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The Trump administration has been on shaky ground of late when it comes to black education. There was the strange announcement that HBCU funding would be reduced; then a quick recanting of that. And Betsy DeVos is expected to face as many protesters as she is parents when she gives a commencement speech at Dr. Mary MacLeod-Bethune’s school.So, they’ve called in a ringer: noted education expert and expert on all things black, Speaker Paul Ryan. Perhaps because of his state’s demographics, Ryan today is not in Wisconsin, but in Harlem, visiting a charter school there, Harlem Success Academy.The founder and CEO of the Success Academy, Eva Moskowitz, is a longtime proponent of charter schools, and was very nearly nominated education secretary instead of DeVos.amNewYork reports that Ryan was met with a crowd of protestors who began gathering hours before the speaker’s visit. The protesters reportedly chanted, “Health care for all, not just for Paul.”Photo: Kelly WeillNew York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito called the visit, “pretty, pretty disturbing,” while Mindy Rosier, a teacher at a public school that shares Success Academy’s building called Ryan’s visit “a slap in the face to all the hard working public school teachers out there.” “He should come downstairs to my all special needs” school, Rosier said of Ryan, “And see how hard we work. Public schools are the majority in this country and he needs to familiarize himself with what we do.”Others against the visit linked the recent House health care bill to DeVos’ plans for education reform.The national director of the Working Families Party, Dan Cantor, said, “What Moskowitz, Ryan and Betsy DeVos share is misguided market fundamentalism that believes students and patients need nothing but more competition. But that competition guarantees some people will lose, and that’s the wrong way to treat public goods like education and health care. It’s a dystopian agenda that every leader in New York must reject.”Photo: Girls Really RuleAnd what do Harlemites think of all this?In a statement sent to Blavity, Harlem preacher Pastor Michael Walrond of First Corinthians Baptist Church said, “Paul Ryan’s appearance in Harlem today is nothing more than a photo op meant to distract us from the GOP’s agenda … As he meets Harlem students today, he should take heart what will happen to these children if their families lose lifesaving healthcare, and witness the real-world impact of decisions that ripple far beyond the halls of Congress.”One can only hope that there will be a student like the little girl who told off that Trump impersonator to relay the will of the people to Ryan...

If you’ve ever been anxious about starting your own business, experienced frustration of limited opportunities or face the realities of being a minority in business, there may be a solution. Capalino+Company, a strategic relations firm, just launched an app to help minorities and women find business contracting opportunities within the state and city of New York. Tunisha Walker and Safeena Mecklai, the two women of color who created the app, believe it’s as simple as online dating, except this time, you get to see how much money is in your potential date’s pocket.Designed to connect entrepreneurs with the right opportunities based on their skill set, the MWBE Connect app mainly targets women and minorities that are part of the Minorities and Women Business Enterprises (MWBE).  But don’t worry, non-members can still utilize the app's search tools. Not only is it creating space for entrepreneurs to thrive in the state of New York, but, in one mobile friendly tool, eliminates some of the hustle done to create those business opportunities.While demographics such as black women are the most educated and fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, many of them may not be seeing all of the fruits of that labor. Even with networks designed to help underrepresented minorities succeed, Walker shared that in New York, only 4.8 percent of MWBE earned money from the city or state. That’s only 4.8 percent of New York’s $15.6 billion dollars in goods and services!“The way the city and state talk about what they want to buy isn’t always what they need,” said Walker about the biggest issue the app tackles. Both shared that sometimes entrepreneurs find contracts that advertise for a skill set, but don’t have the right language or can be as lengthy as 100–200 pages. Sometimes searching for the right proposal can become an arduous and expensive task to grow a healthy business.With many other examples of entrepreneurs not knowing where or how to find the right opportunity, Mecklai and Walker are solving for x. Mecklai described the app as, “leveraging tools to bring underrepresented communities to the table.” The app solves this problem by taking the call outs, postings and RFPs (request for proposals) from other portals that can be confusing, and brings them into one space. When you create your profile, RFPs that have matching tags immediately connects users with opportunities that match what they do.Mecklai said with a bit of a laugh, that their biggest challenge developing the app was the same issue many underrepresented entrepreneurs face: technology. “We are not app developers. We know the issue really well, but translating it to what tech would look like is really tough,” she said. With a little “hustle,” as Mecklai called it, entrepreneurs can also face this issue of accessible technology by just downloading the app and testing their 2-week free trial.As an added bonus, the app offers one-on-one guidance with Mecklai or Walker, and alerts of upcoming events for people affiliated with MWBE. In the future, there will be a desktop version and a tracking feature that allows you to stay updated on the progress of RFPs of interest, and receive alerts about upcoming deadlines.With just 200 users and 325 downloads, it’s a secret that more young, black entrepreneurs shouldn’t keep to themselves. Most importantly, the app is empowering members of MWBE, and the like, to continue a tradition of “lifting as we climb.” Safeena Mecklai shared that this is the essence of why the app is important. She said, “What we hope to accomplish is to close the gap between goals and city/state procurement. The work we do every day is for minorities and women so that they can win contracts and bring that success back to their...

It's no secret the important history and role that HBCUs have played in the African American community. However, contrary to the belief of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Trump Administration, HBCUs are more than just "pioneers of school choice," and definitely more than just a photo-op. HBCUs continue to play a vital role in our communities. New research from the Education Trusts revealed that the nation’s HBCUs are performing better than predominantly white schools in graduating low-income black students.The study compared the graduation rates for schools whose Pell Grant recipients make up 40–75 percent of their student bodies. The findings show that the average graduation rate for black students at HBCUs was 37.8 percent, and 32.0 percent for non-HBCUs. The study also noted that roughly half of the nation’s 105 HBCUs have a freshman class where three-quarters of the students are from low-income backgrounds, while just one percent of the 676 non-HBCUs serve as high a percentage of low-income students.Seeing that this is true, the question must be posed: Why aren't more lower income students taking advantage of the opportunities HBCUs have to offer? Unfortunately, ignorance to and lack of realization of the advantages of HBCUs have stopped many low income black and brown students from attending them. For this reason, one prominent Harlem pastor has made it his mission to bring more awareness to students.Pastor Mike Walrond of First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York has made an all-expenses paid tour of HBCU campuses an annual event. This year's tour will take place from April 11 to April 14, and admitted students will meet with faculty, special speakers and admissions counselors about the benefits of an HBCU education, campus life and what they need to be prepared to succeed as African American scholars. I had the honor of talking with Pastor Mike to gather more insight about the church's annual tour, and what it means for the community.Pastor Mike is a proud HBCU alum himself, graduating from Morehouse college. "My wife went to Spelman, my son went to Morehouse and my daughter went to Spelman," he laughed. Having gone to an HBCU himself, and understanding the lack of knowledge that many students possess in regards to HBCUs, acted as inspiration for the creation of this tour. Not only do students lack knowledge of the important roles of HBCUs in the African American community, guidance counselors do too. He explained that it's the first instinct of guidance counselors in New York to recommend in-state PWIs, not realizing the disservice they are doing their students. That's where First Corinthian Baptist Church and HBCU advocacy programs, such as this tour, come into play.This year will be the church's sixth tour. They have taken students to HBCUs all over the East Coast and Southeast region. This year, they will be visiting four schools, including Hampton University and Johnson C. Smith University.While First Corinthian Baptist Church continues to do a wonderful job in advocacy and awareness, it's also important to note the role that Pell Grants play in funding post secondary education. With the Trump administration raiding nearly $4 billion from Pell Grants, I asked Pastor Mike how he believed this will affect HBCU enrollment for low income students."HBCUs will be hit hard," he put plainly. "Pell Grants are how many low income students pay for school all together."He also suspects that there may be students who won't be able to finish, and may be forced to come home after as little as one semester. This is another reason why lesser-known HBCUs with better track records must be advocated for. Knowledge of the possibilities at these institutions must be shared, and First Corinthian Baptist Church is at the forefront.If you would like to learn more about this amazing opportunity, or how you can get involved, email Syreena Howard at...

“What in the world is an escape room?”I asked that question several times throughout the years and never got a clear answer.In 2015, while interning at a radio station in Manhattan, I was hearing about escape rooms on a daily basis. I never had time to go and I never bothered to look further into it. Then, when I moved to New York permanently in 2016, my sister would regularly mention how much she wanted to try one out. I was too caught up in the city grind and never dug deeper. But this year, to my surprise, I received a message inviting me to finally experience the elusive attraction. Recently, during one unusually warm winter night, I hopped on the 3 train and trucked it to uptown Manhattan to discover what all the fuss is about.The best way to grasp what an escape room is about is to go to one, but if I were to try and describe the experience, I would compare it to the popular Saw movie franchise—the thrill and excitement of trying to free yourself from a strange, and sometimes quirky, puzzle filled room — minus the terrible macabre deaths (thank God). They make you think way beyond the ordinary, and Hoodwinked Escape, a black-owned escape room in the heart of Harlem, delivers excitement beyond your most logical expectations.Photo: Hoodwinked EscapeAfter experiencing an escape room for herself, Hoodwinked Escape owner, Michele Ware, was driven to leave her 25-year career in finance, and jump into the physical adventure game's booming business. “I was exposed to the concept of escape rooms in 2014, after taking the accounting department staff I managed out for a team building exercise. The concept was profound to me as it created lots of emotions, and brought out the best in my staff, as we got to know each other outside of the office. I immediately thought, "that’s it." This is the business concept that allowed me to take a leap of faith, and utilize all the management and leadership skills I developed over the years, into a business that transforms lives,” said Ware.Photo: Regina FlemingHoodwinked Escape gives you four unique, mind-boggling rooms to try and crack. I tackled the “Spy Academy” room alongside Blavity's managing editor, Brandon. We were accompanied by three other diverse strangers. The five of us were locked in a random classroom and given 60 minutes to attempt to find a way out. Without spoiling the undertaking for you, we five strangers oddly grew connected through the process of rescuing one of the members from (fake) peril, breaking combination locks, deciphering odd messages and firing laser guns at hidden targets. Unfortunately for us, time ran out and we didn’t complete our mission successfully, but the fun we had couldn’t be denied.After our mission, we were given an exclusive tour of the remaining three rooms. There was “Hangover II," a college (HBCU, if you like) dorm complete with suggestions of higher education mischief, “The Experiment Room," a dark laboratory that’ll easily send a chill up your spine and “Spirit of Harlem," an ode to the golden days of the cherished neighborhood Hoodwinked Escape resides in.Photo: Hoodwinked EscapeWhen asked about future plans for Hoodwinked Escape, Ware, like a true puzzle architect, was intriguingly tight-lipped. “I have a few amazing opportunities in the works, however, what I can share is that I’m looking at bringing the concept to new markets, and will continue to entice my clue finders with new rooms that are even more immersive, high-tech and full sensory.”With that said, I’m looking forward to returning soon…and next time, actually...

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Obama Barry and Michelle,I know the rules state that I should refer to you as former President and First Lady, but I think we all can agree that we're on a first-name basis at this stage in our relationship. Eight years of our ups and downs, and you've got me out here looking like Boo Boo the Fool. I'm mourning and you're having the time of your lives.I see you.Photo: PopSugarSeeing your newfound happiness is like scrolling on an ex-lover's Facebook timeline, praying that my fat fingers don't accidentally push the like button. Browsing your vacations pics is like peeking at an Insta Story; you know there's always someone watching.I can't remember the last time you smiled at me like this.Photo: Jack BrockwayLegs looking all strong.Photo: Jack Brockway/Virgin.comAnd Michelle, you acted as if you didn't want to wave. Obama's on vacation with the hat backwards. He's never coming back. pic.twitter.com/RUakcwwgtT— Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 1, 2017While gallivanting in New York, you were still acting like you didn't see anybody, Michelle.WATCH: The Obamas in NYC this afternoon. Source tells me Mrs. Obama will be in NYC all weekend. pic.twitter.com/FU6GjKzyoN— Yashar (@yashar) March 10, 2017Tell the truth. Are ya'll getting fit for another country?Photo: GiphyThen you come back home with an extra shade of melanin like nothing happened; both looking fine as hell.Photo: AP Images This is worse than when James from Good Times died.Photo: GiphySeeing you gone start another sad love song racking my brain.Take back that sad word goodbye.Photo: C-SPANBring back the joy to my life.Photo: BETDon't leave me here with these tears. Come and kiss this pain away.Photo: Get OutI can't forget the day you left.Photo: CNNTime is so unkind, and life is so cruel, without you here beside me.Photo: FencesUn-break my heart.Photo: TumblrSay you'll love me again.Photo: TumblrUndo this hurt you caused when you walked out the door, and walked out of my life.Photo: CNN Uncry these tears. I cried so many nights.Photo: C-SPANUnbreak my heart, oh Barack.At one time you tweeted us three, even four times a week. Now, you barely show your face one time on the TL.Photo: The Color PurpleIs this the end? Mama told me one day it was gonna happen, but she never told me when. Barack. Michelle. Let us know. Send us a sign. Did you ever love us?While the two of you were out having a good time, the babysitter you left us with, the one with the bad sew-in, is torching our very existence.Photo: GiphyWord on the street is, Barry, you're looking at returning to politics.Photo: ABCBarry. Michelle LaVaughn. Do we ever cross your mind?I don't normally give up eight years that easily to just anybody. You two meant something. It was special. Now, I see you have time to stop for coffee and what not. I like coffee too.Barack Obama being greeted by a crowd while getting coffee as someone yells "SPEECH" just made my entire day 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/PkSa8prQFC— Common White Girl (@girlposts) February 24, 2017If you have time, I'd like to take you out for coffee. Hit me up. If you're not too busy with your new life and all.Get your Blavity fix. Sign up for our daily...

When we talk about gentrification, what are the images that often come to mind? Is it a Starbucks? Is it white people in vegan footwear, beanies or the wildly popular ‘man bun’? Was it your rent going up?  According to Slate magazine, I too was a gentrifier. I’m not a New York native, and unlike many of the black, brown and latino/latinx people that live in my building, I haven’t lived there very long. I moved into a low-income neighborhood, I agreed to pay the higher rents and I made substantially more than the area’s median income of $23,519. Not to mention my slight obsession with Trader Joe's, vintage clothing, alternative R&B and craft beer.  I felt defensive whenever someone used the word 'hipster' as a compliment, but I admittedly looked the part. Is this how white people felt when people of color talked about racism? I just wanted to be black and excellent. In 2015, I moved to Brooklyn, New York after interning two years ago in college. I graduated and knew that I wanted to take a job in New York, and after lots of jaded apartment hunting experiences, I found the right space. I moved to the area I live in now mainly because it was a community I could recognize being of Afro-Caribbean descent, it was a pretty solid train ride to the city for work and because it was one of those “up and coming neighborhoods.” I could afford to live in the neighborhood and there wasn’t a Starbucks on the corner yet. I’ve lived there over a year and the slow changes I saw made me frustrated and anxious. Every time I saw some white, smiling face walking their dog at 11 p.m., I thought “there goes the neighborhood.”But what exactly could I be upset about?I’ll stop to acknowledge a few things at this point. I am black and I am privileged. I have two parents that could afford to take care of school and living arrangements during my college years. I can still pick up the phone and call my parents if I couldn’t make ends meet. I also graduated college with more good debt than credit card debt. But what determined if I was part of the problem?  My blackness or my upbringing?Huffington Post editor Rahel Gebreyes, wrote about this same contradiction statistically between class and race. It is almost always assumed that gentrification happens because higher income whites are moving into the neighborhood. However, she cited a study done in Brickton, Philadelphia that found that black middle-class residents or  ‘black gentrifiers’ were moving to lower income areas for some of the same reasons I moved to my neighborhood; racial exclusion or the need for racial solidarity was a definite motivating factor. Gebreyes also brings up another point: Would the neighborhood change the way it did if all the people moving in were black? From my experience, no. I was white enough on paper, but I also struggled with gaining the ‘perks’ of gentrification. The services provided and upkeep of my building for the rent I paid---which was less than satisfactory -- had not changed until more Non-POCs began moving in.  Even my landlord looked shocked when I opened the door to meet him for the first time because both of his new tenants were black. He had done the routine credit, income and background checks and on paper, both of us didn’t seem very ‘black’? While these routine “check-ups” are arguably safety measures for landlords, many times it’s used to discriminate against people of color. The same way credit checks in employment left some black people unemployed, was the same way it can leave potential black home buyers/renters with fewer options. Again, I was lucky. At best, the numbers tell a very murky story about upward mobility and black families which make it hard to determine if the idea of a black gentrifier is a valid one. Studies were done within the past four years often lump race and class together, and continue to ignore any progress black middle-class families may have made after the recession in 2008. For example, The Atlantic stated that black middle class and their children see many more challenges in escaping poverty, but in 2015 many low-income and middle-class families saw at least a 5.2 percent increase in income. Different factors that affect black families like single parent homes, usually headed by women, also saw the gender pay gap drop to a record low. Overall, the numbers paint progress as more subjective and even tiny in some cases. White privilege also plays a part in why the young, black and educated are having a harder time moving back into black neighborhoods. It is almost always assumed that white people can afford things. Therefore, the presence of whiteness made a neighborhood ‘good,’ which also means that a black tenant presented ‘less value’ than moving in a white tenant. This kind of racism in the housing market meant black people moving into a black neighborhood didn’t have the same effect. My privilege and factors that contributed to oppression in my community meant that others like me were lucky enough to afford to pay the rent, but I wasn’t the preferred tenant in these up and coming areas. I could struggle against the gentrification tide and be priced out too, but writer Marly Pierre-Louis was right when she said the discussion about gentrification has become “stale.” Just like the study done in Brickton, Philadelphia, the conversation should be about how black hipsters can use their privilege to positively impact the neighborhoods they are part of.  First, we can start by making the decision to live alongside members of our community, and actively contribute to a better one. Getting informed about local politics, attending town hall meetings and volunteering to name a few are what should be a collective effort to invest in that community and eventually, bring the black neighborhoods back to Brooklyn. If you have any other thoughts about what other black youth can do to speak out, your comments are...

Photo: tinymixtapes.netIf you’ve been rocking with me for a while (first of all, thank you) you know that growing up, my mom played a huge part in my music taste. One of my mom’s favorite artists is Alicia Keys. I don’t remember a ton of the music my mom used to play, but I remember Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye and Alicia Keys. Her debut, Songs In A Minor, was in rotation for years, and her sophomore effort, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was even more so. I adored Alicia Keys because not only was she a powerful singer, but she produced a lot of her own music by playing the piano. As I grew up, I checked for Alicia Keys here and there. But aside from her first two releases, she wasn’t always on repeat. However, after hearing her 6th studio album, Here, I think this is one all of us will be playing for years to come. This is yet another record that flew under the radar for me, I didn’t hear about any of the singles, didn’t peep the tracklist, so I didn’t really know what I was going to get. But Alicia Keys joins the ranks of Solange, Beyonce, NoName, Common and more in the joint effort of releasing albums pertinent to the social climate we’re currently in. Here comes in around 45 minutes, 11 tracks with multiple interludes that bring the album together. Alicia Keys splashes onto the scene with “The Gospel," and this piqued my interest off top. The piano commands your attention, as do Keys’ vocals. Her lyrics are filled with honesty, no matter how dark. But what I love about this track is her confidence in us as a people. She’s here to inspire us. I said it with Common’s record, and I believe the same is true here. Lines like “Life seems hard but nothin’ ever comes easy/Whatever’s in the dark, can always become the light/If you ain’t in a battle, how you gon’ win the fight” is a call to action to the listener. Alicia Keys didn’t just put together the best songs created during a certain time and give it to us, this album was a calculated artistic effort meant to send a message. Like I said before, Alicia Keys is here to inspire and motivate us, but she doesn’t hold back the issues our society has. “Illusion of Bliss” was a track I didn’t expect to hear from Keys that covers addiction. Not just addiction in terms of drugs, but addiction to drama, sex, attention whatever our vice is, Keys’ references them as an Illusion of Bliss. In this track, she plays the role of a woman who’s dealing with this. I love this because she’s not pointing fingers, in taking the role she sympathizes with the character and us. This track comes right at the middle of the LP, and I think it provides the transition from some of the darkness in the beginning of the record to the hope and confidence she tries to instill in the rest of the album. Illusion of Bliss. Another one of my all-time favorites on the album. Get ready for a musical journey!! 😉 #AKGlobalVibesParty #AliciaIsHERE pic.twitter.com/QcbRzMBWYG— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) November 18, 2016I really feel like Alicia Keys is in her element with Here. The production fits her, and her ability to adapt and adjust her voice makes this a diverse listen. The production handled by Keys, Swizz Beats and others don’t pigeonhole any sounds on this record. One minute you’re listening to the upbeat marching vibe from “The Gospel,” next minute you’re listening to the acoustic guitar-backed “Kill Your Mama” that speaks on our killing of the environment we’ve been blessed with. Keys pulled all the stops to really showcase her talent on this album, and the production accompanied with it made it that much more immersive. In talking about this album to others, some were weary, saying that Keys jumped on the same bandwagon as Solange, Common and the like. I couldn’t disagree more, I do think that the “wave” of conscious music is out there, but that Keys isn’t fitting a mold. You can hear the integrity in her voice. It’s easy to judge at a surface level, but dig deep and you’ll find a woman concerned for her people and concerned for her planet. I’m glad I took the time to sit down and listen to this. With where we’ve been this year, it’s easy to overlook this album. But Alicia Keys made Here for us. For more music content like this, sign up for Blavity's daily...