Omuteko Gwamaziima was founded in 1995 in Durham, North Carolina by a group of sisters and brothers in response to the absence of educational institutions in the community that addressed the needs of African American children. The group incorporated as a non-profit entity, obtained 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, and devoted its energies and personal financial resources to the establishment of the school.  Over the next three years, the founders of the school, with the assistance of a small but critical core group of highly dedicated and committed volunteers, brought their concept to fruition.

The school opened in the fall of 1998 as an independent private school with one volunteer teacher/director and four students.  Two of the school’s founders and a small number of community volunteers assisted with teaching and administrative responsibilities.  By the spring of 1999, the enrollment had increased to seven students.

In the fall of 1999, the school began operating as a publicly-funded charter school with an enrollment of sixty-five students in grades K-9 and a staff of four full-time teachers, two part-time teachers and two administrators.