News
These are some of the articles, videos,and more we believe promote the goals and themes of the Black Minds Matter movement. As we work to expand education options for our students, we hope to ensure every person has access to resources to be life-long learners. If you’d like to have a news highlighted here, please email us.
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Black Minds Matter
The world is in the midst of a civil uprising as more bear witness to the racial and social injustices that take place daily in America, sparked by the abhorrent murders of black men and women.
“Every man has two educations: that which is given to him, and the other which he gives himself. What we are merely taught seldom nourishes the minds like that which we teach ourselves.”
Georgia Democrat defects to GOP after she says Dems ‘crucified’ and ‘abandoned’ her
A Peach State lawmaker who angered her Democratic colleagues in the Georgia state House of Representatives over her support for a recent school choice bill has announced she is officially switching parties.
COMMENTARY: Portrait of Black School Founders: A survey of Black education entrepreneurs and how they are demystifying education freedom
In mainstream media, school choice is often framed as taking money away from public schools or being elite, white, and only a conservative policy issue. Yet Black school founders’ very existence directly debunks these common myths. My own experience does, too. That’s why I founded Black Minds Matter, a national movement to support education freedom. We launched the first-ever Black-founded schools directory in 2020. Today, the directory houses over 400 schools that are owned or operated by Black education entrepreneurs, and recently, I joined up with colleagues Dava Cherry and Ron Matus at Step Up For Students to conduct a survey of the 100-member Black School Founder Network. The 61 founders who participated in the survey give us incredible insight into the reality of school choice.
BREAKING: New Yass Award For Education Freedom Announced
WASHINGTON – Governors of Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma have been tapped by The Yass Prize, the most prestigious award in education, to nominate 10 education providers in their respective states for The Yass Award for Education Freedom. Each of the winners will receive a share of the new $5 million award to serve more students.
A small Pinellas school offers affirmation, representation, hugs galore
Entering its second year, Infinite Potential Learning Academy is out to let the kids “know you care.” As soon as Twanna Monroe and her husband, Kori, entered the classroom, the previously subdued kindergartners and first graders squirmed their way out of crisscross applesauce and ran to the pair’s open arms for hugs.
Meek Mill among 65 endorsing lifeline scholarships
Meek Mill – a rapper, activist, and Philadelphia native – is one of the lead signatories on a letter sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro, two of his cabinet members, and the General Assembly that says the Lifeline Scholarship program will free students trapped in “failing” schools, irrespective “of their family’s socioeconomic status or their zip code.”
Black Minds Matter: How One Woman is Leading the Charge for School Change
Denisha Allen’s journey from a troubled student to a master’s degree graduate and leader in education reform is a model of the American Dream. Born in a poor neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida, Denisha’s early experience with public schools was about as bad as it gets. Her life at home was a struggle, and going to school was like going off to battle. Her mom and uncles had already dropped out, and her teachers had already given up on her because she shared their last name. She was terrified of being called on in class because she was reading below her grade level and regularly had to avoid getting into physical and emotional fights with her classmates.
Special report: Insights from first-ever survey of Black educational entrepreneurs
Editor’s note: This report was compiled by Denisha Merriweather, founder of Black Minds Matter and senior fellow at the American Federation for Children; Dava Cherry, former director for enterprise data and research at Step Up For Students; and Ron Matus, director for research and special projects at Step Up For Students. Across America, education entrepreneurs are on the rise, fueled by frustration with traditional schools, a pandemic that magnified the inequities of public education, and the accelerating expansion of education choice. Black education entrepreneurs are in the thick of it. We wanted to learn more about this distinctive group of innovators. So, we surveyed Black school founders who are listed on the Black-owned Schools Directory maintained by Black Minds Matter. The responses we received from 61 founders are a first-ever glimpse into who these entrepreneurs are.
Champion Women: Denisha Allen
Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children and Founder of Black Minds Matter “While my last name may have protected me in the neighborhood, it also followed me into the classroom. One adult at school might turn to another and say, ‘She’s a Merriweather’,” Denisha Allen recalled in a biographical sketch. Allen’s Merriweather relatives were famous for street brawls, not academic achievements.
Opinion: On education, stop treating children like political footballs
Last month, I testified before a congressional subcommittee discussing the topic of “School Choice: Expanding Educational Freedom for All.” I reflected on my personal journey receiving a tax-credit scholarship from the sixth through 12th grade to attend a private school. I urged members of Congress to support expanding school choice at the federal level. They have the opportunity to pass the Educational Choice for Children Act — a monumental bill that would create a $10 billion federal tax credit scholarship. . . . School choice doesn’t just benefit students who leave district schools. A 2020 report from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that as the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program grew, district schools improved. As choice expanded, Black students who remain in Florida district schools are also making strong academic gains, both outpacing Black students nationally and narrowing achievement gaps with White students in Florida. That’s why I was so disappointed when Rep. Jahana Hayes, Connecticut Democrat, dismissed my personal story — my lived experience — of the relief and joy of finding a school where teachers smiled at me, a simple act that may seem trivial, but for a child who hates school is profound.