Teach Brother Teach Fellowship Program

February 18, 2025

Requirements

For men to be eligible to become and or maintain their fellowship status, they must meet the following criteria:

  • Enrollment in a Teacher Education Degree Program
  • Minimum GPA of 2.75
  • Attendance in all seminars, workshops, and mentoring/coaching sessions
  • Participation in Fundisha Center supplemental Education programs
  • 3 year commitment to teach in an urban public district or charter school in the Capital District

Benefits

  • Full Tuition Scholarship
  • $5,000 yearly Stipend
  • Professional Development Workshops, seminars and Training
  • Job placement assistance
  • Mentorship and coaching from experienced Black Male teachers or administrators
  • Access to an emergency support fund
  • Membership in a Black Male Teacher cadre

The program goals are to  

  1. increase the number of Black male educators teaching in Capital District public schools;
  2. Build the capacity of educators to provide culturally centered and responsive pedagogy;
  3. Expose Black high school and college students to the teaching profession and encourage them to pursue teaching careers.
  4. Provide supplemental educational services and cultural enrichment to students in the Capital District and;
  5. Improve the educational outcomes for Black students in the Capital District.
 

The Teach Brother Teach Fellowship Program is a multi-year program designed to inspire, recruit, and support Black men to become elementary and secondary school teachers. TBT will provide financial, academic, social, and professional development support to men for education, training, and career guidance. Eligible Applicants  must :

  1. Be a citizen, legal permanent resident, or national of the United States
  2. Identify as Black or African American
  3. Identify as male
  4. Have a minimum GPA of 2.75
  5. Be accepted to a Teacher Education program 

Click here to visit website: https://fundishacenter.org/teach-brother-teach-fellowship-application/

The Generation Google Scholarship

February 15, 2025

The Generation Google Scholarship

At Google, we believe information should be universally accessible. Our education and scholarship programs aim to inspire and help students become future leaders in computing and technology by breaking down the barriers that prevent them from entering these fields.

The Generation Google Scholarship was established to help aspiring computer scientists excel in technology and become leaders in the field. Selected students will receive 10,000 USD (for those studying in the US) or 5,000 CAD (for those studying in Canada).

Click here to visit website: https://buildyourfuture.withgoogle.com/scholarships

 

Nina’s Story and Your Opportunities

February 1, 2025

Continued from my February 2025 newsletter…

Nina is a recent graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a BS in Aerospace, which includes a concentration in Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Nina is a member of our church and was a participant in our Turner Chapel AME College Cohort throughout high school. Beginning as a middle school student, she participated in the OBAP ACE Academy during each summer throughout high school, receiving her private pilot’s license and drone certification.

Nina was a hard worker throughout high school. She was a longtime Girl Scout, earning her Gold Award, and a varsity athlete. Throughout high school, Nina never wavered in her passion for flying. However, after entering college, Nina found the costs associated with continuing in the professional pilot’s program at Middle Tennessee State prohibitive so she pivoted into the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations Concentration. As a result of pivoting to this major, and already having a drone certification, Nina landed a job immediately after graduation with a company as a drone pilot and researcher.

Watch Nina’s flight video (https://youtu.be/9I3ijxuOlfU?si=GjeQNhDebCdLO1iE).

This is a critically important consideration outlined in How to Plan Your Career or College Pathway. Following are important considerations, together with the page numbers if you choose to read more:

  • Explore the 16 National Career Clusters to identify which clusters are available in your school or school district (page xiii)
  • Keep in mind that any of these career clusters can lead into the workplace, military, or college (page xiii)
  • Be aware that whatever your future educational or career aspirations are, there are 3 basic pathways after high school: work, military, college (page 1)
  • Begin “aligning” the classes that you are taking in school with your “aspirations” after high school (page 4)
  • Begin thinking more about what it will mean to enter the workplace, military, or college after high school (page 8)
  • What is your reason for learning? (page 10)

There is no need to wait until you are a high school senior to given serious thought to your career or college pathway. As soon as you experience your first elementary school Career Day or have an experience that inspires you to explore a particular career pathway, begin thinking about the K-12 plan that would “align” with your career pathway. 

 

Robert’s Story and Your Opportunities

February 1, 2025

Continued from my February 2025 newsletter…

From 2017 through 2018 we spent 2 years working with Robert. We met with Robert and his parents one Saturday per month throughout the school year. Robert was an accomplished dancer and gifted in the arts. He was in the Guilford County All-County Choir, North Carolina Honors Choir, and North Carolina All State Choir. Robert was also academically accomplished with a 4.1 GPA, ranked in the top 20% of his high school class, and enrolled in multiple AP classes.

During each meeting, Robert worked through lessons in our online curriculum taken from our book, A High School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams. While Robert began the process with a desire to attend an in-state school (i.e., North Carolina State or North Carolina A&T), he received his largest scholarship offer from George Mason, where he has since attended and graduated with a BS in Community Health with a concentration in clinical science.

During his time at George Mason, Robert continued building his résumé through his participation in many campus-based organizations, serving as a Mason Ambassador, working in the George Mason Office of Admissions, and volunteering with our foundation. Robert is now an elementary school teacher and has been selected as the Outstanding New Teacher of the Year in his Virginia school district. He is about to receive his M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Elementary Education and is researching Ph.D programs.

Robert’s college-bound pathway has several important components that any student who wants to qualify for more institutional scholarships and avoid student loan debt should consider. Click below to learn what you should be doing.

As a high school junior, the book, our online curriculum, and our 1-on-1 advising guided Robert (pictured on page 2) in developing the “Body of Work” that he would present to his colleges as a high school senior. Following are examples of what you should do PRIOR to the beginning of your senior year of high school, with page references in the book for further reference:

  • Understand that your college application to most colleges, particularly selective colleges, will undergo a holistic review across the areas of academics, extracurricular activities, personal qualities, and intangibles (page 5)
  • Effective college planning follows a process of backwards mapping, i.e., “Beginning with the End in Mind” (page 9)
  • Your résumé and your profile provide an importance reference point of your competitiveness as a college or scholarship applicant (page 10)
  • See the examples of Kimberly Hadaway’s high school profile and résumé that resulted in her being offered 6 full scholarships (Amherst College, Duke University, Princeton University, Vanderbilt University, Washington & Lee University, and Williams College) (pages 12-13)
  • View Kimberly’s video discussing the process (https://youtu.be/NaBLrN2H9xI?si=kCos0_OkV9cYaIGp)
  • See the examples of Kristen Starks high school profile and résumé that resulted in her being offered 3 full scholarships (Tuskegee University, and the University of Richmond, Wake Forest University) (pages 14-15)
  • View Kristen’s video discussing the process of packaging (https://youtu.be/gCgPDKmWu14?si=W2qV72dYTSocFjTg)

Start building your college list based on your aspirations and your family’s financial need (page 17)

Where are our sons? Part II

February 1, 2025

In part I of this series of posts I shared the above photo of my sons, who at the time were in elementary school and middle school. I was inspired to continue this series in response to a discussion with a participant in a workshop session that I presented in January 2025 at the South Carolina Alliance of Black School Educators conference held in Charleston, South Carolina. While my workshop was not actually focused on increasing Black male achievement, during the question and answer part of the session, I made the statement, “Most Black males who are successfully navigating their way into high levels of academic achievement are doing so in spite of us rather than because of us.” I was challenged by one of the attendees, a former superintendent of schools, who admittedly had a long history of success at various levels of education. While I acknowledged his success, I remained adamant that his success was not the norm, a point which he continued to disagree with. Through these posts, I am sharing student achievement data, which paints a bleak picture regarding Black male achievement as Alfred Tatum notes in “Engaging African American Males in Reading:”

The field of education is saturated with studies documenting the poor performance and achievement deficits of African American males throughout their school years. National reading achievement data continue to indicate that as a group, African American males—particularly adolescents in middle and high school classrooms—are not performing well.

My goal in this series is not to convince anyone to do anything as the reality is that Black boys would be reading at higher levels if more people were concerned with their reading levels. If you are a superintendent, principal, teacher, coach, parent, community program director, youth pastor, or student—if you were concerned with the deplorably low reading levels of Black students (or if you are a student), you would be doing something.

As I wrote in the first post in this series, any of these people can blame someone else for the fact that the majority of Black students are not proficient readers as in the story of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody:

Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did. Somebody got angry about it, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.

So I am not trying to convince anyone to do anything. My goal is to help those who are interested in knowing just how tragically low the academic performance of our boys are and the actions they can take if they are interested in making a difference.

Let’s Begin with Reading

Reading is a foundational academic skill. It is how children make sense of the world around them, how to navigate from one place to another, how to cook a meal, how to repair a bicycle, and how to engage in virtually every other subject in school. Now, perhaps more than at any time in history, children have access to virtually any information through videos, podcasts, and social media. These mediums, together with text messaging, contribute to our children becoming less proficient readers and writers. They are simply receiving their information from sources other than reading.

The following tables of Black student performance in reading at 4th grade, 8th grade, and 12th grade indicates that the percentage of students who are proficient or advanced readers decreases between 4th grade and 8th grade and is relatively unchanged by 12th grade with over 80 percent of students reading at a basic level or below at 4th, 8th, and 12th grades.

2022 Reading Performance of Black 4th Graders

2022 Reading Performance of Black 8th Graders

2019 Reading Performance of Black 12th Graders

Students who are reading at the basic level or below are ill-prepared to perform well in a college-prep high school curriculum, on the ASVAB in preparation for military enlistment, or to read manuals associated with any type of trade certification. Therefore, our concern must be to increase the percentages of Black students reading on a proficient or advanced level:

4th Grade:

  • 14 percent of Black students are proficient in reading
  • 3 percent of Black students are reading on an advance level

8th Grade:

  • 15 percent of Black students are proficient in reading
  • 1 percent of Black students are reading on an advance level

12th Grade:

  • 16 percent of Black students are proficient in reading
  • 1 percent of Black students are reading on an advance level

The data tells us that less than 2 in 10 Black 4th graders moving into middle school are reading at the level required to perform well in advanced middle school classes (which qualify for high school credit); less than 2 – 10 Black 8th graders moving into high school are reading at a level required to perform well in advanced high school classes (i.e., honors, AP, IB, dual enrollment), on the SAT/ACT exams, or adequately prepared to pursue career or college pathways. These assertions will become clearer as I examine NAEP math and science performance and ACT exam performance in future posts.

The EducationWeek article, “Researchers Created a Phonics Program With ‘Dramatic’ Results. How It Works” (Sarah Schwartz 1/17/25) notes:

Decades of research have shown that phonics instruction—teaching children how letters represent sounds, and how to blend those sounds together to make words—is the most effective way to get beginning readers to start decoding words. But on average, effect sizes in this research are moderate. Some programs work better than others. And that’s led to confusion about how much phonics to teach, and for how long.

As the “science of reading” movement has spread, at least 40 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation or enacted policies requiring that schools use evidence-based approaches to teaching students how to read. This almost always includes a mandate for systematic, explicit phonics instruction. Some states have issued lists of approved programs. In this landscape, identifying what works—and why—has taken on a new urgency.

While I appreciate the efforts of the researchers, my wife and I cannot help but to be amused by the “Dramatic” results discovered by these researchers, when over 25 years ago we introduced our sons to “Hooked on Phonics!” and advocated for phonics instruction at every parent presentation over the past 25 years. Our older son who has a BA in English from Amherst College is writing his first book, focused on essay writing. In a recent conversation he mused:

I remember that when I was in pre-k, mom worked with me every day with the ‘Hooked on Phonics’ tapes until I was a fluent reader. I also remember that throughout elementary school, she made me write down words that I either did not understand or had difficulty sounding out. She then made me write down the definition and phonetically how the word sounded. I also remember how she would have me write stories each week in which I used all of the words that I had written in my notebook during the week, which really helped me to become a creative writer and storyteller. Subsequently, I was reading on a high school reading level prior to entering middle school and entered Amherst College with a vocabulary comparable to that of private and boarding school students.

Want to Change Outcomes — Change Strategies

Step 1:The way to become a better reader is to read: If you have access to a program like “Hooked on Phonics” then use it. If not, just get some books and get started.

Step 2:Choose the right books: Rather than limiting the choice of books to so-called grade-level appropriate books, consider Alfred Tatum’s advice:

We need to shore up the resilience of African American adolescent males, particularly struggling readers attending public schools in low-income areas. Identifying texts that can shape positive life outcome trajectories for African American males—who constitute 7 percent of the school-age population (4 million of 53 million)—is a significant challenge. Must-read texts have four characteristics: They are intellectually exciting for both students and teachers, they serve as a roadmap and provide apprenticeship, they challenge students cognitively, and they help students apply literacy skills and strategies independently. More specifically, must-read texts should

  • Engage students in authentic discussions in which they can analyze their realities in the context of the curriculum and discuss strategies for overcoming academic and societal barriers.
  • Address students’ cognitive and affective domains, taking into account students’ cultural characteristics.
  • Connect the social, the economic, and the political to the educational.
  • Acknowledge that developing skills, increasing test scores, and nurturing students’ identities are fundamentally compatible.
  • Resolve the either-or dilemma of focusing on skill development versus developing intelligence by offering challenges that satisfy both requirements.
  • Serve as soft role models in the absence of physically present male role models by providing motivation, direction, and hope for the future and suggesting what is worthwhile in life.

In essence, Dr. Tatum is telling to identify literature that boys are interested in reading, whether about people, historical facts, societal issues, or learning a skill.

Step 3:Make a commitment: In my February newsletter I examined the importance of engaging in setting goals at the beginning of each school year; engaging in a mid-year assessment and setting goals for the second semester of the school year; and engaging in a year-end assessment and planning classes for the next school year. Any teacher, parent, coach, mentor, faith leader, or community leader should be able to understand how these 3 moments in time, during each school year from kindergarten through the 11th grade, should reveal if Black boys are proficient readers, while providing 36 opportunities for intervention.

Step 4: Create a Book Club: One school created a “Back Pack Book Club” where students were responsible for always having a book in their back pack and reading quietly before school and after lunch. Another school created book worm visuals with each student setting a goal as to the number of books they would read each week. Our college planning cohort in Guilford County Schools began as a Black male book club.

Every organization working with Black students, albeit an athletic camp, fraternity, sorority, Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, Links, Jack & Jill, etc. should create a book club. Select books pertaining to your core mission, whether it your mission is focused on study skills, etiquette, career planning, social development, character development, or leadership. In this manner, you will easily identify struggling readers and have the opportunity to make them better readers and communicators. While hands-on learning is the first developmental area of learning, reading is the foundation for navigating all areas of learning in K-12 education in preparation for what comes after high school..

Step 5: Read Aloud: To ensure reading proficiency, students must read aloud so that you can hear how they are sounding out words, grasping concepts, and developing reading comprehension.

Step 6: Establish Your Expectations: Expect less social media engagement and more reading engagement. Require students to write book reports or to provide narrative summaries of their reading.

Step 7: Incorporate into All Learning: Incorporate reading into all learning by engaging boys in reading video game instruction books; schedules; product descriptions; and food labels. In essence, connect anything that they want to reading.

Step 8: Develop an At-home Library: Collect books and develop a library so that students have easy access to books and encourage students to identify favorite authors and genres. Consider 3 of my books to kickstart an at-home library:

Step 9: Develop a Vocabulary Book: Use a composition notebook to record words that a student has difficulty pronouncing or does not know the meaning. Write down the definition and phonetic spelling. Use the words to create stories.

I believe that anyone charged with teaching, raising, or mentoring Black males should read my bookEmpowering African American Males: Teaching, Parenting, and Mentoring Successful Black Boys.

ISBN: 978-1880463-69-7
Publication Date: 2007
8.5 x 11, 416 pages | $24.95 

Click here to purchase

Actions You Should Be Taking

January 28, 2025

This is a continuation from our February 2025 newsletter regarding the role of mid-year assessments.

In How to Plan Your Career or College Pathway, I profile the type of career/college planning strategies that resulted in our older son receiving a full need-based scholarship to attend Amherst College, the top ranked liberal arts college in the U.S. at the time, and our younger son being selected as a 2012 Gates Millennium Scholar and accepted into the Honors College at Morehouse College, the top ranked liberal arts college in the world for Black men. I also provide step-by-step K-12 strategies in the following books:

Ten Steps to Helping Your Child Succeed in School

A Middle School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams

A High School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams

The mid-year assessment is part of a student’s “backwards mapping” strategy—a strategy that begins with a student’s long-term educational or career aspirations and works backwards to develop goals and engage in mid-year and year-end assessments throughout a student’s K-12 schooling. Tragically, neither schools nor parents follow this process.

Here is what I outline in the book that you should do:

Begin with the question, “What do you want to do the day after high school?” The answer to this question establishes a long-term vision for a student’s future. Whether the answer is to become a professional basketball player, engineer, entrepreneur, or simply attend college, it reflects a student’s aspirations at a given moment in time—one that may change many times over the course of a student’s K-12 journey as a result of experiences and exposure.

  1. Begin each school year with specific goals across the areas of academics, behavior, gifts and talents, leadership, service, and awards. Do so will help students to become gifted, talented, and well rounded people who understand the value of leadership and service.
  2. Pause at the end of the first semester (or mid-year) to review and celebrate process toward, or the achievement of, each goal. Set second semester goals and plan summer program involvement to strengthen weaknesses, develop gifts, or explore interests.
  3. Pause at the end of the second semester (or year-end) to review and celebrate process toward, or the achievement of, each goal. Plan the following year course schedule based on the successes or challenges experienced. This may lead to pursuing more rigorous classes in some subjects and less rigorous classes in other subjects. Research the teachers and discuss class placement with counselors or administrators. Consider summer enrichment or recovery to prepare for the next school year.

Engaging in this process during every school year from kindergarten through the 11th grade will result in 36 conversations between students and parents, each within the context of a student’s educational or career aspirations. Through these conversations, students should engage in a continuous process of developing, reviewing, and fine-tuning their K-12 course schedules in a manner consistent with the affirm career or college aspirations.

Some of the notable failures of not engaging in this process are:

  • Widespread low student achievement as a result of not monitoring achievement and engaging in timely interventions
  • Disproportionately high student loan debt as a result of not engaging in planning full scholarship pathways after a student affirms attending college as a long-term goal
  • Developing inappropriate behaviors, failing to appreciate the value of serving others, and failure to develop leadership skills as a result of engaging in ongoing conversations about such important areas of character development

Now that you know, there is no excuse not to do!

Black History Month Reading List

January 28, 2025

This is a continuation of my February 2025 newsletter in which I shared my top ten list of books for those interested in exploring the truth of Black authors as they tell our stories:

  • Mychal Wynn: The Eagles who Thought They were Chickens
  • Carter G. Woodson: The Mis-Education of the Negro
  • Maya Angelou: Still I Rise
  • WEB Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk
  • Ralph Ellison: Invisible Man
  • Richard Wright: Black Boy
  • Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
  • Chancellor Williams: The Destruction of Black Civilization
  • Yosef A.A. ben-johannan: Africa – Mother of Western Civilization
  • Cheikh Anta Diop: African Origina of Civilization
  • Molefi Kete Asante: Kemét, Afrocentricity and Knowledge

As a living Black author, I believe that my books should be part of any Black History Month reading list focused on inspiring Black children:

Mychal Wynn’s Recommended Black Male Book Club
and Black History Month Reading List for Primary Readers

1

47 (Mosley)

2

A Band of Angels: A Story Inspired by the Jubilee Singers (Hopkinson)

3

A Middle School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams (Wynn 2007)

4

An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-year-old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting (Schroff 2012)

5

Away West (McKissack 2006)

6

Backyard Animal Show, The (Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs #5) (Draper 2006)

7

Bad News for Outlaws (Nelson)

8

Barack (Winter)

9

Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope (Grimes)

10

Begging for Change (Flake 2004)

11

Between Madison and Palmetto (Book #3) (Woodson 2002)

12

Bird in a Box (Pinkney)

13

Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson (Smith)

14

Black Pioneers of Science and Invention (Haber 1992)

15

Bud, Not Buddy (Curtis 2004)

16

Buried Bones Mystery, The (Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs #1) (Draper 2006)

17

Catching the Dream: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream (Hubbard 2010)

18

Chess Rumble (Neri 2007)

19

Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love (McKissack 2000)

20

Curtis Aikens and the American Dream (Rather)

21

Darnell Rock Reporting (Myers 1996)

22

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave (Hill)

23

Don’t Quit – Inspirational Poetry (Wynn 1998)

24

Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama (Obama 2004)

25

Elijah of Buxton (Curtis, 2007)

26

Every Little Thing: Based on the song ‘Three Little Birds’ by Bob Marley (Marley 2012)

27

Follow Your Dreams: Lessons That I Learned in School (Wynn 2000)

28

Forged by Fire (Draper, 1998)

29

Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins (Weatherford 2007)

30

Friendship for Today, A (McKissack 2007)

31

Ghetto Cowboy (Neri)

32

Gifted Hands, Kids Edition: The Ben Carson Story (Lewis 2009)

33

Glory Be (Scattergood)

34

Go for It! (Ervin “Magic” Johnson/Novak)

35

Goin’ Someplace Special (McKissack)

36

Grandfather and I (Buckley)

37

Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America (Pinkney 2012)

38

Handbook for Boys (Myers 2003)

39

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands (Nelson 2005)

40

Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad (Levine)

41

Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat (Giovanni 2008)

42

Home-Run King (Scraps of Time) (McKissack 2009)

43

Hoops (Myers 1983)

44

Hot, Salty, Sweet, Sour (Smith 2003)

45

How to (Almost) Ruin Your School Play (Willimena Rules! Book #4) (Wesley 2005)

46

How to Face Up to the Class Bully (Willimena Rules! Book #6) (Wesley 2007)

47

Hush (Woodson 2002)

48

I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This (Woodson 2010)

49

I love The Skin I’m In (Flake 1998)

50

I Survived #7: I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 (Tarshis 2013)

51

It’s Crunch Time! (Brewer 2011)

52

Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop (Book #1) (Quattlebaum 2005)

53

Jackson Jones and the Curse of the Outlaw Rose (Book #3) (Quattlebaum 2008)

54

Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns (Book #2) (Quattlebaum 2005)

55

John Henry (Lester)

56

Jones Family Express, The (Steptoe 2005)

57

Julian’s Glorious Summer (Cameron 1987)

58

Junebug in Trouble (Mead 2003)

59

Juneteenth: Freedom Day (Branch)

60

Keena Ford and the Field Trip Mix-Up (Thomson 2009)

61

Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up (Thomson 2008)

62

Keeping the Night Watch (2008)

63

Laugh with the Moon (Burg)

64

Letters to Young Black Men (Whyte, III)

65

Lift Every Voice and Sing (Johnson)

66

Lincoln and Douglass: An American Friendship (Giovanni)

67

Locomotion (Woodson 2003)

68

Looking Like Me (Myers)

69

Lost in the Tunnel of Time (Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs #2) (Draper 2006)

70

Love to Langston (Medina)

71

March: Book 1 (Rep. John Lewis & Andrew Aydin 2013)

72

Meet Danitra Brown (Grimes 1997)

73

Miami Sees it Through (Miami Jackson series) (McKissack 2001)

74

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman (Schroeder 2000)

75

Mister and Me (Holt 2000)

76

More Stories Julian Tells (Cameron 1989)

77

More Than Anything Else (The Story of Booker T. Washington) (Bradby 1995)

78

My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Christine King Farris)

79

My Life as a Rhombus (Johnson 2008)

80

My Man Blue (Grimes 2002)

81

Nelson Mandela (Kadir 2013)

82

Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of “Brave Bessie” coleman (Lindbergh)

83

One Crazy Summer (Williams-Garcia 2011)

84

Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth (Rockwell)

85

Out of My Mind (Draper 2010)

86

P.S. Be Eleven (Williams-Garcia 2013)

87

Peace, Locomotion (Woodson 2009)

88

Percy Julian: Forgotten Genius (Agard)

89

Pink and Say (Polacco 1994)

90

Remember: The Journey to School Integration (Morrison)

91

Richard Wright and the Library Card (Miller)

92

Rock of Ages: A Tribute to the Black Church (Bolden)

93

Romiette and Julio (Draper 2001)

94

Rosa (Giovanni)

95

Ruby Flips for Attention (Ruby and the Booker Boys) (Barnes 2009)

96

Ruth and the Green Book (Ramsey 2010)

97

Shadows of Caesar’s Creek (Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs #3) (Draper 2006)

98

Shimmershine Queens (Yarbrough 1996)

99

Show Way (Woodson 2005)

100

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down (Pinkney)

101

Slumber Party Payback (Ruby and the Booker Boys) (Barnes 2008)

102

Song for Harlem (McKissack 2006)

103

Sounder (Armstrong 2002)

104

Space Mission Adventure, The (Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs #4) (Draper 2006)

105

Sparrow (Smith 2008)

106

Spellbound (McDonald 2001)

107

Stars and Sparks Onstage (Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs #6) (Draper 2007)

108

STAT: Standing Tall and Talented #1 (Stoudemire 2012)

109

Street Love (Myers 2007)

110

Sunrise Over Fallujah (Myers 2008)

111

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (Hopkinson 2003)

112

Sweet Hereafter (Heaven Trilogy #3) (Johnson 2010)

113

Sweet Music In Harlem (Taylor 2004)

114

Taking the Lead (Moore 2012)

115

Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman (Grimes 2002)

116

Tears of Tiger (Draper 1994)

117

The Bat Boy and His Violin (Curtis 2001)

118

The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street (Flake 2007)

119

The Colors of Us (Katz 2002)

120

The Eagles who Thought They were Chickens (Wynn 1999)

121

The Other Half of My Heart (Frazier)

122

The Pact (Jenkins, Hunt, Davis, 2002)

123

The poem, “Our Deepest Fear” (Williamson 1992)

124

The Story of Ruby Bridges (Coles)

125

The Toothpaste Millionaire (Merrill)

126

The Village That Vanished (Nelson 2004)

127

There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America (Kotlowitz 1992)

128

Trivia Queen, 3rd Grade Supreme (Ruby and the Booker Boys) (Barnes 2008)

129

Under the Quilt of Night (Hopkinson 2005)

130

Vision of Beauty: The Story of Sarah Breedlove Walker (Lasky 2003)

141

Watsons Go To Birmingham – 1963 (Curtis 2000)

142

Way a Door Closes, The (Smith 2003)

143

We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact Led to Success (Davis, Jenkins, Hunt 2006)

144

We March (Evans)

145

What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors (Abdul-Jabbar 2012)

146

When Harriet Met Sojourner (Clinton 2007)

147

When Marian Sang (Ryan 2003)

148

Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art (Rochelle)

149

You Can Do It! (Dungy 2008)

150

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty (Neri 2010)

 

Mychal Wynn’s Recommended Black Male Book Club
and Black History Month Reading List for High School Readers

The primary grades: A reading list for black males

1

Yo, Little Brother: Basic Rules of Survival for Young African American Males. Anthony C. Davis and Jeffrey W. Jackson. (1998).

2

Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out. Farrah Gray. (2005).

3

A High School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams (Wynn 2007)

4

There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America (Kotlowitz 1992)

5

Workin’ on the Chain Gang: Shaking Off the Dead Hand of History. Walter Mosley. (2000).

6

The Pact (Jenkins, Hunt, Davis, 2002)

7

A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League. Ron Suskind. (1999).

8

Rite of Passage. Richard Wright. (1994).

9

Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope (Grimes)

11

The Magnificent Twelve: Florida’s Black Junior Colleges, – Smith, Ph.D., Walter L.

12

Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem, – Nelson, Marilyn

13

Carver: A Life in Poems, – Nelson, Marilyn

14

Malcolm X: – Any Means Necessary, – Myers, Walter Dean

15

Mississippi Challenge, – Walter, Mildred Pitts

16

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Freedom Movement, – Patters, Lillie

17

We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Led to Success, – Davis, Sampson, Jenkins, George, Hunt, Rameck and Draper, Sharon

19

Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave, – Hamilton, Virginia

20

Trouble’s Child, – Walter, Mildred Pitts

21

The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl, – Hamilton, Virginia

22

Lena Horne – Haskins, James

23

The Middle Passage: White Ships Black Cargo, – Feelings, Tom

24

This Life, – Poitier, Sidney

25

Don’t Explain: A Song of Billie Holiday, – De Veaux, Alexis

26

The Young Landlords, – Myers, Walter Dean

27

James Van Der Zee: The Picture Takin’ Man, – Haskins, James

28

Let the Lion Eat Straw – Southerland, Ellease

29

Cornrows, – Yarborough, Camille

30

Benjamin Banneker, – Patterson, Lillie

34

I Have a Dream, – King, Martin Luther, Jr.

35

Portia: The Life of Portia Washington Pittman, the Daughter of Booker T. Washington, – Stewart, Ruth Ann

36

The Legend of Africana, – Robinson, Dorothy

37

I Never Had It Made: the Autobiography of Jackie Robinson, as told, – Duckett, Alfred

38

My Chill Wind, – McDonald, Janet

39

Lou in the Limelight – Hunter, Kristin

40

Movin’ Up, – Gordy, Berry

41

Marvin and Tige – Glass, Frankcina

42

Black Troubador: Langston Hughes, – Rollins, Charlemae

43

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace – Patterson, Lillie

44

Black Boy White School – Brian F. Walker

45

The First Part Last, – Johnson, Angela

46

Just Another Hero, – Draper, Sharon M.

47

Remember: The Journey to School Integration, – Morrison, Toni

49

A Wreath For Emmett Till, – Nelson, Marilyn

50

The Freedom Business, – Nelson, Marilyn

51

Street Love, – Myers, Walter Dean

53

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing – Traitor to the Nation, – Anderson, M. T.

54

Mare’s War – Davis, Tanita S.

55

The Negro Speaks of Rivers, – Hughes, Langston and Lewis, E. B.

56

Giants: The Parallel lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, – Stauffer, John

57

College Planning for High School Students: A Quick Guide (Wynn, 2007)

58

The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream, – Davis, Sampson, Jenkins, George, Hunt, Rameck, with Page, Lisa Frazier

59

Black, Blue, and Gray: African Americans in the Civil War, Haskins, Jim

60

Black Boy, Wright, Richard

61

A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry, Lorraine

62

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston, Zora Neale

63

Mining for Freedom: Black History Meets the California Gold Rush, Roberts, Sylvia Alden

64

Letters to Young Black Men (Whyte, III)

65

Copper Sun – Sharon M. Draper

66

The Skin I’m In – Sharon G. Flake

67

Madame Lilly, Voodoo Priestess – Dormaine G. –

68

Tears of a Tiger – Sharon M. Draper –

69

November Blues – Sharon M. Draper –

70

Romiette and Julio – Sharon M. Draper –

71

Forged – Fire – Sharon M. Draper –

72

Games We Play: A Novel – Toni Westbrooks

73

Begging for Change – Sharon G. Flake

74

Money Hungry – Sharon G. Flake

75

Bronx Masquerade – Nikki Grimes

76

The Autobiography of Malcolm X – Malcolm X

77

Monster – Walter Dean Myers

78

Day of Tears – Julius Lester

79

Who Am I Without Him?: A Short Story Collection about Girls and Boys in Their Lives – Sharon G. Flake

80

Darkness Before Dawn – Sharon M. Draper –

81

Miracle’s Boys – Jacqueline Woodson –

82

The Battle of Jericho – Sharon M. Draper –

83

Bud, Not Buddy – Christopher Paul Curtis

84

Jason & Kyra – Dana Davidson

85

If You Come Softly – Jacqueline Woodson –

87

The Coldest Winter Ever – Sister Souljah

88

Feathers – Jacqueline Woodson –

90

Lady J – L. Divine –

91

Street Love – Walter Dean Myers

92

Autobiography of My Dead Brother – Walter Dean Myers

93

The Fight – L. Divine –

94

Played – Dana Davidson

95

Twelve Years a Slave – Solomon Northup

97

New Boy – Julian Houston

98

Hip-Hop High School – Alan Sitomer –

99

What is the What – Dave Eggers

100

The Battle for Jericho (Gant)

101

Bang! – Sharon G. Flake

102

47 – Walter Mosley

104

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – Frederick Douglass

105

Transformers (Foster)

106

Second Chance – L. Divine –

107

Brother Hood – Janet McDonald

108

Project Girl (McDonald)

109

Harlem Hustle – Janet McDonald

110

The Thunder in His Head – Gene Gant –

111

The Hoopster (Stiomer)

112

Bucking the Sarge – Christopher Paul Curtis

113

The Bully (Bluford, #5) – Paul Langan –

114

Emako Blue – Brenda Woods

115

What They Found: Love on 145th Street   Walter Dean Myers

117

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers – Tanya Lee Stone –

118

The Freedom Maze – Delia Sherman

119

Fallen Angels – Walter Dean Myers

120

The Eagles who Thought They were Chickens (Wynn 1999)

121

Chameleon (Smith, Jr.)

122

Courtin’ Jayd – L. Divine –

123

Thugs and the Women Who Love Them (Thug #1) – Wahida Clark –

124

Don’t Tell Your Cousin – Veronica E. Kelly –

125

Peculiar, INC (The Charismatic Chronicles, #1) – C.S.R. Calloway –

126

Belle and the Beau – Beverly Jenkins

127

Hustlin’  – L. Divine –

128

Keep It Movin’  – L. Divine –

129

Chausiku: The Secret Gambit (Chausiku, #2) – Pamela E. Cash –

130

Geek – boy Equals (Knight)

141

The Beast – Walter Dean Myers

142

My Bondage and My Freedom – Frederick Douglass

143

Sweet Thang – Allison Whittenberg –

144

First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America’s First Black Public High School (Stewart 2013)

145

Raw (Tony Hawk: Live2Skate) (Hoena 2013)

146

Tyrell – Coe Booth –

147

Re-Divining Self – Nikala Asante –

148

The Tiger Rising (DiCamillo)

149

All the Right Stuff (Myers)

150

Motown and Didi – Walter Dean Myers

 

After Tupac and D Foster (Woodson)

 

Blood is Thicker (Langan)

 

Boy21 (Quick)

 

Brothers in Arms (Langan)

 

Dirty Jersey (Duck)

 

DJ Rising (Maia)

 

Don’t Quit – Inspirational Poetry (Wynn 1998)

 

Fake ID (Giles)

 

First Semester (Cross, II)

 

Follow Your Dreams: Lessons That I Learned in School (Wynn 2000)

 

If I Were Your Boyfriend (Sewell)

 

Schooled (Langan)

 

Secrets in the Shadows (Schraff)

 

Shortie Like Mine (Simone)

 

Somewhere in the Darkness (Myers)

 

The Eagles who Thought They were Chickens (Wynn 1999)

 

The Fallen (Langan)

 

The Gun (Langan)

 

Transcendence (Omololu)

 

Until We Meet Again (Schraff)

  

 

Black History Month Reading Lists from various sources

American Writers Museum (2023): A list of book recommendations for Black History Month, along with podcasts and videos to supplement your reading.

Esquire (Adrienne Westenfeld 2022): 20 of the Most Essential Books on Black History.

CNN Underscored (Kami Phillips 2022)/: 20 books that are essential reading for Black History Month.

Good Housekeeping (Lizz Schumer 2022): 20 Powerful Black History Books Everyone Should Read.

Parade (Alliyah Logan 2025): Black Booksellers Recommend 25 Books To Read During Black History Month and Beyond.

Center for Black Literature: The Center’s listing only scratches the surface of an ever-growing literary landscape of Black writers; thus, we invite recommendations from our colleagues, friends, and supporters. Kindly feel free to send your recommendations and suggestions for consideration to us at info@centerforblackliterature.org. For information on some of these and additional titles, please visit the African American Literature Book Club at AALBC.com.

Morehouse College: Reading, Watching, Listening List.

NCW Libraries: Black History Month Reading List.

New York Public Library: Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading List.

Oprah Daily (2024): 25 Books by Black Authors You Should Read This February.

Prairie View A&M University John B. Coleman Library (2024): African American History Month 2024 Reading List: By Author (A-B).

The Chicago Blog: The University of Chicago Press: A Black History Month Reading List.

The Innocence Project (2021): 15 Books to Read During Black History Month and Beyond

Westmont Public Library: Black History Month: A Reading List for Teens

ZNEF Scholarships

January 24, 2025

Established in 1973 at the behest of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s Executive Board, the National Educational Foundation (NEF) was created by Soror Issie Shelton Jenkins, Esq. to serve as the scholarship arm of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., its primary donor. Under the guidance of Dr. Janice Kissner, International President, and Soror Ione Gibson, Chairman of the Zeta National Executive Board, the NEF’s Trust Agreement was approved and executed on August 23, 1975. Initially operating as a private charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the NEF transitioned to incorporation on October 19, 2006, and gained IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status on April 23, 2008, concurrently becoming a public charity. This evolution solidified its commitment to providing financial aid to needy students pursuing higher education.

Scholarship amounts vary from $5,000 to $150,000. 

Visit website: https://www.znef.org/scholarships

 

HBCU Week X NFL Scholarship

January 8, 2025
Requirements

Complete and submit application by February 17th

Provide most recent, verifiable high school transcript (Subject to authentication)

Provide proof of acceptance at an Historically Black College or University (HBCU)*

Acceptance letters can be submitted through 4/11/25. All other application materials must be submitted by 2/17/25.

Applicants must:

  • Be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States
  • Complete or have completed high school with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (unweighted) and be entering their freshman year of college
  • Attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) for the entirety of their college education.
  • Demonstrate financial need

The scholarship can be used for tuition, room and board. A student may accept additional scholarships but they cannot exceed the total cost of their education.

If you have questions about eligibility, please contact scholarship@HBCUWeek.org. Students applying for the scholarship will be responsible for disclosing any potential conflict of interest prior to the selection process.

Visit website: https://www.hbcuweek.org/nfl/