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These Reading Scores Are An American Catastrophe!!!
The Shame of Black America Isn't that Most Black Boys Can't Read Proficiently; The Shame Is that Black America Does Little To Help Them Learn To Read!


By Phillip Jackson, The Black Star Project

2015 Reading Levels of 8th-Grade Black Males from the  Lowest-Performing Large American School Districts  (City\Percentage of 8th-Grade Black Males Proficient in Reading)¹.
  • Detroit - 3%
  • Hillsborough County (FL) - 4%
  • Philadelphia - 6%
  • Dallas - 6%
  • Cleveland - 7% 
  • Chicago - 7%
  • Houston - 7%
  • Baltimore City - 8%
  • District of Columbia (DCPS) - 8%
  • New York City - 9%
  • Boston - 10%
  • Miami-Dade - 10%
  • Charlotte - 11%
  • Atlanta - 11%
  • Duval County (FL) - 11%
  • Jefferson County, (KY) - 12%
About 10% of 8th-grade Black males in the United States read at or above a proficient level. In other words; on average, if you count any 100 young Black men, only 10 of them read at a proficient level.

In Detroit, it is 3%, only 3 out of 100 young Black men read at or above a proficient level. We may not like these numbers, but the better question is what are we going to do about these numbers. So far, the deafening answer that I have heard from Washington, D.C., State Capitals and City Halls is NOTHING!!!. 

Where is the outcry from the Black community about our future being destroyed in front of our eyes?   How did we, Black people, allow this to occur on our watch? And what will we do about it?

Break the Cycle: Teach Black Boys to Read Well by the 4th Grade. Here's How?

  1. Read to Black boys between birth and 10 years old.
  2. Emphasize the value of education--not sports, not entertainment, not games--when Black boys are 2 to 12 years old.
  3. Give Black boys books for their birthdays, holidays, and to reward them for jobs well done.
  4. Enroll Black boys in a Young Black Male Reading Academy at your church, park district, library or school.  (Call The Black Star Project at 773.285.9600 for assistance setting up your Reading Academy)
  5. Have Black boys between the ages of 5 and 15 years old read aloud to you for at least 30 minutes a week.
  6. Monitor and regulate the content of media your Black boys consume.
  7. Immerse Black boys in positive, education-based peer groups.
  8. Find a mentor or a mentoring group for your young Black men.
  9. Include culture, spirituality, history, economics, languages and critical thinking in the education of Black boys.
  10. Ask the White House to support The Black Star Plan to teach Black boys to read well by 4th grade.
Donate to The Black Star Project

Click Here to Comment on This Article or These Statistics.
¹Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
10 Rules of Survival When A Young Black Man Is Stopped by the Police in America
The Dare To Be King Project  founder David Miller created a flyer with 10 Rules of Survival If Stopped By Police that has went viral. The Dare To Be King Project inspires, supports and strengthens organizations that provide services to boys of color. With the death of Ferguson, MO unarmed teen Mike Brown, and hundreds more young Black men this year, many are looking for answers and ways to end these senseless killing at the hands of officers.

Click Here  to Learn More About Dare to Be King or to Purchase Copies of This Poster.  
295 Organization Across 
America Have Signed Up 
to Mentor Youth on 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's Birthday Weekend

Click Here to See Those Organizations and 
to See If an Organization in Your Community 
or in Your City Is Participating.

Phillip Jackson, Executive Director of The Black Star Project says, "With violence in cities escalating and failure in schools increasing, officials have now realized that they cannot be successful developing youth without an intentional and focused mentoring effort.  The societal forces competing for our children's time and energies are just too strong and unrelenting for youth to overcome without a structured, consistent, positive mentoring program to support them. It is unfortunate and a fact that street gangs "run better mentor programs" than most churches and schools.  Until this changes, we have almost no hope!"
 
Click Here to Register Your Organization and City
On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's 2016 Birthday Weekend, All of the World Will Mentor  Young Men and Young Women
Celebrate 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
International Mentor Weekend
on
January 15, 16, 17 and 18, 2016
by Mentoring Youth

Will your elementary school, high school, college, church, fraternity, community organization, youth organization, sports team, street organization (gang), men's organization, youth detainment facility or any other organization that has control of the minds of young men and young women join this mentoring effort any day during the month of January 2016 for three hours on one day?  We will send you everything that you need to be productive and successful. 

 
 
We will help you plan and manage a 3-hour mentoring session on Dr. King's Birthday which includes:
  • Exposing Youth to Career Opportunities
  • Exploring Educational Options with Youth
  • Discussing the Culture and History of Your Community or Ethnic Group with Youth 
  • Presentations by Local Motivational and Historical Guest Speakers 
  • Teaching Young People Character Development Using the Six Core Principles of Muhammad Ali
  • Lunch or Snack 
  • A Certificate of Completion for Youth Participating in the MLK Mentor Day Session
1. Friday, January 15, 2016 - View a relevant film or documentary
2. Saturday, January 16, 2016 - Plan a community service project
3. Sunday, January 17, 2016 - Take A Young Person To Worship
4. Monday, January 18, 2016 - Mentoring activities

Click Here to register your organization or city. For more information, please call 773.285.9600.
We are looking for cities from around the world to participate.