David Banks is president of the Eagle Academy Foundation, which operates schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem and Newark, N.J. (Richard Harbus for New York Daily News)
Brenton James, a young New Yorker, received his bachelor’s degree in economics, philosophy and politics from the University of Pennsylvania earlier this month. Like his fellow graduates, Brenton applied his keen intellect and studied hard to earn his diploma.
But unlike most of his U Penn classmates, Brenton’s early indicators hadn’t pointed to an Ivy League education. An African-American raised by a proud, single mom in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, Brenton faced the fears, challenges and low expectations that young men of color commonly confront.
We know that children need love from their parents, the support of their teachers and nurturing from a community that believes in them. But the challenges faced by young men of color require a special level of response. All too often, black boys grow up without their fathers, leaving a void that impacts their transition to manhood. They are left to face a hostile society, frequently feared, even in their classrooms as little boys where they are suspended three times more often than their classmates. As they get older, they have to wonder, “Can I meet a friend at Starbucks and avoid arrest? Can I rent an Airbnb apartment without the neighbors reporting that it’s being robbed?” Read more>>>>
