education
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White Woman Discovers Racism
In the latest episode of Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett Smith, alongside her mother, Adrienne Banfield Norris, hosted former Sex and the City star Kristin Davis for a probing, earnest talk about the complications of transracial adoption. Titled “Should White People Adopt Black Kids,” the discussion featured Davis talking at length about her experiences as…
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Access Is Not Inclusion: Meet the Harvard Professor Who Studies Low-Income and Disadvantaged College Students
“Education alone does not erase generations of exclusion, racism that we see in the housing market, that we see in the job market, that we see in the very DNA of this country.” — Professor Anthony Jack, Ph.D. text When I was in high school, I was an idealist—especially when it came to my education.…
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Clap Your Hands: Pharrell Williams Makes 114 Grads of Harlem High School ‘Happy’ With Guaranteed Internships
Having the prolific hit-maker Pharrell Williams as their commencement speaker probably seemed like a big enough “get” for the graduating class of Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy. But the ridiculously ageless producer and singer had one welcome surprise for the young graduates: guaranteed internships. “Let me be clear…every member of the 2019 graduating class is…
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Meet Sydney Wilson, the 14-Year-Old Who Just Became the Youngest Student to Attend Spelman College
After conquering high school and leaving straight A’s in her wake, Atlanta native Sydney Wilson will be taking the next step in her academic journey by attending Spelman College in the fall. Did I mention she’s only 14 years old? WREG Memphis reports that the rumors are true: she’ll be graduating from The Wilson Academy—where…
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Free Your Mind: 10 Missouri Eastern Prison Inmates Graduate College
If you didn’t know the ceremony was taking place in a state prison, you might think it was just another joyful celebration of newly credentialed scholars. But the 10 members of this graduating class are all convicted felons—and inmates at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center. And on Wednesday they became the first graduates of Washington…
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Homeless Student Awarded $3 Million in Scholarships, Named Valedictorian
For most high school students, their senior year is riddled with challenges. But outside of the demands of homework and having hormones on the fritz, 17-year-old Tupac Mosley of Memphis, Tenn., faces a particular challenge unlike anyone else in his graduating class: he’s homeless. Mosley refused to use his circumstances as an excuse not to…
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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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Picture of Smiling Teachers Holding Noose Lands All Four on Paid Leave Alongside Principal
Four teachers in California decided to get cute and pose with a noose. Now, their bosses will decide if they, along with their principal, will receive their direct deposits from the school district or state unemployment. In the photo, originally shared online free of caption or context, was taken and initially distributed by the Summerwing…
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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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Meet Tay Anderson, the 20-Year-Old School Board Candidate Determined to Rescue the Denver Public School System From Itself
Everything about activist Tay Anderson screams “about that action.” In 2017, a 19-year-old Anderson spearheaded a 200-person “We Don’t Drink Ink” protest after Colorado-based Ink Coffee boasted “Happily Gentrifying Since 2014″ in its promotional materials—which was pretty damn brazen considering the cafe was located in Five Points, one of Denver’s oldest, historically black neighborhoods. But…