ABOUT  the W.E.B. Du Bois Society

"Education is the civil rights issue of our generation" – U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan

We're here because the statistics about black youth and education demand our immediate attention.

• There are significant gaps between blacks and whites in virtually every measure of academic achievement.
  Significant black-white achievement gaps persist in National Assessment of Educational Progress math and reading test scores, high school completion rates, college enrollment and college completion rates.
• Blacks are also not faring well in high school graduation rates.
  In 2006, the graduation rate for black students was only 55 percent, compared to 78 percent for white students and 72 percent for Asian students.
• And where academic excellence is concerned, sadly black students are lagging behind.
  In 2007, the mean AP (advanced placement) score for white students was 2.95 nationwide; for blacks it was 1.91. According to The College Board's Profile of College-Bound Seniors, black students achieved the lowest mean SAT scores of students in all racial and ethnic groups.
• However, black children are just as capable of academic excellence as their peers in other racial/ethnic groups. These statistics are hard to swallow, but they DO NOT reflect the potential of black students.
  According to the National Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), there are virtually no racial or social class differences in mental ability among infants before their first birthday and a few social class indicators are able to explain the small differences that do exist.

We're here to address the one powerful force that no one else is addressing. This larger-than-life "elephant in the room": that many black children are growing up in a peer culture and community network that celebrates achievements in sports and entertainment more than academic achievement.

For these reasons, and so many more, we're here to leave a lasting, transformational impact on black youth culture – shifting the way black students, families and communities think about, recognize and reward academic achievement.