New Effort to Grant Black Youngsters a Quality Education
GRACE was formed in June 2017 and has recently distributed modest sums to Black independent schools. “This is merely the beginning,” says former radio talk show host Bob Law, “We are committed to providing much more money for many more schools.” Two of the schools receiving funds from GRACE are The Freedom Home Academy, Chicago Illinois and The Learning Tree Stem Arts School, Queens New York.
Being aware of the increasingly hostile political environment expanding in America, The National Black Leadership Alliance has among other initiatives called for a paradigm shift in the ongoing struggle to acquire a quality education for Black young people. The National Black Leadership Alliance has created GRACE (Granting Resources And Cultivating Excellence), an independent education fund to provide financial support for independent black schools.
NBLA Chairman Bob Law states, “It is our position that we should expand the current education movement to include placing a greater emphasis on supporting and sustaining the existing networks of the many excellent black independent schools that exist nationwide.”
Our concern, says Law, is that our ongoing battles to reform, revamp, and take control of the inner cities public schools has resulted in generations of undereducated, non-competitive Black young people most of whom remain trapped in the public school to prison pipeline.
“In 1990,” continues Bob Law, “I filed a class action lawsuit against the New York City board of education pointing to the damage being done to black students on the level of curriculum and instruction.” That lawsuit was resisted by New York’s black and white political establishment, the City’s black mayor instructed New York’s corporate counsel to file a brief to prevent the suit from going before a judge, denying the nine African American children who were the plaintiffs to even have their day in court. Our every effort to improve the public schools is resisted by policy makers regardless of ethnicity or political affiliation.
“The social cost of these battles are extremely high,” says Law, “It is each generation of black children who ultimately pay the price. The National Black Leadership Alliance feels that the emerging generations are better served if we take up the awesome task of creating a viable alternative to the dysfunctional public schools.”
NBLA argues that the public schools are not simply failing, as is often surmised. “Most public schools,” states the Alliance, “are actually fulfilling their mission to destroy the minds and limit the potential of the African American students in their care.”
Law further states, “We believe that a failure to provide such an alternative to is to betray the new and emerging generations.”
The NBLA points out that there already exists Black independent schools nationally that do an excellent job on the critical levels of curriculum and instruction, teaching Math, Science, Technology, Black Studies, Media Arts, Film Making, Global History, Music, Engineering and more, they serve the communities where they exist far better than the public schools in those same communities.
At this point, the funds are coming from the black communities that are served by the many excellent independent schools. “We are hopeful that Black businesses and organizations will support this effort as they become aware of it,” says Law
The NBLA is calling on everyone whether you have children in school at this moment or not, to become a part of this movement to provide a quality and empowering education for the emerging generations of black youngsters. We do not mean to abandon the public schools, but to expand the struggle to increase the possibilities for successfully granting more black children an empowering education.
We are asking everyone to help give our children a future. Please send a small donation of $10.00 or more. To donate go to, gofundme.com/GRACEEDUFUND.