.”
Founded in Washington, DC in 2024, the United Black Men Association (UBMA) turns knowledge into organization, and organization into change.
We teach. We advocate. We mobilize. We vote.
Our flagship fellowship develops 30–45 fellows, reaches 300+ residents, and runs community campaigns that move real issues — from neighborhood safety to the ballot box.
Practical, plain-language sessions that teach residents their constitutional rights — what to say, what to do, and how to protect yourself and your family in encounters with law enforcement.
Trained interrupters and community-based programming that stop conflict before it escalates and build safer blocks from the inside out.
We register and turn out voters across DC — including returning citizens, whose voices belong in every election and whose right to vote we defend and exercise.
Men coming home deserve a path, not a wall. We connect returning citizens to resources, mentorship, and a brotherhood that expects them to lead.
We develop fellows into organizers, advocates, and spokesmen for their own communities — because the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution.
Power is built in stages. It starts with what a community knows, becomes who a community produces, and ends with what a community can demand — and win.
JOIN the Community Power Project — apply for the next fellowship cohort.
Join UBMABOOK a Know Your Rights session for your school, church, program, or block.
Book a SessionPARTNER with UBMA on violence prevention, voter mobilization, and reentry programming.
Partner With UBMAFounded by Joel Smith — founder of UBMA and Press Fitness by Mocean, Georgetown Pivot Program graduate and pitch winner, Know Your Rights teacher at Peace for DC Peace Academy, and trained violence interrupter.
Leave your information and we will follow up. Tell us how you want to connect — join the Community Power Project, book a Know Your Rights session, or partner with us.
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Teach · Advocate · Mobilize · Vote
United Black Men Association
Washington, DC
Email: joelasmith06@gmail.com
Web: unitedblackmenassociation.org
The fastest way to reach us is the form above — or email us and tell us whether you want to join, book, or partner, and we will take it from there.