Calling the Community to Account" Support African-Centered Education

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SCHOOL’S FOUNDER TO WALK FOR AFRICAN-CENTERED EDUCATION

Florida’s only African-centered public school today announced that its co-founder and current Board Chairman, Amefika D. Geuka will walk from the school to Washington, DC to dramatize the urgent need for African-centered education for children of African descent. Geuka and his colleagues have dubbed this venture a “Trek for African-Centered Education,” to be conducted from July 15th through August 12, 2009. In addition to gaining credibility for African-centered education, the walk is expected to raise money to close the funding gap for Geuka’s Joseph Littles-NGUZO SABA Charter School which completed ten years of continuous operation on January 20th of this year. Overall coordination and planning for the walkathon has been contracted to iZania, LLC based in Columbus, Ohio.

Geuka’s walk will cover 1,011 miles, with pledges being sought for every mile walked by him and dozens of expected collaborators along the route. Geuka and surrogate walkers plan to average 33 to 35 miles per day, requiring 10 to 12 hours. Walkers will depart from the school at 5829 Corporate Way in West Palm Beach at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, July 15th, and culminate on or about August 12th with ceremonial stops at the U.S. Department of Education and White House where prepared statements in support of African-centered education will be read. African-centered schools in the nation’s capital will be asked to host a victory rally after the statements have been read. Both President Barack Obama and his Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have spoken strongly in favor of public charter schools, which are designed to explore creative and innovative approaches to educating students who do not fare well in traditional public schools.

Geuka and other advocates and practitioners of African-centered education argue that theirs is the most effective way to encourage children of African descent to aspire to be successful in education and personal development. The African-centered approach to providing a strong cultural foundation for children of African descent is being adopted across the country by school districts, public schools, private schools, and charter schools. This pedagogical approach is gaining acceptance as an important and necessary component in the development of Black children. They draw parallels between the ‘ACE’ approach and the generally accepted contention by Jews and Catholics that their respective students learn best when their formal education is rooted in study and appreciation of their own heritage history, and culture.

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