Black Intelligentsia Libraries is a group of gifted minds that has assembled with the sole purpose of working together to secure a brighter future for impoverished Black children. The passion of providing resources and opportunities as a means of fostering the great young gifted Black minds of tomorrow is shared by us all. It is our belief that underprivileged Black youths have long been an inadequately-tapped source of creativity and ingenuity, even after they have proven themselves uncannily resourceful at “getting by,” “making do,” and doing more with less. Our reasons for concentrating on Black children are clear: the love for our children and our deduction that no one else will invest in them. We work steadfastly to ensure higher plateaus for the next generations.
As an organization, Black Intelligentsia Libraries comprises professionals whose backgrounds include education, history, engineering, accounting, management, public service, electrician, barbering, mechanics, law, and business ownership who are all incensed at the apathy and disregard perpetrated by people in America at the expense of our children. We have formed this intricate alliance to serve our communities by engineering a promising and lasting infrastructure.
It is our every intent to thwart the efforts and policies of those who wish, plan, and prepare to supply the growing demand for more prisons with our children, as the judicial and penal systems have become “big business.” All levels of our government (federal, state, and municipal) have made it obvious that they’d rather invest in prisons than in education, removing funds from the latter to nurture the former. It is no surprise that education, ingenuity, and imagination of our number one resource—people—have taken a considerable hit in the global arena.
In addition to our internal partnerships, we have worked diligently to create corporate, community, school, parental, and personal partnerships to sponsor the children we mentor and develop. The benefits of total involvement are often intangible, for they are incomputable and obscure; the heightened ambitions of a child who knows that others care about his or her wellbeing cannot be measured. Conversely, apathy is equally loaded with intangible costs. Crime among youths is often the result of neglect by adults and, ultimately, a by-product of the “sin of omission” or failing to do good deeds when you know you should. It is a form of reaction to the frustrations of poverty and despair. Anyone can be the target of a criminal act, especially those who are apathetic. We believe that child rearing is not only our responsibility but also an honor.
Everyone has a special genius. It is our aim to help our children discover and begin developing their genius at the end of grade school. From that point, we are able to help them determine their next steps and avenues to ultimate goal attainment. We establish relationships with universities and trade schools in hopes of supplying them a plethora of motivated talent, while building pipelines to success.
While college is for anyone, it is not for everyone. The pursuit of a trade would be the only logical reason to bypass college and only if that particular trade is one’s dream. Because they are interlocked and interdependent, trades are the common threads which weave the “fabric of America.” Carpenters, masons, auto mechanics, barbers, hair stylists, etc. are professionals who depend on each other and are depended on by all others. Though trades will not require college, they will require education beyond high school. Trade schools provide direct and concentrated training for the fulfilling career in which one pursues.
Although our focus is on children and teens, our services are extended to adults who have returned to school whether impelled by career change or simply closing chapters of their lives (unfinished business). In many instances, in order to work with children, we have to work with parents to prep them for their child’s imminent journey. We use this opportunity to stress the importance of planning, budgeting, and completely understanding the true benefits of investing monetary resources and, more importantly, time in their children.
As important as it is to stress the values of college and vocational training beyond high school, eventual job-placement of highly skilled graduates and prospects is a major component of the short-term goal and learning process. Mastering our respective industries and fields through apprenticeship or even enduring the flawed gauntlet that is corporate America is how we “pay dues.” But, of course, we at Black Intelligentsia Libraries emphasize ownership as the ultimate goal.
“With the help of Almighty God, we declare ourselves the sworn protectors of the honor and virtue of our women and children…”
--Marcus Garvey, U.N.I.A.
About Us
Black Intelligentsia Libraries
The New Way Of Thinking
