Omowale Lithuli-Allen was born in Amarillo in 1948, and grew up in Louisiana. He discusses growing up in the Jim Crow South and some of his early activism in high school. In 1966, he enrolled at the University of Houston, where he became involved in organizations such as COBER and Afro-Americans for Black Liberation (AABL). Following his activism at UH and Texas Southern University, he became involved in cross-racial coalitions, where he came together with Mexican American activists to address social, political, and economic inequalities in Houston. Mr. Lithuli-Allen also discusses the history of the role of SHAPE Center in the Third Ward, and his involvement with My Brother's Keeper, a youth outreach initiative by the Obama administration.