Last year The National Center for Educational Statistics released a report which revealed that only 6% of American public school teachers are Black. Stevona Elem-Rogers, the chief of community programs and partnerships at Black Education New Orleans (Be NOLA), believes the need for Black teachers isn’t solely about representation. It’s also about instilling Black youth with confidence. She said that as a Black student “you really need people who can teach you how to still hold your head high amongst a system that doesn't see you as fully human.”

This weekend, BE NOLA — which stands for Black Education for New Orleans — is hosting its fourth annual Black is Brilliant Summit, this year on Bayou Road. It’s a celebration of Black educators and education in New Orleans, and an opportunity to support some of the city’s Black businesses.

Adrinda Kelly, BE NOLA’s executive director, says the organization focuses its work on supporting the city’s less than a dozen Black-governed and Black-led schools — as well as its Black teachers, who are spread across the district.

(Black PR Wire) NEW YORK, NY - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) announced 50 recipients of the Black Women Impact grants program, part of its One Million Black Women initiative, to fund Black women-led and Black women-serving nonprofits. 

The 50 organizations were selected from over 800 applicants based on their established efforts to deliver innovative and transformative solutions to narrow opportunity gaps faced by Black women. Each grantee will receive two years of general operating funding, ranging from $50,000-$250,000. A total of $10 million will be invested through the multi-year program. 

Black Education For New Orleans (BE NOLA) is on a mission to ensure high-quality education for Black children in New Orleans by supporting Black educators and education leaders. 

“New Orleans is a city which continues to have an outsized influence on education nationally,” said Adrinda Kelly, BE NOLA’s founding CEO and executive director. “New Orleans continues to be the poster child for school choice but the truth is that our 100% charter system is not working for most Black children and families. “Today, white and economically advantaged children disproportionately occupy the city’s highest quality schools and less than one-third of Black fourth graders are reading on grade level in a city reeling from rapid gentrification, lack of economic opportunity, high rates of juvenile crime, and cultural disruption and commodification.”

The Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education (CAFE Group)—will award five $1 million grants to Black leaders in education during the 1954 Project Luminary Awards on Apr. 28. Actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer, whose mother was an educator, kicks off the 2nd annual event. 

Musician and education advocate Pharrell Williams and actress Vanessa Bell Calloway are featured presenters in the virtual awards show.

The 1954 Project has raised nearly one-third of its $100 million goal through contributions from its founders, Don and Liz Thompson; the Walton Family Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and many other donors.

To coincide with Black History Month, the local nonprofit Black Education New Orleans has launched a new campaign aimed at promoting Black-led charter schools and African American culture within them, and at highlighting injustices and racial inequity in the New Orleans public school system.

The "Black Brilliance" campaign kicked off this month with the unveiling of a billboard by Jacq Francois, a New Orleans artist known for fusing a pop art style with Black culture and Afrofuturism, which blends African diaspora with technology.

NEW ORLEANS— There is a great need for black teachers in New Orleans. Research has shown that students students benefit more from teachers who share their racial identity.

The non-profit Black Education for New Orleans(BE NOLA) recently released a report to examine challenges that black educators face. BE NOLA also a course of resources for these educators.