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The Black community faces educational issues similar to other minority groups, including the need for adequate funding for schools serving minority and disadvantaged students, as well as other issues with a special impact on the community:
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Student achievement gaps need to be aggressively addressed. For example, the percentage of Blacks age 25 and older with a high school diploma or more was 72 percent in the 2000 census, compared to 85.5 percent for Whites. In addtion, the percentage of Blacks with bachelor's degrees or more was 14 percent, compared to 27 percent of Whites.
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Closing achievement gaps is a critical issue. The performance of Blacks is systematically different from that of other racial and ethnic groups. Decreasing gaps in student achievement means that we must increase the learning gains of Blacks. This will require the creation of public policies and legislation that support public schools committed to identifying and setting high, worthwhile, and attainable goals for students and ensuring that teachers and students are supported in these efforts. It will also require meaningful collaboration among community organizations and leaders, parents, and the school. The success of the school must become the success of the community.
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There is a need to increase diversity and cultural competence in the teaching workforce. Recruiting and retaining teachers of color is important, as some children of color will go through their entire educational career without having a teacher who looks like them or who can identify with the uniqueness of their cultural heritage.
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Adequate and equitable resources are important to the future success and development of Black students. Far too often, Black students—males in particular—are unnecessarily placed in special education classes, while the number of Black students who take honors and advanced courses remains significantly below that of other groups. School funding structures that lead to under-funding and under-resourcing our neediest schools have furthered the achievement gaps. All students deserve a quality public education, and this can only occur when we close the gaps in equity and access.
Student Achievement
'The Shame of the Nation': The Resegregation of America's Schools
Jonathan Kozol has spent four decades writing about the terrible and wonderful things that happen in low-income, minority schools. In his most recent book, he shows with hard numbers and personal stories the impact on children of the growing resegregation of America's public schools (NEA Today, November 2005).
Fifty Years of Progress—and Struggle
It was a watershed moment in American history—May 17, 1954 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared separate schools for Blacks and whites unequal. Brown v. Board of Education would become etched in the public mind. Here's a look at its impact on students, the community, and educators (NEA Today, May 2004).
When It comes to Special Education and African-Americans,
It's Time for Truth in Labeling
Nationally, these students show up in certain special education categories--the ones where the diagnosis is largely subjective--in numbers that so exceed their proportion in the general population, that some experts are now calling it a crisis (NEA Today, January 2003).
Interview with Janell Byrd-Chichester: School Segregation – Then and Now
School segregation is on the rise after it was declared illegal in the "Brown v. Board" decision. Here is its impact on today's students (NEA Today, September 2000).
'Focus On' Reports
NEA Report Dismisses Grim View of Black Student Achievement (PDF  )
Some of nation’s most prestigious colleges are reporting higher graduation rates for blacks than for whites. And, black high school graduates have closed the gap with white students in the percentage completing a mid-level curriculum. Ajuan Mance, Associate Professor of English at Mills College in California, says the media overlooks these gains because "Black people only become visible when they’re perceived as underachievers or in crisis." (2008-09)
Education Fifty Years Ago (PDF  )
Nine Black teenagers tried to attend Little Rock's Central High School in 1957. They walked single file to threats, jeers, and racial epithets from angry whites whose contorted faces made America wince and the free world blush. The students’ access to the school was blocked by the Arkansas National Guard. Rather than an education opportunity, they encountered a maelstrom of racism and hatred.
(2006-07)
Black Student Achievement (PDF )
Exactly why do an inordinately high percentage and number of black students lag behind their white counterparts on every standardized test? Learn about barriers to learning and success faced by students as well as concrete strategies to address them. (2004-05)
Member Profiles
Staying in the Game
Meet Sylvia Colston-Still. This 72-year-old former physical education teacher was a star player on her high school team in the 1950s and still loves the game. She plays three to four times a week. “I think I’ll be playing basketball until I reach 100.”
Courageous Conversations about Race in Our Schools
Meet Seattle educator Jacob Ellis and find out why he says, "We need to confront the fact that minority children are disciplined more harshly than white children."
Lesson ideas
The African American Population in U.S. History
Charts, graphs, and maps help students learn about the growth of this population.
African American Artists and Classifying Hardware
Five Lessons for Black History Month
To celebrate Black History Month, here are five new lessons—plus links to dozens of others! They help students put in perspective events such as the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, and school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas. Also included are lessons that use U.S. Census resources to teach about the growth of the African-American population.
Unsung Heroes of African American History
This monthly themed content package offers interdisciplinary activity ideas, TV programs and online resources for your classroom.
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