Witnessing an act of classroom violence as a child left an indelible impression on local author, educator and former criminal justice practitioner Tambura Omoiele.
“In the seventh grade, a classmate threw a chair at the social science teacher and used profanity,” recalls Omoiele, a library associate at MidPointe Library in Monroe. “I had never witnessed a youth disrespect an adult, much less a teacher. After that shocking behavior, I knew then that I wanted to help juvenile delinquents.”
The classroom incident seared into memory, Omoiele developed a lifelong desire to “help incorrigible juveniles.”
That sense of altruism led the Dayton, Ohio, native to enter public service as a probation officer for Montgomery County, Ohio, and as a parole officer for the State of Ohio.
It also paved the way for the creation of a children’s picture book. Its theme : respect for the law.
“A Gift for Daddy Gone Wrong,” her self-published picture book, warns children about the consequences of breaking the law.
“It’s about a little girl shopping with her parents at the mall, and she shoplifts. When they arrive home, the parents discover the stolen merchandise. The little girl returns the item the next day to the store. Later, the father has a conversation with his daughter; he explains that she broke the law and the possible consequences of her actions,” Omoiele explains.
"A Gift...” is not the only book Omoiele has created.
She completed a 200-page coffee table book titled, ‘Transportation in Kenya: A Social Anthology of Motion, Movement and Mobility’ in which she uses “all the modes of transport to research a culture,” she says.
“This book is a follow-up of an earlier book published in 1980 by a cousin,” Omoiele explains. “The book is based on an enslaved matriarch and her twelve children. My book is based on the twelve descendants of the slave matriarch. The book title is ‘The Revere Family: A Social Genealogy and History.’ Family history and social genealogy are weaved together to tell a story.”
In Summer 2007 Omoiele spent time in Kenya conducting research for DHL courier in Nairobi, she says.
“By chance I met the chancellor of USIU (United States International University). She expressed a desire for a criminal justice degree program for the university. A year later, I moved to Kenya for the express purpose to develop and implement a bachelor’s degree major and minor in criminal justice.”
Upon leaving the criminal justice field as a practitioner, Omoiele found a “natural segue into post-secondary education in criminal justice,” she says.
With thoughts of desperate juveniles in need of guidance, Omoiele has taught courses in sociology, criminal justice, juvenile delinquency and capital punishment at sites across the country as well as in Kenya. They include Topeka, Kansas (Washburn University), Madison, Wisconsin (Edgewood College), and Ohio (as an adjunct at the University of Cincinnati/Blue Ash, Strayer University, and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College).
Her own educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Wright State University, a master’s degree in criminal justice from Xavier University and a doctorate in sociology from Union Institute and the University of Cincinnati.
In graduate school Omoiele lectured at Miami University, Wright State University, Wittenberg University, Sinclair Community College and Edison State Community College.
The author on writing...
“When I was eleven, I wrote the lyrics to a song about a train,” this local author recalls. “I recorded the song in a Voice-O-Graph booth at an amusement park arcade. I dropped coins in a slot. A light comes on to start to record. The final product is a 78-rpm vinyl record. In 2015, I had the lyrics transcribed into sheet music by a professional songwriter in Chicago.
“When I turned thirteen, my mother presented me with a five-year diary as a birthday gift. I started to journal. I have accumulated a drawer full of filled journals and now electronically-stored journals in my computer.”
Interestingly, preparation is not part of this local author’s writing routine.
“I do not prepare to write,” she states. “I jot down ideas and thoughts as they come to me. Quite often, I react or respond to statements I have read or heard on news commentaries... I morph into a zone where my adrenalin is running high, the thoughts are flowing so fast that I cannot type fast enough to capture the deluge of thoughts. Writing consumes me. When the surge is over, I have to make sense of the jumbled thoughts.”
Although writing is a “passion,” Omoiele admits it’s also “a labor of love.”
“...Finding time to write every day while working is difficult,” she admits. “There are times that I refrain from writing, because when I get in a writer's zone, I tend to ignore nourishment, I am sleep deprived, and I ignore hygiene. I become annoyed by the slightest interruption.”
Interestingly, deadlines do not motivate this local author. “I am goal-oriented and driven. Deadlines cause panic and disappointments,” she maintains. It took two years to publish her children’s book, she says.
Upon completion of a work, “I self-publish,” Omoiele states. “I do not send manuscripts to publishing houses. After the manuscript is edited, corrections and rewrites are made and graphic artists do a cover design and a layout. A printer assembles the book for printing.”
Persons interested in acquiring a copy of “A Gift For Daddy Gone Wrong” can contact Omoiele at the following email address:tamburaomoiele@hotmail.com
MidPointe Library loves local authors!
Local writers are encouraged to visit any MidPointe location (online and on-site) for research material as well as publisher handbooks and guides to writing.
Writers’ groups are also invited to reserve meeting rooms at MidPointe locations. Go to
*The accompanying photo of Tambura Omoiele and granddaughters was taken at MidPointe Library’s READ-LOCAL program at its West Chester location. The free, popular event gives the public a chance to meet local authors.
