LeBron James Will Help 1,100 Kids Go to College

The Huffington Post reports that:

The deep ties LeBron James shares with his hometown of Akron, Ohio, aren't news to anyone. It's as much a part of the LeBron brand as the player's moves on the court.

Well, King James is taking the love one step further, announcing that he will fund over 1,000 kids' educations with a scholarship to the University of Akron, ESPN reported.

Through a partnership between the school and his LeBron James Family Foundation, the 1,100 children currently in his "I Promise" program will receive a fully sponsored scholarship.

"I think it's probably one of the best things I've ever been a part of," James said.

He continued, "This is very special to me. As a kid growing up in the inner city and as an African-American kid, you don't really think past high school because it's not possible or your family can't support you."

Good morning, family. I salute LeBron James for giving back to the community. He was blessed with great opportunity. Now, he is sharing that blessing with many others. Due to his great generosity, 1,000 kids will be able to attend college. Much respect.

Black Achievement Series: Kwasi Enin

USA Today and News One report that:

In the next month, Kwasi Enin must make a tough decision: Which of the eight Ivy League universities should he attend this fall?

A first-generation American from Shirley, N.Y., the 17-year-old violist and aspiring physician applied to all eight, from Brown to Yale.

The responses began rolling in over the past few months, and by late last week when he opened an e-mail from Harvard, he found he'd been accepted to every one. School district officials provided scanned copies of acceptance letters from all eight on Monday. Yale confirmed that it was holding a spot for Enin.

The feat is extremely rare, say college counselors — few students even apply to all eight, because each seeks different qualities in their freshman class. Almost none are invited to attend them all. The Ivy League colleges are among the nation's most elite.

"My heart skipped a beat when he told me he was applying to all eight," says Nancy Winkler, a guidance counselor at William Floyd High School, where Enin attends class. In 29 years as a counselor, she says, she's never seen anything like this. "It's a big deal when we have students apply to one or two Ivies. To get into one or two is huge. It was extraordinary."

For most of the eight schools, acceptance comes rarely, even among the USA's top students. At the top end, Cornell University admitted only 14% of applicants. Harvard accepted just 5.9%.

But Enin has "a lot of things in his favor," says college admissions expert Katherine Cohen, CEO and founder of IvyWise, a New York-based consulting firm.

For one thing, he's a young man. "Colleges are looking for great boys," Cohen says. Application pools these days skew heavily toward girls: The U.S. Department of Education estimates that females comprised 57% of college students in degree-granting institutions last year. Colleges — especially elite ones — are struggling to keep male/female ratios even, so admitting academically gifted young men like Enin gives them an advantage.

He ranks No. 11 in a class of 647 at William Floyd, a large public school on Long Island's south shore. That puts him in the top 2% of his class. His SAT score, at 2,250 out of 2,400 points, puts him in the 99th percentile for African-American students.

Read more at USA Today.

Congratulations, Kwasi Enin!

Black Achievement Series: Avery Coffey

Here is some great news. I am proud of this young brother, Avery Coffey. Fox 5 reports that:

This is the college acceptance season -- frequently a nervous time for high school seniors. But D.C.'s Avery Coffey can relax. He applied to five Ivy League universities and all five accepted him.

Coffey attends Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, a D.C. public school with strict rules. None of the 439 students at Banneker is allowed to bring a cell phone into the building. They are also not allowed to go to their lockers during the school day. (That has spawned the peculiar tradition of piling up textbooks at the base of lockers, so kids can switch books between classes without violating the locker rule.)

The strict rules at Banneker have fostered a rather serious academic environment. Principal Anita Berger says year after year after year, 100 percent of Banneker graduates are accepted into post-secondary institutions.

Among these brainy and motivated public school students is 17-year-old Coffey who, like a lot of kids, enjoys sports. What does he play?

"Baseball, basketball, tennis, soccer," Coffey told us.

He also enjoys academics, and he has a 4.3 high school report card average, adjusted for the demanding International Baccalaureate courses he takes. Coffey scored very high on standardized tests also. He calls himself a "determined" student.

Coffey applied to five Ivy League universities, and, amazingly, has been accepted at all of them: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, and Brown.

And four of the five universities have already offered very generous financial aid packages. (Harvard is still formulating its offer.)

Two Sistas Make History

The Grio reported that:

Two female students at Fresno State University recently made history by being named the first African-American women to win the Henry Clay Invitational Debates.

The annual debate, which was held at the University of Kentucky this year, was first established in 1971 and is one of the nation’s oldest and largest U.S. policy, varsity debate tournaments in America, reports The Collegian at Fresno State.

On Oct. 7, Nadia Lewis and Jamila Ahmed took home the first and second place titles, respectively, after competing against 286 speakers from 30 schools.

Read more here.

While others highlight negative stereotypes of black people, I will highlight examples of black excellence and achievement. Join me in congratulating Nadia Lewis and Jamila Ahmed!

Three African Americans Receive ‘Genius’ MacArthur Fellowship Awards

(Photo of Carrie Mae Weems, one of the awardees)

Frost Illustrated reports that:

Three African Americans are among the recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellowships for 2013—an award that recognizes those who have demonstrated extraordinary achievement and potential in their creative pursuits.
Kyle Abraham, Tarell McCraney and Carrie Mae Weems were among the 24 individuals who each will receive the $625,000 monetary award, which they can use to invest in their artistic visions in any manner they choose.

“This year’s class of MacArthur Fellows is an extraordinary group of individuals who collectively reflect the breadth and depth of American creativity,” said Cecilia Conrad, vice president, MacArthur Fellows Program, in a statement. “They are artists, social innovators, scientists, and humanists who are working to improve the human condition and to preserve and sustain our natural and cultural heritage. Their stories should inspire each of us to consider our own potential to contribute our talents for the betterment of humankind.”

Abraham, McCraney and Weems, in particular, were celebrated for their unique expressions of the African American experience.

Read more here.