The Racial Academic Achievement Gap is growing in most cities and states with no sign of progress or closure. The failing Black school children of today are the government dependent, unemployed, homeless and incarcerated Black adults of tomorrow. Our government and the Black community are not working together to fix this problem.

The racial academic achievement gap and the associated economic, employment, health, criminal justice and housing issues caused by this gap could last decades or even centuries! There is no comprehensive national or local plan, or coordinated action to change this reality. What is happening to Black children in American schools and society is an "unnatural disaster" that is unaddressed! This "disaster" needs a plan, a structure, a management team, and accountability by our government and the Black community to fix this issue.

With the Latest Round of Statewide and National Testing, This Is What We Know About the Racial Academic Achievement Gap:

--In Illinois, there is no significant closure of the racial academic achievement gap between White students and Black students between 2002 and 2005.
--In Illinois, there is a second racial academic achievement gap developing between improving Hispanic students and stagnating Black students.
--In Illinois, Black 11th-grade students have dropped more than 10 points in math performance from 28.7% meeting or exceeding standards in 2002 to only 18.6% meeting or exceeding standards in 2005, while Hispanic 11th-grade students have improved in math by 11 points from 19.2% in 2002 to 30.7% in 2005.
--Nationally, Native American students are the most improved students over the past three years on the ACT, receiving a 16.8 composite score in 2002 and earning a 20.1 composite score in 2005.
--Nationally, the average 12th-grade Black student has the reading and math scores of the average 8th-grade White student.
--The United States as a nation scored 9th on the Progress International Reading Literacy Test. By disaggregating the data, White students in America would have ranked number one in the world on the test and Black students in America would have ranked number 25.

Asian American students are the top students in the country on the SAT and the top students in Illinois on the ACT. The gap between Asian and White students versus Black students on the SAT and ACT is widening.

Additionally, we know that:
Black male children are suspended, expelled and arrested in schools at rates that are up to 10 times that of other students per a report entitled The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track.

The unemployment rates for young Black men 20-24-years-old in many large urban areas is about 50% per a recent report on unemployment and youth.

**There are about 1 million Black men in jails and prisons, and only about 600,000 Black men in college in 2005.

Illinois ranked 48th lowest of 50 states in its graduation gap between White college students (63.3%) and Black college students (32.5%) earning degrees in 2000. Source: Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (quoting data from NCAA).

In 2001, the United States scored 542 and ranked 9th (in 4th-grade reading literacy) behind Sweden (561), Netherlands (554), England (553), Bulgaria (550), Latvia (545), Canada (544), Lithuania (543) and Hungary (543) in 2001. When the scores of White students in the United States (565) are disaggregated from the other students in the United States, White students’ scores would rank number one in the world. Black students in the United States (502) would rank 25th in the world. Source: Progress International Reading Literacy.

*Source: 2003 National Association of Education Progress Reading Exam. Nine states did not report their gap. Arranged by The Black Star Project. For a fact sheet including stats, information about educating Black children, or to become a member of The Black Star Project, please call 312/842-3527.

The Plan

1) Organize, organize, organize and then organize some more. Families, neighbors, parishioners and others must encourage Black people to become involved in the education of Black children and the overall education of members of the Black community. There must be an active, dynamic, focused process of educating the whole community.

2) Build a structure that coordinates all aspects of the movement to educate Black children and the Black community: i.e., communications, management, operations, logistics, intelligence, information dispensation, et cetera. This structure will be the command post for this operation.

3) Create a plan that has both 1) small, winnable objectives and 2) a long-term vision of Black people as valued, globally relevant people.

4) Find allies, avoid enemies! An ally is anyone of any race who is willing to work with you towards these goals. Enemies are people of any race (including Black people) who are working against these goals.

5) Get into action! Without action, time is working against us. The longer we wait, the less success we will have. Find an organization that is moving in the direction that you believe is right for the education, empowerment and enlightenment of Black people and join them. Support them with your time, your money and your spirit.

If not the Black Star Project, I hope that you will join some other group working to educate Black children and to rebuild the Black village (please see attached membership form for The Black Star Project).

by Phillip Jackson, The Black Star Project