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In Black Enlightenment, Surya Parekh reconsiders the Enlightenment from the position of the Black subject, examining the works of writers such as Francis Williams, Ignatius Sancho and Phillis Wheatley against the period’s canonical thinkers, Immanuel Kant and David Hume. Parekh’s sensitive, disruptive analysis shows how early Black authors imagined and inscribed themselves as Enlightenment subjects, writes Lilly Markaki. Black … Continued

Victor Silva Sr. says he used to paint over graffiti on the fence of his home in Oakland, California. But the 102-year-old adds that since he has been confined to a wheelchair that has been difficult. City officials don't seem to have any sympathy for Silva's plight: They sent him a notice to remove the…

Colleen Hroncich


Denisha Merriweather Allen says her life would be very different today if not for school choice. She grew up in an impoverished community in Jacksonville, Florida. Her family had lived in poverty there for at least four generations. They were well‐​known in the community and in the local schools. "She's a Merriweather," teachers would say, with the implication being not to expect anything from her.
Not surprisingly, Denisha's behavior reflected these expectations the adults had of her. "I remember days when I would walk into the classroom and everyone would sigh, including my teacher," she shared with The 74. "I grew disheartened. To hide my hurt, I often lashed out in physical fights with my classmates. The principal's office became my new classroom, and I got used to being suspended. D's and F's filled my report cards." Denisha failed 3rd grade twice because she couldn't read.
As she entered 6th grade, Denisha's life changed. She began living with her godmother, who used a tax credit scholarship to send Denisha to Esprit de Corps Center for Learning, a private school her church had started. "The nurturing environment at Esprit de Corps made a huge difference," says Denisha. "They didn't just see me as a person who came to school with a lot of baggage and not the best outlook. I was a challenging student and spent a lot of time in in‐​school suspension. But they were so nurturing and consistent that it changed my attitude. They encouraged me to use my voice and gave me ways to channel my strengths. I went from making D's and F's to graduating with honors, going to college, and getting a master's degree. I don't think that would have been possible if I hadn't been given a different opportunity."
Denisha became a school choice advocate because she witnessed first‐​hand the tremendous impact it had on her own life. Fast forward to 2020. The country is in the midst of social unrest after the killing of George Floyd. "The entire country was looking at our systems and thinking about how we can become more equitable," says Denisha. "But I was frustrated that there wasn't enough focus on the inequities in our education system and the reforms that really could make a difference in the lives of students and especially Black students. The academic outcomes for Black students nationwide according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress are really dismal."
But Denisha didn't just complain about the situation or sit back and hope someone else would do something. She created Black Minds Matter, a national movement to celebrate black minds, support excellence, and promote the development of high‐​quality school options for black students. "There's a lot of research that shows when Black students have choice in education, their academic outcomes improve drastically. And not just academics—even crime and teen pregnancy rates improve when students have school choice," Denisha points out.
Black Minds Matter works to "encourage and empower elected officials, community members and families to be innovative, demand excellence in education, and increase the number of schools founded by Black individuals." A key piece of this effort is a Black‐​Owned School directory, which is the first online directory to promote schools founded by African Americans and currently includes 416 schools.
Last week, Denisha hosted the second annual Black Minds Matter Summit. It gave parents, students, teachers, school leaders, education reformers, and lawmakers a chance to connect with and inspire each other in their efforts to transform education for black students. The participants included founders of homeschool co‐​ops, microschools, charter schools, and traditional private schools. Students from a local black‐​owned school surprised the audience with a lesson on financial literacy. And former school choice beneficiaries shared their stories along with ways to activate and engage communities.
Prior to this year's summit, Black Minds Matter partnered with the State Policy Network to host a mini launchpad with black school founders who are looking to expand. It was a great opportunity for the founders to receive feedback and tips from a diverse group of entrepreneurs, innovators, and education reformers.
In her journey from school choice beneficiary to advocate, Denisha has been an inspiration to countless people. But she's also been inspired herself—by the parents who are finding better options for their children, the students who are working to improve their futures, the school founders who are creating new opportunities for those students, and the lawmakers who are willing to face strong opposition when they pass school choice programs that help disadvantaged kids escape bad environments. Through Black Minds Matter, she's created a way to help cultivate and sustain a growing movement centered around ensuring every black student has access to a high‐​quality education they've chosen.

The faculty, students, researchers, and staff of the UC Davis Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior stand in solidarity with the Black community. We condemn white supremacy, police brutality, and the politics of racism, fear, and hate. Black Lives Matter. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are the most recent illustrations of the systemic racism and injustice that permeate every aspect of our society--including academia.

"We are all deeper than the concentration of melanin in our skin." Exploring Sudan's vibrant spectrum of skin colours and cultural biases, from "yellow" to "blue" and beyond.

A student's overzealous school spirit shouldn't ruin his life.

During Black History Month, we've highlighted some research and data from recent Brookings scholarship on employment, income, wealth, health, education, and other indicators that highlight racial gaps in America. You can peruse the previous charts here, here, and here. In their piece on the challenges facing Black men, Richard Reeves, Sarah Nzau, and Ember Smith explain…

Mikayla Tillery reviews Kevin Okoth's Red Africa: Reclaiming Revolutionary Black Politics. She delves into Okoth's incisive critique of Afro-pessimism, Negritude, and the academic misinterpretations of Franz Fanon. Tillery discusses Okoth's arguments against the idea that Marxism is Eurocentric by examining the historical suppression of Marxism in Kenya. She reveals how Okoth highlights the contributions of black revolutionaries and reframes Marxism as a potent force for decolonisation and anti-imperialism.
The post Time to reclaim black revolutionary politics appeared first on ROAPE.

Marci Shore— The Sky Turns Black from Smoke Close to midnight on Tuesday, 18 February 2014, twenty-one-year-old Misha Martynenko, reeking of smoke, returned to the Kiev apartment he shared with... READ MORE
The post The Sky Turns Black from Smoke appeared first on Yale University Press.

Much of the attention surrounding the nationwide overdose crisis has focused on the substantial increase in overdose deaths among white men, and has more recently been extended to Black men and Native American individuals. However the impact of the opioid epidemic on Black women has not been widely studied or discussed, limiting the development of […]

Yalonda Chandler was "just" a mom seeking community for her children when she started Black Homeschoolers of Birmingham.

Michigan had a historic midterm election following its first redistricting process under the Independent Redistricting Commission. The Commission set out to create districts with a reasonable threshold for the Black communities preferred candidates to win, even as these districts had a lower makeup of people of color.