8 Black Hands

26/04/2024

This is what happens when we close the belief gap.

I met these two boys in Gary, Indiana. They will graduate high school this May with their high school diplomas AND bachelor's degrees. They are pre-med and expect to be doctors by age 21.

If you've been to Gary, you know why their achievement is doubly impressive.

13/03/2024

The good ole days! Was looking for something else and came across this ole article:

Sanchez adopts middle school

By Lezlie B. McCoy, Tribune Correspondent

It was three years in the making, and the hard work of a community
was celebrated with the official ribbon-cutting dedication of the Sonia
Sanchez Literacy Center (SSLC) at Shaw Middle School Monday.

Creating better tools for literacy is a concern for schools across the
board in America, and Shaw Middle School and its SSLC partners have
concerted their resources to strengthen the reading and writing efforts
of their students.

Sonia Sanchez is a renowned poet and author with a solid record of
universal community service. With a career spanning decades, she has
served as a positive role model for Philadelphians, teaching at Temple
University and continuing her love affair with writing. Philadelphia
youth have been greatly influenced by Sanchez’s body of work.

Sanchez has adopted Shaw Middle School, and assures her personal
involvement with the SSLC.

SSLC is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education’s GEAR UP,
or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs,
organization. It was designed to increase the number of low-income
students that are preparing to enter and succeed in postsecondary
education.

Due to funding issues, GEAR UP was unable to continue its work at
Shaw. Enter WES Health Center, the largest and leading African-American
behavioral health system in this area. WES assisted Shaw in continuing
the literacy and educational efforts that GEAR UP initiated.

Shaw and WES developed an after-school program that focuses on
enhancing the literacy performance of the students attending Shaw.
Along with Sanchez, who submitted her personal stamp of approval on the
project, Shaw and WES dedicated the SSLC to total wellness, educational
enhancement, creative exploration and community building. The
collaborators aspire to change the lives of each participant by
introducing them to art, spoken word, creative writing, chess, reading
and other avenues of education.

Since its opening in January, the SSLC has hosted after school
programs that include the Young Reporters Club, City Year Newsletter
Club, Chess Club and Computer Club.

The dedication ceremony began in Shaw’s auditorium with a video
presentation of Sanchez. After the video, Zyhkeya Waller-Young of the
Turner/WES Beacon Community Center welcomed the guests and introduced
the master of ceremonies, Shaw Principal Sharif El-Mekki.

The SSLC is a dream for El-Mekki, who has followed Sanchez’s career
since he was a child.

“I remember Dr. Sanchez when I was in elementary school,” said
El-Mekki. “She motivated us to focus on education, literacy and things
that were important.”

The audience was treated to performances and poetry offerings from
community guests.

After receiving flowers from the SSLC participants, Sanchez graciously
offered words of encouragement to the students and community. She
considered it an honor to adopt Shaw Middle School, and to have the
SSLC inform and inspire students.

The new literacy center’s namesake is elated “to have a place where
young people come in and read, do work on computers, listen to poetry,
do their homework and participate in workshops. We will be very sure
that our young people continue to read and write, and move up in this
world the way they are supposed to. We care that they learn. As long as
I walk on this earth, I will be a part of this school to make sure that
not only you survive, but you come to school to learn.”

The ceremony continued with a ribbon cutting ceremony upstairs in the
SSLC, which is comprised of two connected classrooms. These rooms
showcased the computers and materials dedicated to the enhanced
literacy of Shaw students.

Upon entering the SSLC, Sanchez shared thoughts about the occasion.

“I am so thrilled and honored that someone would name a literacy
center after me,” she said. “I’ve had rooms and lecture series named
after me at universities, but this is the first one from a middle
school, and in a place where I’ve lived, Philadelphia. I am honored not
just by the room, but what will be happening here.”

El-Mekki stated that the SSLC event shows the caring spirit of the
community.

“No school can be successful without their support,” he said.
“Literacy is extremely important, and I’m proud of the community for
their support.”

Waller-Young displayed her enthusiasm about the SSLC event. “I think
it was great, and it will be very important for the kids,” she said. “I
believe it will get more people involved because (Sanchez) actually
came out.”

Shaw Middle School is at 5400 Warrington Ave. in Southwest
Philadelphia. Other sponsors and supporters of the Sonia Sanchez
Literacy Center include the School District of Philadelphia, WES Health
Centers, Philadelphia Safe & Sound, Turner/WES Beacon Community Center,
City Year, Inc, and Southwest Globe Times. Shaw instructor Garnette
Davis oversees the after school programs at Shaw.

03/11/2023

It's Freedom Friday, and you're still not free, but hopefully you'll be a bit closer after an hour with Chris and Sharif. Join us to discuss how we talk to our young people about what's happening in the middle east, and the rise of islamophobia and anti-semitism.

27/10/2023

As education activists, we often have criticisms of the current system and things that we wish it did better. Let's say we had the power to create a school from scratch, how would we go about doing it?

It's and you're still not free, but hopefully you will be a bit closer after an hour with Chris and Sharif (and Dr. Charles Cole III). Join the conversation!

11/10/2023

22/09/2023

It's Friday and you're still not free, but hopefully, you'll be a bit closer after an hour with Citizen Stewart and Ismael Jimenez, Director of Social Studies Curriculum with the School District of Philadelphia.

Join the conversation on reaching educational freedom and preparing our kids to thrive.

29/05/2023

09/05/2023

Research shows all students benefit when they have a Black teacher. Yet, across the country, there isn’t enough diversity in the classroom. Teachers like DeQuaz Humphries, a math teacher in New Orleans, recognize this and it's one of the many reasons why he know from a young age, he belonged in education.

Today, the continues with the celebration of DeQuaz! Click here to read more of his story: http://ow.ly/9n9F50OjAWB

Center for Black Educator Development TNTP Teaching Fellows teachNOLA

08/05/2023

During , The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans in collaboration with the Center for Black Educator Development and the National Black Teacher Pipeline Coalition are highlighting the impact of Black teachers across the country.

08/05/2023

Research shows Black teachers inspire future Black teachers. This Teacher Appreciation Week, in your life.

Join the Center for Black Educator Development and share your appreciation for current and future Black teachers. Black teachers change lives!

WeNeedBlackTeachers.com

08/05/2023

08/05/2023

A very special episode of the 8 Black Hands.

07/05/2023

This month Sharif El-Mekki shares how we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors, and how we must commit to making things better for our students.

07/05/2023

📣Camelback Ventures CEO Transition Announcement: Our CEO and Founder Aaron T. Walker has announced that he will be departing from his role in early 2024 to pursue a new opportunity and will remain a part of the organization’s Board of Directors. Since the founding of Camelback Ventures in 2015, Aaron has been the driving force behind our national accelerator’s growth and success as we near our 10-year mark. To date, Camelback has invested more than $10-million to support undervalued founders leading social impact ventures across the country.

Aaron: “Founding a company is like parenting - there are many books on the subject; it looks easier from the outside than actually having to live into your responsibilities everyday; it is totally consuming. And even on the hardest days you love this other thing more than you love yourself. What I’ve come to believe is that just as children don’t belong to parents, that companies do not belong to founders. We’re entrusted with a gift that life has given us. And that one day we must give it back. It is time for me to give the gift of Camelback back so that someone else can lead.”

Read Aaron’s full blog announcement now: 📣Camelback Ventures CEO Transition Announcement: Our CEO and Founder Aaron T. Walker has announced that he will be departing from his role in early 2024 to pursue a new opportunity and will remain a part of the organization’s Board of Directors. Since the founding of Camelback Ventures in 2015, Aaron has been the driving force behind our national accelerator’s growth and success as we near our 10-year mark. To date, Camelback has invested more than $10-million to support undervalued founders leading social impact ventures across the country.

Aaron: “Founding a company is like parenting - there are many books on the subject; it looks easier from the outside than actually having to live into your responsibilities everyday; it is totally consuming. And even on the hardest days you love this other thing more than you love yourself. What I’ve come to believe is that just as children don’t belong to parents, that companies do not belong to founders. We’re entrusted with a gift that life has given us. And that one day we must give it back. It is time for me to give the gift of Camelback back so that someone else can lead.”

Read Aaron’s full blog announcement now: https://www.camelbackventures.org/blog-posts/cbv-ceo-announcement2023

06/05/2023

“Inequities pervade every aspect of Black girls’ education in Pennsylvania," a new report by the Education Law Center-PA concludes.

06/05/2023

Girls in focus groups hosted by a Pennsylvania advocacy group described how they often encountered anti-Black racism in Philadelphia schools, as well as unduly harsh discipline, uncomfortable classroom environments, and a paucity of Black educators.

02/05/2023

In this episode of the Edupurist Podcast, the host interviews Adonica Duggan, CEO of the Baton Rouge Alliance for Students. The conversation centers around the organization's efforts to advocate for educational equity and access for all students in the Baton Rouge area.

Duggan discusses the Alliance's focus on addressing the achievement gap between students of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds. She highlights the importance of providing students with resources and support to ensure they have equal opportunities to succeed.

The discussion also delves into the Alliance's efforts to engage parents and community members in the education process. Duggan stresses the importance of building strong partnerships between schools, families, and community organizations to create a more supportive and inclusive learning environment.

Throughout the episode, Duggan shares examples of the Alliance's work, including their efforts to provide mentorship and tutoring programs, as well as their advocacy for policy changes that support educational equity.

01/05/2023

In this podcast, we discuss the controversy surrounding a new high-school AP class in African-American Studies in Florida, and how it led to a rewrite of the curriculum. While the College Board denied any pressure, emails obtained via open-records laws revealed that its faculty advisers were privately critical of the revisions. University of Kansas professor, Nishani Frazier, who sits on the AP course’s development committee, accused the College Board of being dishonest about the changes and not consulting with her about them. This seems to contradict the College Board’s claim that the course was shaped only by experts and established practices. The College Board has promised to backtrack and provide the committee with greater flexibility to change the framework. However, its language in the draft statement shows that it still hasn't been entirely transparent about its intentions. Join us as we delve into this story and explore the implications of rewriting curriculum to be more palatable to certain states.

24/04/2023

Report cards can be extremely misleading. Tune in to my interview w/ Bibb Hubbard CEO of Learning Heroes as we discuss how many parents think their children are on grade level.

24/04/2023

We are excited to announce that we're bringing back rap legend KRS-One to help us celebrate hip-hop's 50th anniversary!

Come for a captivating interview on the history of hip-hop and more moderated by local MC and entrepreneur Eric "Zeeky El" Gross. The interview will be followed by a LIVE performance by KRS-One!
Appearing on the rap scene in 1986 as Boogie Down Productions releasing his first hit single “South Bronx” with his late DJ Scott La Rock, KRS “the one” made it clear that Hip Hop was going to have to take itself a lot more seriously than simply being a music genre. KRS, an acronym for ““Knowledge Reigning Supreme”, has been called the “conscience of Hip Hop” (Rolling Stone), “the greatest live emcee ever” (The Source), the “spokesperson for Hip Hop” (Wall Street Journal), “master teacher” (Zulu Nation) and the “son of Hip Hop” (Kool DJ Herc). Without question, KRS-One has been the loudest voice for the actual preservation and expansion of original Hip Hop worldwide. When he is not touring or lecturing, on his so-called “down-time”, KRS-One continues to share his unique knowledge of Hip Hop to younger audiences eager to hear the ‘teacha’ speak.

https://delawarelibraries.libcal.com/event/10570674

22/04/2023

21/04/2023

Many cultural figures I came to admire from childhood to adulthood have passed over the past few years. One of them was Trugoy the Dove, aka Plug 2, aka Dave, from the foundational hip-hop group De La Soul. Looking back, their interpretation of artificial intelligence, which they call “Art Officia...