ABOUT US — TOM MBOYA LEGACY DISTRICT** *The World’s First and Only Cultural District Dedicated to Honoring Tom Mboya*
**The Tom Mboya Legacy District** is the first and only institution in world history dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the legacy of **Tom Mboya** — the Kenyan freedom fighter, labor leader, civil rights diplomat, architect of the Airlift, and global visionary whose impact shaped both Africa and Black America.
Created in **Memphis, Tennessee**, and headquartered at the **African Cultural Embassy in Orange Mound**, the Tom Mboya Legacy District stands as a **global cultural, educational, and historical institution** committed to correcting decades of erasure in Kenya and silence in America.
Our official launch date is
— symbolizing our commitment to international human rights, global cultural diplomacy, and the restoration of suppressed history.
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OUR ORIGIN STORY — THE SPIRITUAL AWAKENING IN KENYA (1990)
The Tom Mboya Legacy District traces its spiritual and historical roots to **1990**, when **Anthony “Amp” Elmore**, a five-time world kickboxing champion and independent filmmaker from Orange Mound, traveled to Kenya to premiere his 1988 film **“The Contemporary Gladiator.”**
This film — Memphis’ **first independent 35mm theatrical film** and the **first kickboxing movie in world film history** — became the catalyst for a profound spiritual encounter. Please note that in Memphis, Tennessee via White Supremacy, Racism and Black on Black Racism Anthony "Amp" Elmore's film "The Contempoary Gladiator" has been erased from Memphis film history.
While in Kenya, Elmore experienced what he describes as a **deep spiritual communication** from the ancestors of the Civil Rights Movement — **Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, and others** — thanking him for coming to Africa and continuing the bridge they fought to build.
Years later, during the election of **Barack Obama Jr.**, the spiritual identity revealed itself clearly: **It was Tom Mboya.** Elmore does not claim belief in ancestral spirits.
But he affirms that an inner voice told him: “If you tell my people that I communicated through you, they will believe you. In 2013 the "Luo Council of Elders" in Kenya contacted Elmore via noted that they believed he was contacted via Tom Mboya.
Elmore was told to come to Kenya as his own expense and meet "Mama Sarah Obama" he Grandmother to President Barack Obama who is a Luo. Anthony "Amp" Elmore was taked to meet the Luo King. In 2013 Anthony "Amp" Elmore a filmmaker document his Kenyan trip.
Click here to see the video titled: Obama Kenya Ancestry home tour.This video recieved over 540,000 you tube views.
This moment became the foundation of a decades-long mission:
*to restore Tom Mboya’s legacy and tell the truth the world has ignored.**
THE ERASURE OF TOM MBOYA IN KENYA
Tom Mboya was assassinated on July 5, 1969. His death marked the beginning of a political suppression that reshaped Kenya’s history. Under **President Jomo Kenyatta**, Tom Mboya’s legacy was deliberately erased:
- His role in the Airlift was minimized
- His political vision was buried
- His connection to Black America was suppressed
- His influence on Barack Obama Sr. was ignored
Months after Mboya’s assassination, the **Kisumu Massacre** occurred in October 1969 — a violent crackdown on dissenters, including supporters of Mboya’s political movement.
After Kenyatta’s death, **President Daniel arap Moi** continued the suppression, creating the infamous **Nyayo House Torture Chambers** to silence political opposition.
For decades, Kenya erased:
Tom Mboya’s global legacy
- The Airlift’s full truth
- Obama Sr.’s political history
- The connection between Kenya and Black America
- The cultural diplomacy of Anthony “Amp” Elmore
The Tom Mboya Legacy District exists to correct this history.
THE ERASURE OF BLACK AMERICAN HISTORY IN MEMPHIS
Despite documented evidence — including **L.A. Times coverage in 1987**, **Commercial Appeal casting calls**, **Peabody Hotel scenes**, and international distribution — Memphis officials placed a marker at **G.E. Patterson & Main Street** crediting a white film (*Mystery Train*, 1989) as Memphis’ first independent 35mm film.
This was **white supremacy**, supported by **Black-on-Black institutional racism**, erasing:
Orange Mound’s role as the birthplace of independent filmmaking
- Elmore’s film
- Elmore’s trade deal with Kenya
- Elmore’s cultural diplomacy
- Elmore’s contribution to world film history
Dr. King said:
> **“Silence is betrayal.”**
Both Black and White leadership in Memphis knew the truth — and remained silent.
The Tom Mboya Legacy District exists to break that silence.
THE UNITED NATIONS CONNECTION — OCTOBER 24
The Tom Mboya Legacy District launches on **October 24**, the anniversary of the founding of the **United Nations**.
This is not symbolic — it is intentional.
Tom Mboya was a global diplomat whose work aligned with:
- Human rights
- Education
- Labor justice
- International cooperation
- Pan-African unity
By launching on United Nations Day, the Tom Mboya Legacy District positions itself as:
- A **global cultural institution**
- A **human rights platform**
- A **Pan-African diplomatic center**
- A **bridge between nations**
The African Cultural Embassy becomes the **international headquarters of this mission.
OUR MISSION — RESTORING TRUTH, CONNECTING NATIONS
The Tom Mboya Legacy District is more than a cultural designation.
It is a **global movement**.
### **We restore the legacy of Tom Mboya.**
### **We restore the legacy of Barack Obama Sr.**
### **We restore the legacy of Orange Mound.**
### **We restore the legacy of Anthony “Amp” Elmore.**
### **We restore the truth erased by Kenya and Memphis.**
We connect:
- Kenya
- Black America
- The Civil Rights Movement
- The Airlift
- President John F. Kennedy
- A. Philip Randolph
- Thurgood Marshall
- Harry Belafonte
- Jackie Robinson
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Barack Obama Jr.
- The United Nations
- Orange Mound
This district is not local.
It is **international**.
This district is not symbolic.
It is **historical**.
This district is not political.
It is **truth**.
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THE TOM MBOYA EDUCATION, CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT CENTER
Anthony "Amp" Elmore propose this center tobe built in Kenya. It will be the largest center of African and African/American center of education, culture and entertainment in the world. The center - Preserves Mboya’s legacy, - Honors Obama Sr.
Documents the Airlift , Celebrates Orange Mound creates Movies - Hosts international cultural events.
The Tom Mboya Legacy District Connects Cherokee Elementary and Arya Primary Schools whereas its the **first institution in the world** dedicated to Tom Mboya’s full legacy.
WHY WE EXIST
Unknown and untold is the fact that Kenya holds the history and Key to the African/American cultural Integration to connect to African and African/African Americans. African/Americans have a birthright in Kenya that has been erased. The Civil rights movement in America is part of Kenya's birth whereas this history has been marginalzied in Kenya via the erasure of Tom Mboyal
OUR DECLARATION
> **We are the Tom Mboya Legacy District.
> We are the first and only institution in the world honoring Tom Mboya.
> We stand on United Nations Day.
> We stand for truth.
> We stand for history.
> We stand for Orange Mound.
> We stand for Kenya.
> We stand for Black America.
> We stand for global justice.
> We stand for the legacy that was erased.
> And we will never be silent again.**
