Education
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Critical Condition: Bethune-Cookman and the Survival of the HBCU, Part 1
“There will come a time of fire and night, when enemies rise and empires fall, when the stars themselves begin to die.” ― Kevin J. Anderson text Winter always comes. Everything dies. Nothing else is certain. At the fall of every glorious thing that was ever built, among the ashes and rubble, you will find…
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National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson Continues Virginia State University’s Tradition of Lifting Up the Next Generation
Rodney Robinson’s journey to becoming the 2019 National Teacher of the Year was like a road littered with obstacles. One of the major challenges was needing to work a full-time job while earning his undergraduate degree at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va. While carrying a full academic load at the HBCU, Robinson held down…
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NYC Top Educator’s Efforts to Battle ‘White Supremacy Culture’ Met With Criticism, Potential Lawsuit: Report
New York City schools chancellor Richard Carranza has made it his mission as the city’s top education administrator to tackle systemic racism—a major issue for a school system that ranks as the country’s largest, and among its most segregated. To help do that, Carranza has advocated for major changes to the way New York City…
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FAMU’s Tradition of Unapologetic Blackness and Activism Set Andrew Gillum on a Political Path
One of the rising stars in the Democratic Party credits the traditions instilled at his alma mater, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), for putting him on the road of success in his political career. Looking back, the odds were against Andrew Gillum finding his way into FAMU, one of the nation’s oldest HBCUs. There…
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Four New York City Department of Education Executives Claim They're Victims of 'Reverse Racism'
Four administrators in New York City’s Department of Education are about to sue the city because, they say, they were moved into positions of less authority or just given less responsibility on account of their race. To add insult to injury, the plaintiffs—all white women—allege that they were replaced with people of color they consider…
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SATs Invite Controversy With New 'Adversity Score'
After a week full of terrible ass ideas comes the news that the College Board—the organization responsible for administering SATs—will bestow students with an “Adversity Score” based upon their socioeconomic status. And if this sounds like another terrible ass idea, it’s because it is. Per CNN: The score takes into account information from the student’s…
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Teaching the Bible in Public Schools Is on the Rise Across the Nation, Raising Alarm About the Separation of Church and State
An increasing number of states across the U.S., buoyed by a January post by tweeter in chief Donald Trump, are adding Bible study to public school curricula in a move critics see as an attack on the separation of church and state as outlined in the Constitution. As the Washington Post reports: Activists on the…
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LeBron James’ I Promise School Receives a $1 Million Boost from Dick’s Sporting Goods
The good news keeps coming for LeBron James’ groundbreaking I Promise School in his native Akron, Ohio. Following April reports that the school was already yielding incredible results in its first year, the NBA star surprised I Promise students by announcing that they’d be receiving a brand new gym, thanks to a $1 million grant…
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From Homecoming to the ‘School of B’ Howard University Traditions Helped Mold Ezinne Kwubiri for Success
Back in high school, applying to an HBCU wasn’t even on the radar of Ezinne Kwubiri as she made college plans. In fact, the Nigerian-born, future H&M executive’s only knowledge about historically black institutions came from what she saw on TV sitcoms in the 1980s and ’90s—The Cosby Show and A Different World. But after…
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HBCU Wilberforce University Launches Fundraising Campaign to Raise $2 Million by June 30
On Saturday, Wilberforce University hosted its 163rd commencement on campus, honoring graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Graduate, Adult and Continuing Education, College of Professional Studies and an honorary degree for Michael L. Lomax, who serves as president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund, the largest private…