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Knowing, Understanding and Celebrating the History of Black Americans

February, 2021

During this Black History Month, I challenge all of us to better know, understand, and appreciate the contributions made by Black Americans. Here is my question: Will we commit to dive deeper into the ocean of new ideas and inventions, and into the impact made by Black people? I encourage us all to reach beyond the shallow pool of Black history that only acknowledges the usual histories of the usual names that we memorize each year.

And while those contributions are important and noteworthy, in learning these stories we are only dabbling our toes at the...

The ExceptionAL Project Announces Ron Walker as Exceptional Man of the Week!

COSEBOC is pleased and honored that our Executive Director, Ron Walker, has been named Exceptional Man of the Week by the ExceptionAL Project.

"Meet our Exceptional Man of the Week! Ron Walker is a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. Read on to see how he LEADS, LIVES, and LOVES!

LEADING: Ron has been an education and equity warrior for the past 52 years. He has served as a teacher in the great city of Philadelphia and a principal in...

This Is Why We Vote

By Shawn Dove, Anthony Smith and Ron Walker

If ever there was a time for us to be the curators of the change we want to see, it is now. 2020 has brought us a horrible global pandemic and has underscored the 400 year-long pandemic of racial oppression and anti-Blackness in this nation, increasing the agency for BMA leaders like us to be the curators of the change we want to see with increasing clarity. An inherent part of being a curator of change is believing that we already have access to everything we need.

We have witnessed this in countless ways over the past...

My Daughter’s and Granddaughter’s are Breonna Taylor!

Their names are Amber, Robin, Azya, and Jordan. They are my daughters and granddaughters. I, like millions of other Black fathers and grandfathers, am fiercely protective and proud of each one of them.

Breonna Taylor was the pride and joy of her family also. At 26 years old, she was already a decorated Emergency Medical Technician who enjoyed serving her fellow man. With an optimistic and ebullient personality, she was looking forward to a bright future. According to a close friend, Breonna was engaged to be married and expected 2020 to be her best year.

...

COSEBOC Fall and Winter Series | Equity: Front, Center, and Fulfilled

Dear COSEBOC friends,

On behalf of the Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color, I send my thanks to you again for your support of our recent spring and summer Virtual Gathering seminars. The series was a huge success, and it is because of your great attendance and enthusiastic feedback that I am pleased to announce the launch of our new COSEBOC Virtual Equity Seminar series for fall and winter 2020-2021.

The focus of the series will be Equity, a concept that is especially important for those of us dedicated to the advancement of the social, emotional,...

The Fruition of our Virtual Gathering of Leaders

Dear COSEBOC friends and supporters,

On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color, it is my pleasure to send you this note of thanks.

As many of you know, COSEBOC was scheduled to host its 14th Gathering of Leaders in the great city of Seattle, Washington on April 28-30, 2020. With the onset of COVID-19, we were forced to cancel our signature event. This situation faced us with a significant challenge. Like many other non-profits, we made a hard pivot in order to keep...

Solomon's Plan by Ron Walker

After many years of thinking about writing a book to share a story about the power of hope, resilience and family, I finally did it. With the generous and consistent support of the American Reading Company, the book, is a reality.

It is written in honor of my father, Solomon Walker. Solomon Walker, born in 1915 in Gaffney, South Carolina, never went to school, lost both parents at a young age and with determination made his way to Philadelphia at the age of 19 to begin a new life. The book is for students from middle...

Now is the Time! Tomorrow is too Late!

by Ron Walker
June 15, 2020

“The children of the despised and rejected are menaced from the moment they stir in the womb.”

I open my written thoughts purposefully with this quote from the great American writer and poet, James Baldwin. Why are the children of the despised and rejected so menaced?

My name is Ronald Elmore Walker. I am honored to be the Executive Director of the Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color. I have been moved to write because of the gruesome and traumatic video that was the public lynching of George Floyd....

George Floyd and the Countless Others we Memorialize Today

by Ron Walker
June 9, 2020

Another name has been added to the roll of black women and men murdered by unchecked police violence. His name is George Floyd. George’s first name joins Emmett, Trayvon, Eric, Michael, Laquan, Tamir, Walter, Freddie, Sandra, Philando, Botham, Breonna, Ahmaud, and others whose names we do not know lost to the persistent and insidious dehumanization that is embedded within the fiber of America.

Before our very eyes, we are witnessing the decay of civil society. The façade of liberty and justice for all that has been the foundational rock of this...

Wendell and Kevin: Their Footprints Informed my Footsteps

This year, the theme for the Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color (COSEBOC) 14th Annual Gathering of Leaders, Boys and Young Men of Color: Learning from the Footprints of the Past; Taking Footsteps to the Future, has surely made an impact on me. As we approach this year's Gathering in Seattle, I have been thinking about two of my former students, Wendell Holiday and Kevin Johnson. These young black males were 7th and 9th grade students of mine during my early years as a teacher in Philadelphia.

Wendell Holiday was a very intelligent student who had...

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