Listen Live
Hot 100.9 Featured Video
CLOSE

Dr. Steve Perry is a man on mission — a mission to help educate African-American youth.

According to www.WeareCapitalPrep.org, the goal is simple — provide students “with an enriching and invigorating educational experience. With a focus on academic rigor and achievement.”

Now on the heels of opening Capital Preparatory Harbor School in Bridgeport, CT, Perry is preparing to launch another school in Harlem, New York.

Dr. Perry joined Roland Martin Tuesday on NewsOne Now to discuss his new schools coming to life and the importance of school choice in the African-American community.

Perry explained that the opening of Capital Preparatory Harbor School in Bridgeport, CT turned into a interesting battle after Black politicians were threatening to “go against the governor’s budget to therefore shutdown the entire state to stop one 250 child school from opening in a school system in which five percent of the fifth graders are doing math on grade level.”

According to a TV One/RolandSMartin.com poll, 72 percent of African-American families favored public charter schools with 13 percent opposing their institution. Seventy-four percent of those polled showed interest in enrolling their children in charter schools with 18 percent saying they would not be interested.

When Martin asked Dr. Perry about these statistics, Perry said, “Black Civil Rights groups have unfortunately have been mortgaged by the teacher union.”

“They’ve allowed themselves to be bought and sold,” said Perry. He continued, “The truth is that our families want choice and as a result they’re the ones that are overwhelmingly on the waiting lists hoping to get into better schools.”

“They don’t recognize the reason why they they can’t get in is because the politicians are limiting the number of seats in those schools and the parents are also sick and tired of hearing complaints about having to educate our kids, as if there was a time — this magical time in Black history where the Black people were doing really, really well. Where Black kids weren’t coming to school hungry or having experienced trauma. At what point in American history have Black people been doing so well that our kids have been in an amazing situation?”

Watch Martin and Dr Perry discuss the opening of two new Capital Preparatory Harbor Schools, the opposition the educational institution has faced while trying to open its doors in Bridgeport, CT and the TV One/RolandSMartin.com poll detailing African-American families desire for school choice in the video clip above.

Mark your calendars! TV One NewsOne Now moves to 7 A.M. ET starting Monday September 14th. Until then, be sure to watch “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin, weekdays at 9 a.m. EST on TV One.

Subscribe to the “NewsOne Now” Audio Podcast on iTunes.

SEE ALSO:  

Watch Portions Of The New Orleans Charter School Revolution: 10 Years After Katrina Special Report

Don’t Miss Our Hottest Stories! Get The NewsOne Flip App for iPhone: Flip, Skip — Or Send Us a Tip!

Dr. Steve Perry: Connecticut Pols Threatened To Shutdown State To Stop Capital Preparatory Harbor School  was originally published on newsone.com