Bro. Baye Kes-Ba-Me-Ra (Duane Bradford), is a native of San Diego, California (USA). He holds a M.S. degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, B.A. degrees in Political Science, French Language and Human Behavior and an A.A. degree in French Language with extensive studies in the areas of Pan-Africanism, African-centered philosophy, African-centered education, journalism, and 30 years of experience in treating substance abuse, mental health issues, especially as they relate to African peoples in the Americas and on the African continent. He is a member of the San Diego chapter of the Association of Black Psychologist and was a recipient of the Abpsi Bobby E. Wright Community Service Award in 1994. He is retired from the California Department of Rehabilitation, a state agency that helps individuals living with disabilities prepare for employment. He is a U.S. Navy veteran. He also holds a black belt degree in the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do.

While working with the Pan-African Movement Worldwide as president (Kichwa) of the Pan-African Associations of America, he returned from the Black Think Tank Conference (in Badagry, Nigeria, 1992) and introduced and organized the observance of “Nakumbuka Day” to the United States in 1993 where he created the first Nakumbuka Day Ceremony in the United States at the directive of the Pan-African Movement in 1994 in San Diego, Ca. He generated a ceremony for Nakumbuka Day observance in the family, and for community observances. He is the leading authority on the observance in the U.S.