Owning My Blackness Logo

What is OMB?

Owning My Blackness (OMB) is a brand that works to educate, advocate and elevate for black students.  The brand has two sister branches underneath it, Owning My Blackness, the organization and Owning My Blackness Consulting, a for-profit business. Owning My Blackness the organization serves as a mentorship network that connects students in k-12 and higher education. The program consists of helping students raise their grade in the classroom while also helping them get their foot in the door in the college and professional world. In addition the students in the program learn Black History and how it still plays a role in trends we see in society today.  It also includes helping students feel accepted within their communities while having fun. OMB is open to students of all races with a primary focus of helping black students. OMB is currently partnering with the APJ Foundation to provide mentorship to the youth in York Pennsylvania.

Owning My Blackness Consulting, is a for-profit branch underneath Owning My Blackness that works to reduce systematic racism with a focus on education. Systematic racism that shows up in education effects every sector of society from the criminal justice System, the healthcare system, to the workforce and much more. Owning My Blackness Consulting offers speaking events, consulting on practices and policies, and DEI trainings for schools, colleges/universities, businesses, healthcare locations and more. Go to www.ombconsulting.org to learn more!

Meet Briaunna Embrey-Banks

Briaunna Embrey-Banks is the Founder of Owning My Blackness. She is a 24 year old, getting her Master’s degree in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Leadership at the University of Maryland Baltimore. She recently graduated from York College of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science. She majored in Criminal Justice with a double minor in Creative Writing and African American Studies. Briaunna is a double regional award winner as the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Association of College and University Housing Officers (MACUHO) Annual Conference Best Presentation By a New Professional Award Winner and the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Association of College and University Housing Officers (MACUHO) Commitment to Social Justice Award.

Briaunna created OMB in 2020 after the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Owning My Blackness was created to empower students to take over their education and to give a voice to African American students. Briaunna has taken the brand from a single college event to a multi-institutional organization to now a business in three years time. Since the creation of OMB Briaunna has run diversity and empathy training, helped schools rewrite policies, and held speaking events on both the college and high school level. To learn more about Briaunna’s story go to www.ombconsulting.org