via eurweb.com
Lezley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown, recently walked across the stage in Missouri to receive her high school diploma.What’s also interesting is that McSpadden earned her diploma alongside her daughter, Daysa Brown, thanks to the local school district’s adult high school education program, which allowed her to attend classes on weekday afternoons.
McSpadden dropped out of Ladue Horton Watkins High School after giving birth to her son Michael in her junior year. After creating the We Love Our Sons & Daughters Foundation, she decided to go back and get her diploma. The initiative, made in her late son’s honor, focuses on advocating for justice and advancing education.
Specifically, McSpadden got encouragement to go back and finish high school from Art McCoy, a Missouri school district superintendent after he learned she never completed school. McSpadden worked on getting her diploma at Jennings High School in Jennings, Missouri along with her daughter, Deja Brown. However, their schedules didn’t overlap. “She would just go to afternoon class, so we never really interacted at school or in class or anything,” Brown told the St. Louis American. “But I did help her on homework. Like, math, she was like, ‘I’m stuck! I don’t understand this!’ so I would try to help her the best I could, because it was geometry, which I took already.”
The mother-daughter duo crossed the stage on the same day at Chaifetz Arena on May 26. It’s also worth noting that McSpadden, who presented her daughter’s diploma, is the first graduate of the district’s adult program.
Deja Brown, who will attend Tennessee State University in the fall, told the St.Louis American that she’s proud of herself and her mother for finishing school. “I know it’s something that she’s wanted to do,” she said. “She’s done it and she’s worked really hard, and she’s so excited and I’m excited for her!”
Meanwhile, Benjamin Crump, the family lawyer, told the Post-Dispatch that the ceremony was especially meaningful considering the trauma the family has experienced. He said McSpadden told him she “has a purpose now to try to uphold the legacy of her son.”
Michael Brown was 18 years old when he was shot six times by white officer Darren Wilson in August 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. His killing sparked days of protest in the predominantly black city. The unrest garnered national attention and Black Lives Matter protests spread throughout the country.
To read full article, go to: Lezley McSpadden, Michael Brown’s Mom, Just Got Her High School Diploma
Posts published in “Education”
At your typical graduation, parents are somewhere beaming in the audience as their kid switches their tassel to the left. But last Friday, 63-year-old Duvinson Jeanty was right alongside his son receiving a bachelor’s degree of his own. Duvinson and his 27-year-old son Benjamin both graduated from William Paterson University in New Jersey and are the first in their family to receive college degrees. Duvinson, a Haitian immigrant, retired from his 25-year stint as a New Jersey Transit bus driver in 2013 to become a full-time student at the university. “It’s always been my dream, my goal to finish college,” Duvinson told CBS New York.
Like Duvinson, Benjamin didn’t take the straight and narrow path in his pursuit of higher education. After a year at Rutgers University in 2008, he left the school and began working in the fast food industry. Three years later, he realized he wanted to pursue something he felt was more purposeful.
“I starting making good money, and making money is cool, but how am I serving the community? How am I helping others?” Benjamin told Fox News.
Part of the inspiration for Benjamin’s change of heart came from witnessing how passionate his dad was about obtaining an education.
Instead of returning to Rutgers to pursue psychology, Benjamin enrolled at William Paterson, where his dad was already studying finance.
“He was my biggest cheerleader and inspiration,” Benjamin told InsideEdition.com. “There were some times I’d come home from work or class late and I’d see him studying and it would encourage me. Seeing him walk across the stage and get his diploma was indescribable.”
To read original article, go to: 63-Year-Old Father Receives College Degree With His Son | HuffPost
by Zahara Hall via huffpost.com
As a kid, high school junior Jahmir Smith never had a dream college. But for a number of universities, he’s their dream student. The 17-year-old North Carolina native has already been accepted into all eight Ivy League schools and has received 33 full-ride scholarship offers, according to ABC 11 Eyewitness News.
While Smith has a 4.43 GPA at Lee County High School and an impressive ACT score, as well as enough credits to graduate a year early, The News & Observer reported that he’s also constantly being contacted by college football recruiters for his athleticism, receiving hundreds of texts from Division I coaches. Smith, who started playing football in middle school, has a composite three-star rating out of five on the sports website 247sports.com.
Additionally, he was chosen as 2016’s News & Observer’s Metro Football pick after scoring 41 touchdowns and running 2,130 yards in one season. Smith told HuffPost that while he doesn’t plan on making a career out of football, he’s certainly willing to give the NFL a shot. “It’s fast money,” he said. “But I don’t want it as a career because it would take a toll on my body.”
He added that if he doesn’t make the NFL, he wants to explore the medical field, specifically anesthesiology. In whatever he pursues, Smith is aware he’ll face challenges because of his race. But that’s not stopping him in the least bit. “I know the odds are against me because of my skin tone and all, but I don’t really let it get to me,” he said. “I just stay to myself and try to help those around me. I’ve always understood since I was little that people would see me different.”
To read more, go to: Outstanding High School Junior Already Offered 33 Full-Ride Scholarships | HuffPost
by thegrio.com
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed suit in federal court on Tuesday alleging that the poor performance of black students in Mississippi is the direct result of the state’s failure to live up to the terms of readmission to the Union at the end of the Civil War.
As part of the terms of readmission, Mississippi was required to create a “uniform system of free public schools” for all citizens, both black and white, in order to foster an environment of education that was necessary to democracy.“ Today, Mississippi schools are anything but uniform,” said Will Bardwell, a lawyer at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“If you’re a kid in Mississippi, your chances of getting a good education depend largely on whether your school is mostly white or mostly black. That is not a uniform system.”
However, the state constitution changed several times until in 1890 it allowed only for “separate but equal” systems. According to the complaint, the constitution is now an “empty shell of the guarantee that Congress obligated Mississippi to preserve in 1870” and allows the state to severely underfund schools that serve African-American students.
To read more, go to: Black parents sue Mississippi for ‘inequitable’ schools | theGrio
by Latifah Muhammad via vibe.com
Trayvon Martin’s parents were the recipients of a major honor on behalf of their late son. Florida Memorial University awarded the slain teen with a posthumous Bachelor’s Degree during the school’s annual commencement ceremony last Saturday (May 13).
“To say that we’re thankful is an understatement,” said Martin’s father, Tracy. “I think this shows what this community, how they feel, how they believe in our family, believe in our foundation, how we’ve worked together, it was a heartfelt moment when they called Trayvon’s name to accept the degree for him, it was very touching. This was a day that we planned for as parents, we just wish that we would have watched him walk across the stage.”
Martin received a Bachelor of Science in Aviation, with a concentration in flight education, honoring his dream of becoming a pilot. Sybrina Fulton, Martin’s mother, graduated from FMU two years after he was born. “In 1997 I graduated from FMU with a Bachelors degree in English with a minor in Mass Communications,” she wrote on Instagram earlier int he month. “It’s now 20 years later & now my son #TrayvonMartin will receive his Bachelors in Aviation, something he loved.”
To read more, go to: Trayvon Martin Awarded Posthumous Bachelor’s Degree
by Jenna Amatulli via huffpost.com
You may think your graduation was lit, but did you and every one you know swag surf? No?Well, sit down and read on. Graduates at Howard University and Langston University decided to dance themselves into post-grad life by celebrating with a group swag surfin’ session. And the videos are truly glorious. Take a look at these from a Howard U ceremony that appears to have gone down on May 12:
https://twitter.com/WE_R_FLY/status/864832842429321217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fhoward-graduation-swag-surfing_us_591c86b0e4b03b485cadf63e
To read more, go to: These Black Graduates Swag Surfing Are The Epitome Of Black Joy | HuffPost
by Mariya Moseley via essence.com
Chicago-based mother Keesha Hall is changing lives for the better by helping moms help their kids.
After learning that her fourth child began showing signs of developmental disability, Chicago-based mother Keesha Hall changed her life for the better. After becoming unemployed, broke and on the brink of poverty, being a mother, she was determined to learn how to become a champion for her son. Through the help of non-profit organization Educare, she learned how to accept her son’s diagnosis and strengthened his social, emotional and behavioral health. This is her advice for young mothers who faced similar challenges and how she turned an unfortunate situation into a gift for many other mothers too.
To read full article, go to: Network: Chicago Mom Changing Lives | Essence.com
by Taryn Finley via huffpost.com
It’s never too late to go back to school.
Just ask 72-year-old Darlene Mullins, who recently graduated from Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. The grandmother of four walked at the school’s commencement Saturday.
Darlene left school nearly 55 years ago in the name of love. She was a track star at the historically black college and met her husband-to-be, John Mullins, in 1962, she told USA Today. “I thought he was the finest thing walking on the campus,” Darlene told the HBCU’s campus magazine in 2014. The duo knew they would marry each other the moment they met and began dating shortly after. But Darlene’s track coach noticed that she was spending most of her time with her boyfriend. Her coach gave Darlene, who was training to go to the 1964 Olympics, an ultimatum: the track team or John. Darlene chose John.
She finished her freshman year with 25 credits and married John in 1963. Her husband graduated in 1964 and began working. Darlene took care of the household and was a stay-at-home mother to their son and daughter. The family lived in six states over the years, due to John’s successful career in business. Darlene told the campus outlet that she eventually began a career in retail and cosmetology as their children grew older.
Though she remained busy, she always longed to finish school. That feeling intensified when the couple would visit the HBCU for homecomings and other celebrations.“Something kept nagging at me,” she said. “I always told my children to make sure they finish what they started and I kind of felt it was time to live up to my own advice.”
To read full article, go to: 72-Year-Old Finishes College With Honors After 55 Years, Inspires Us All | HuffPost
by Jennifer Calfas via time.com
Award-winning rapper Nicki Minaj has offered to pay college tuition fees and student loans for several of her fans.
Minaj made the offer on Twitter under several conditions, asking for verification of 4.0 GPAs and confirmation from their schools.
https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/861074589434204161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fmoney%2F4769915%2Fnicki-minaj-college-tuition-twitter%2F
Minaj responded to tweets from fans late Saturday evening and into the early morning. The series of tweets came after Minaj promoted a contest for a fan to join her at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas later this month.
The contest had fans tweeting at her with #NickiBBMAs, and eventually escalated into pleas to the multiplatinum artist for help with college tuition fees and student loans.
The requests went beyond tuition and student loans, with some fans asking for less than $1,000 for books and other supplies for school. Minaj appeared to grant those requests, asking for the contact and bank info for some of her fans.
By the end of the evening, Minaj said she would pay for about 30 fans’ college tuition, student loans or other education-related fees. The fees ranged from $500 to books to $6,000 for tuition.
She said she’d make these payments Sunday, “then see if I have any money left.” She also promised to respond to more requests from fans to help pay college fees in a month or two.
https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/861085005174497281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fmoney%2F4769915%2Fnicki-minaj-college-tuition-twitter%2F
The rapper said she plans to help pay for more of her fans’ college fees in the future.
Source: Nicki Minaj Offers to Pay College Tuition for Fans | Money
article via cbsnews.com
Eighteen-year-old Raven Osborne is about to get her college degree. “I graduate from college on May 5,” she told CBS News’ Jericka Duncan. But when does she graduate from high school? May 22. Yes, it’s true; Raven gets her college degree two weeks before her high school diploma.
“When people hear that … they’re going, ‘What? How did she do that?'” Duncan said.”Yeah they think I’m lying,” Raven said.She did it through online classes, year-round community college and two years at Purdue University Northwest. Her semester-long college courses counted as a full year of high school credit.”Sophomore, that was the most work. I had five high school classes, four college classes,” she said.
Raven attends the 21st Century Charter High School in Gary, Indiana. The school is surrounded by dilapidated buildings, a common sight throughout the city. Everyone here is required to take college classes on a college campus in order to graduate.Some get just a few credits. Five of this year’s 43 graduates earned associate’s degrees. And then there’s Raven.
Kevin Teasley started the foundation that runs the school. He uses state funding for tuition and transportation to nearby college campuses.”The one line item I want to see go up every single year is how much I’m spending on college,” Teasley said.”When I started it was $10,000. Last year it was $85,000.”And how much did Raven pay for college? “Absolutely nothing,” she said. “Not a dime.”Raven Osborne teaching younger students.
This fall, Raven will be back at 21st Century Charter. Instead of paying for college, the school will be paying her salary, $38,000 a year to teach.
Source: Indiana teen graduating from college before getting high school diploma – CBS News