Louisiana State Lawmakers Honor Black Home-Schooling Families
by Jim Brown
June 14, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Louisiana state lawmakers are honoring black Americans involved in the home-schooling movement. The Louisiana State Legislature recently passed a resolution commending a group called National Black Home Educators (NBHE) for introducing the benefits of home schooling to black families in the state.Representative Cedric Richmond's resolution also praises NBHE for collecting and distributing school supplies to the home-schooling families and evacuees of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Today at the opening of the House session, the resolution is scheduled to be presented to 17 black families who have created a home-schooling support group.
NBHE founder Joyce Burges is excited about the resolution and plans to ask black caucuses across the United States to commend black home-schooling families in their states. "One down, 49 to go," she says. "I'm thinking it's just the beginning of more and more African American people of influence seeing that this is good for our children, it's good for families, and it's good for the country."
Burges has also urged the Congressional Black Caucus on Capitol Hill to issue a proclamation commending black families who have chosen to home school. She says increasing numbers of parents in the black community have been exploring home schooling as an alternative for their children.
At one time, home education may have not have seemed a viable option for many black families. But now, the NBHE founder says, "I'm just seeing that they are considering it. They are looking into home schooling."
In fact, home schooling has become "so touchable or accessible now," Burges adds, "African American parents -- especially the ones who could not put their children in a school right away -- are saying, 'I can do this. I can home school my child."
Jim Brown, a contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
