I Asking You for Help To Teach Black Boys to Read!

Making Progress; Moving Forward! Links:The Black Star Project's website: blackstarproject.org Black Star Journal: blackstarjournal.org Become a Member: Click Here Event Calendar: Click Here Like us on Facebook: Only 10% of 8th-grade Black boys in the United States read at a proficient level according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This predicts an absolute catastrophe for Black communities across America in the next 5- to 10-years!!! There is no plan, that I know of to teach more than 10% of Black boys to read proficiently in America. I have spent much of my life asking elected officials for help, asking faith leaders for help, asking business leaders for help, asking parents for help. For the most part, I received very little help to teach Black boys to read. Now I am asking you for help. Shavelle Bell, left and Tiffany Hope, right, representing the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc - Theta Omega Chapter, make a generous donation to the Young Black Men of Honor Mentor Program at The Black Star Project . If only 10% of Black boys read proficiently: How will they qualify for the few, precious job opportunities in America? How will they support families? How will they help build and stabilize our communities economically and socially? How will they be able to serve as role models and mentors for coming generations of young Black Boys? Who will our daughters marry???! Can the Black community survive if our male children cannot read? I have asked the White House, the State House and City Hall for help to teach Black children to read, but apparently at this time, this is not a priority for them. Is it a priority for you? Young Black men know that the time is "Educate or Die"! I am asking you to help us financially so that we can teach Black boys to read at a proficient level. If you know of another organization doing as much or more than The Black Star Project to educate Black students and develop Black families, you should support that organization financially now! If you do not know of another organization doing this work, please support The Black Star Project. I thank Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightford, Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Collins, and Chicago Alderman Will Burns for their ongoing support for The Black Star Project. I also thank Illinois State Representative Esther Golar for her personal support for The Black Star Project. Now, I need your support to teach Black boys to read proficiently. With your support we can accomplish much more. Please become a member of The Black Star Project today and help us continue our nation-leading work in the area of creating better students, better parents, better families and better communities! Sincerely, Phillip Jackson Executive Director 773.285.9600 Click Here to become a member of The Black Star Project or you may send checks or money orders to: The Black Star Project 3509 South King Drive, Suite 2B Chicago, Illinois 60653 ******************************************************************************************* 2011 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* Milwaukee - 3% Cleveland - 3% Detroit - 5% Washington (D.C.) - 6% San Diego - 7% Dallas - 7% Baltimore City - 7% Chicago - 9% Jefferson County, (KY) - 9% Atlanta - 9% Los Angeles - 9% Philadelphia - 9% Austin - 9% Houston - 9% Hillsborough County (FL) - 9% Boston - 10% Miami-Dade - 11% Charlotte - 12% New York City - 13% ****************************************************************** * Source: Minority Students and Public Education by Dr. Michael Holzman. This information was extracted from the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 2011.