INTRODUCTION
Nana Lawson Bush, V, Ph.D. is Professor of Education and Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. He is the former Director of the University of California, Irvine and Cal State LA Joint Doctoral Program in Urban Educational Leadership and former Chair of Pan-African Studies.
Rooted in Pan-Africanism, Dr. Bush advances what he calls a Pentecostal-revolutionary pedagogy—teaching from and to the spirit in order to cultivate a liberatory praxis. His scholarship and leadership aim to disrupt oppressive power relations while building programs, institutions, and state formations grounded in the best of African philosophies and practices.
Dr. Bush is the author of five books, including Sankofa (Re)search Model: (Re)membering, (Re)storing, and (Re)birthing Black Boys and Men and The Plan: A Guide for Women Raising African American Boys from Conception to College, along with more than 36 academic articles. Most notably, he co-authored—alongside his brother, Dr. Edward C. Bush—the first comprehensive theory concerning Black boys and men, African American Male Theory (AAMT), as well as the first research methodology specifically designed for their study. His research positions him as a leading authority on the relationship between Black mothers and their sons, the development of Independent Black Institutions (IBIs) in the United States, and the theorization and methodological study of Black boys and men. His work has become a foundational framework for families, educators, and organizations nationwide.
Continuing a multigenerational lineage of service, struggle, and education, Dr. Bush founded his first independent Black Saturday school at age 22. He has since established numerous Black independent educational spaces, including the Genius Project, a summer STEM academy. For more than 20 years, he has developed and led rites-of-passage programs, working directly with hundreds of Black boys in their manhood development. He is co-founder of the Akoma Unity Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in San Bernardino, California, which utilizes an African-centered framework to educate, heal, and transform historically excluded communities.
Dr. Bush understands his role as a Pan-African educational leader as Worldmaking work. Through his leadership with A2MEND, he has helped bring more than 800 educators to Ghana over the past six years to study African-centered education. He is expanding and reclaiming Pan-African/Black/Africana Studies to fully integrate the sciences as essential to nation-building. He is the founder of the Martin Delany–Pan-African Studies (MDpas) to Medical School Program at Cal State LA, which prepares students for careers in medicine while grounding them in Pan-African Studies. He also co-founded the Health Professions Center at Cal State LA, with the aim of becoming a national leader in producing culturally diverse and culturally responsive healthcare professionals drawn from and trained within local communities.
Nana is a traditionally trained African priest and healer of the Akan priesthood of West Africa. On January 3, 2026, he was enstooled as a paramount king and now bears the name Oba Kweku Baakan Amen Ra Nii Sowah Aleem II. He draws deeply on the teachings of his parents and grandmothers, which continue to guide his ministry and his care for those whom society often renders as “the least of us.”
He is a Baba to many and the father of three children: two daughters who are medical doctors and a son who attends Howard University.
Dr. Bush has received numerous honors, including the Outstanding Faculty Award (2018), the Pan African Studies Black Community Honors Award (2018), the Association for Ethnic Studies Charles C. Irby Distinguished Service Award (2022), the National Council of Black Studies Fannie Lou Hamer and Kwame Nkrumah Award for Academic Leadership and Service in the African Diaspora World (2024), and the Cal State LA Black Excellence Change Maker Award (2024)
RESEARCH
Books
Bush, L., Bush, E., & Mahnzili, A. (2025). Sankofa (re)search model: (Re)membering, (re)storing and (re)birthing Black boys and men (Little Black Books Series). Universal Write Publications.
Bush, L., Bush, E., Mitchell, K., A. Majadi, A., & Faraji, S. (2013). The Plan: A guide for women raising African American boys from conception to college.
Chicago: Third World Press.
Bush, L., Bush, E., Mitchell, K., A. Majadi, A., & Faraji, S. (2013). The Plan Workbook: A guide for women raising African American boys from conception to college. Chicago: Third World Press.
Bush, L. (1999). Can Black mothers raise our sons?
Guest Editor
Issa, J., Newton, P., & Bush, L. (2017). Special Issue on Frances Cress Welsing, MD. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, 10(6).
Refereed Articles
Peer Reviewed
Bush, L., Jeffers-Coly, P., Bush, E., & Lewis, L. (2022). “They are coming to get something”: A qualitative study of African American male community college students’ education abroad experience in Senegal, West Africa. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 34(1) 257-279.
Bush, L., & Bush, E. (2018). A paradigm shift? Just because the lion is talking doesn’t mean that he isn’t still telling the hunter’s story: African American Male Theory and the problematics of both deficit and nondeficit models. Journal of African American Males in Education, 8(4) 1-18.
Issa, J., Newton, P., & Bush, L. (2017). Introduction: Warrior/Queen Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, a legacy of intellectual brilliance and perfect love Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies,10(6) 1-3.
Bush, L., & Bush, E. (2013). Introducing African American Male Theory (AAMT). Journal of African American Males in Education, 4(1) 1-12.
Bush, L., & Bush, E. (2013). “God bless the child who got his own”: Toward a comprehensive theory for African American boys and men.Western Journal of Black Studies, 37(1) 1-13.
Bush, E., & Bush, L. (2010). Calling out the elephant: An examination of African American male achievement in community colleges. Journal of African American Males in Education, 1(1) 40-62.
Burley, H., Marbley, A, & Bush, L. (2007). Apologia for K.W.: A brief tale of wounded love, schools, and being Black in America. Multicultural Education Magazine, 15(2) 7-12.
Burley, H., Butner, B. Causey-Bush, T., & Bush, L. (2007). African American alumni feelings of attachment to a predominately white research-intensive university. College Student Journal, 41(1) 203-216.
Bush, L., Bush, E., & Causey-Bush, T. (2006). The collective unconscious: New thoughts on the existence of independent Black institutions. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 1(6), 48-66.
Bush, L. (2004). How Black mothers participate in the development of manhood and masculinity: What do we know about Black mothers and their sons? Journal of Negro Education, 73(4), 381-391.
Bush, E., & Bush, L. (2004, April/May). “Beware of false prophets” (and promises): African American males and California community colleges. Community College Journal, 74(5), 36-39.
Bush, L. (2004). Access, school choice, and independent Black institutions: A historical perspective. Journal of Black Studies, 34(3), 386-401.
Bush, L. (2002). School choice: An opportunity to build independent Black institutions? Journal of Communications and Minority Issues, 7(1), 9-15.
Marbley, A., Butner, B., Burley, H., Bush, L., Causey-Bush, T, & McKisick, S. (2002). It takes a village: The retention of students of color in predominantly white colleges. NASAP Journal, 5(1), 40-49.
Mitchell, K., Bush, E., & Bush, L. (2002). Standing in the gap: A model for establishing African American male intervention programs within public schools.Educational Horizons, 80(3), 140-146.
Burley, H., Butner, B., Marbley, A., Bush, L., & Morgan-Fleming, B. (2001, May).Standardized testing: For richer or poorer, for democracy or meritocracy? Connections: Journal of Principal Development and Preparation, 3, 15-19.
Bush, L., Burley, H., & Causey-Bush, T. (2001). Magnet schools: Desegregation or resegregation? Students’ voices from inside the walls. American Secondary Education, 29(3), 33-50.
Bush, L. (2000). Black mothers/Black sons: A critical examination of the social science literature. Western Journal of Black Studies, 24(3), 145-154.
Bush, L. (2000). Solve for X: Black women + Black boys = X. Journal of African American Men, 5(2), 31-53.
Bush, L. (1999). Am I a man? A literature review engaging the sociohistorical dynamics of Black manhood in the United States. Western Journal of Black Studies, 23(1), 49-57.
Bush, L. (1997). Independent Black institutions in America: A rejection of schooling, an opportunity for education? Urban Education, 32(1), 98-116.
Editor Reviewed
Bush, L., & Bush, E. (2021, March 3 ). African American male community college students must have educational abroad experiences in Africa. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved from: https://diverseeducation.com/article/206964/.
Bush, L. (2013). The Plan: What Black moms need to raise healthy sons. Essence.com. http://www.essence.com/2013/05/12/plan-what-black-moms-need-raise-healthy-sons.
Cook, O., & Bush, L. (2009, April 30). Perspectives: African-American Ph.D.s: Good enough for America’s educational institutions? Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
Cook, O., Bush, L., & Bush, E. (2008, August 5). More than gatekeepers: Counselors, African-American males, and college access. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 25(13), 19.
Bush, L. (2005, August 11). Stopping the stereotypes. Black Issues in Higher Education, 22(13), 66.
Bush, E., & Bush, L (2005, March 14). Black male achievement and the community college. Community College Week, p.4. [a reprinted invited article from Black Issues in Higher Education].
Bush, E., & Bush, L (2005, March 10). Black male achievement and the community college. Black Issues in Higher Education, 22(2), 44.
Book Chapters
Issa, J., Newton, P., & Bush, L. (2021). Introduction: Warrior/Queen Dr. Frances Cress Welsing,a legacy of intellectual brilliance and perfect love Africology: In L. Tarik (Ed.). Black Freedom Struggles: Africana Reader, Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
Bush, L., Bush, E., & Mahnzili, A. (2020). ‘“Get Out!” Beyond the notion of“Acting White”: Schooling as spirit possession: Dismantling interpretations of African American student success’. In P. Jones (Ed.), Fostering Collaborations Between African American Communities and Educational Institutions, (pp. 34-55). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Collier, D., & Bush, L. (2012). Who am I? I am who you say I am: Black male identity and teacher perceptions. In E. Dancy, & C. Brown (Eds.), African American males in education: Researching the convergence of race and identity (pp. 75-100). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Bush, E., & Bush, L. (2009). One initiative at a time: A look at emerging African American male Programs in the California Community College System. In H. Frierson, W. Pearson, & J. Wyche (Eds.), Black American males in higher education: Diminishing proportions (pp. 253-270). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.
Johnson, R., & Bush, L. (2004). Leading schools through culturally responsive inquiry. In F. English (Ed.), Sage Handbook of Educational Leadership (pp. 269-296). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Bush, L. (1995). Africentric independent Black institutions: A means to social justice? In Darder (Ed.), Bicultural Studies in Education: Transgressive discourses of resistance and possibility (pp. 91-105). The Institute for Education in Transformation: Claremont, CA.
Other Publications
Book
Bush, L. (2011). Today: A guide towards a lifetime of fulfillment. Rancho Cucamonga, CA: Next Generation Press.