The moment we sat down, it felt like catching up with someone I’d known for years. We talked nutrition, education, her kids, Memphis. You could tell right away how proud she is to be from the 901, and specifically from the Whitehaven area. Today, I get to share a little bit of that conversation with you, because I think her story is one this community needs to hear.
June was Immigrant Heritage Month, a time our community sets aside to celebrate the many cultures that make Memphis richer. Omi’s story is a reminder that you don’t have to come from somewhere else to help your children fall in love with the whole world.
Meet Iyalaje “Omi” Ogunwale.
The Story Behind Her Name
One of the first things I asked Omi was how and why she chose her name, and what it means to her. She actually followed up with me later to make sure she got it exactly right. Here’s what she shared:
Iyalaje means mother of wealth. Omidele means water returns home. And Omi, the name most people know her by, comes from her middle name, Omi-dele.
There’s something beautiful about a mom of six carrying a name that means mother of wealth, and a name that speaks to water finding its way home. Once you learn her story, it makes even more sense.
Finding Her Way Back to Herself
Omi grew up in Whitehaven and graduated from Whitehaven High School in 1998. But her journey toward embracing her heritage started even before that, at 16 years old, when she became plant based and started exploring what it meant to live more intentionally, in her food, her values, and eventually her identity.
She didn’t always have the language or the community around her to describe what she was feeling. It wasn’t until she left Memphis for Washington, D.C. that things started to click. She found herself surrounded by Ethiopian, Jamaican, and other African diasporic communities for the first time, and something in her opened up.
That’s when her cultural journey really took shape. In her twenties, she started studying different cultures and spiritualities, and that’s how she landed on the name Iyalaje, which she now carries alongside Omi. It wasn’t handed to her. It’s something she grew into, piece by piece, the same way a lot of us figure out who we are as we get older and start paying closer attention to what actually matters to us.
“I think being a little Black girl, when you’re deprived of something, you tend to go the complete opposite,” she told me, reflecting on those years. “My pendulum swung all the way.” These days, she says her heritage doesn’t need to announce itself. It’s simply who she is.
Raising Kids Who Aren’t Afraid of Difference
That same intentionality shows up in how Omi raises her kids. She’s taken them to Abyssinia for Ethiopian food, to Overton Square for Indian cuisine, and to the Hispanic/Latine markets near the University of Memphis, where she’d hand them a Spanish-language newspaper and tell them to put their classroom Spanish to use. She’s brought them to the Italian Festival, Africa in April, and much more.
Her reasoning is simple. Kids who grow up around different cultures don’t feel awkward around them later. “It blurs out the awkwardness as you get older,” she said, “when you’re in the real world, socializing around a diverse group of people.” She wants her kids’ palates, and their perspectives, shaped early, so difference feels familiar instead of foreign.
She’s also quick to point out that loving where you’re from and loving the wider world aren’t in conflict. She’s proud to be raising her kids in a majority Black city with deep roots and culture of its own. For Omi, honoring her Southern upbringing and building a global mindset in her kids have always gone hand in hand.
That same mindset, being intentional about the environments she puts her kids in, is exactly what led her to Freedom Preparatory Academy Charter Schools (FPA).
Finding a School Community That Felt Like Home
After years of homeschooling her older children, Omi went looking for a school that could carry forward the foundation she’d already built at home. She found Freedom Prep through a simple Google search, but what kept her was the mission and the people. She was drawn to the school’s mission of preparing kids for college, and she still remembers the moment a Freedom Prep principal made the decision feel right: warm, personal, and genuinely invested in her family.
That same warmth showed up in the classroom. Omi remembers an FPA Millbranch Campus teacher who texted her personal updates in the evenings and built real relationships with every parent in her class. Omi felt like she could walk away and trust her children were safe, academically, emotionally, and behaviorally. “She took the time to build a relationship,” Omi said. “I felt safe.” That awesome Freedom Prep teacher was veteran educator Margaret Griffith.
Since enrolling, she’s watched her daughter grow more confident and engaged, active in student leadership and school clubs, encouraged to be exactly as outspoken and curious as she’s always been.
Her Advice to Other Families
Omi’s advice for parents considering Freedom Prep, or any school, is rooted in the same philosophy that’s guided her own parenting: expose your kids to as much diversity as you can, as early as you can. But she’s just as clear that self-love comes first. “That love for self doesn’t mean that I don’t love you,” she said. “It’s a foundation from which I can appreciate someone else, without needing to be them.”
It’s a lesson worth celebrating not just this month, but all year long.
Want to Learn More About Omi?
Beyond being a mom of six and a Freedom Prep parent, Omi is also a longtime entrepreneur in the food and nutrition space. She now works with individuals on personalized, medically tailored nutrition, helping people manage things like hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol through food. You can find her and follow her work on her website.
Want your child to grow up in a school community that values who they are and helps them dream bigger? Freedom Prep Academy is proud to prepare students in PreK through 12th grade to excel in college and in life. Learn more about enrolling your family and discover a school community built on the same warmth, diversity, and belonging Omi found for hers.
This blog was written by Talia Palacio
Talia Palacio is a Memphis educator, advocate, and a bridge between worlds. Born in Panama and rooted in the 901, she has spent her career in classrooms and communities where language is not a barrier but a gift. As a bilingual teacher, Talia brings both cultures she carries into everything she does, making space for students to learn, belong, and be fully seen. She believes that when a child hears their language in the room, something opens in them. Her work is proof of that every single day. She’s currently serving as the Director of Marketing and Communications at Freedom Preparatory Academy Charter Schools (FPA).
FPA is a network of tuition-free public charter schools serving students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Founded in Memphis in 2009, its mission is to equip students with the skills and character needed to excel in college and in life. Now operating schools in Birmingham, Alabama, and Memphis, TN. Learn more about the FPA Movement! Visit freedomprep.org today!
Photos Courtesy of Iyalaje “Omi” Ogunwale
