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5 Signs The Black World is on The Rise

Posted byBy A Moore | Published on: CommentsComments (6)

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Education and Academic Achievement

Did you know that Black immigrants from Africa have more college education and higher rates of degree attainment than any other immigrant group in the United States?  According to U.S. Census data, Nigerian immigrants have the highest levels of education in the nation, surpassing whites and Asians. Eighty percent of the population of the Caribbean Diaspora hold college degrees, says one World Bank study.

African and Caribbean immigrants are also among the most educated in other countries, such as Canada and England.

According to the study entitled, “African American Consumers: Still Vital, Still Growing,” between 2000 and 2009, the number of African-Americans with some college education or earning academic degrees has grown: 45 percent of men; 54 percent of women.

In  “Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey: Africa for Africans,” the Pan-African leader is quoted as saying:   “Education is the medium by which a people are prepared for the creation of their own particular civilization, and the advancement and glory of their own race.”  In other words, the purpose of education is to prepare people to solve the problems of their society.

The Black world suffers from a severe brain drain because the most educated among us are usually busy solving other people’s problems.  If the spirit that drives Black people to achieve the highest levels of academic success were harnessed for the benefit of our people, imagine how much progress could be made.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

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