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Making Progress; Moving Forward! Links: The Black Star Project's website: blackstarproject.org Black Star Journal: blackstarjournal.org Become a Member: Click Here Make a donation: Like us on Facebook: Follow us on Twitter: Take A Young Black Man  To Worship Sunday, November 23, 2014 In Your City, at Your Place of Worship  Hands Up - Praise Him! This past election cycle, many White elected officials were invited into Black churches across America.  Now we are asking those same Black churches to invite young Black men to come worship with them. Please call 773.285.9600 to register your place of worship and to get a registration kit for "Take A Young Black Man To Worship!" Click Here to See Greg Wilkerson Invite Young Black Men Into His Church and Challenge Other Churches To Do the Same! Click Here to register your place of worship for Take A Young Black Man To Worship Learn About Maritime Careers Earn $40,000, $60,000, $80,000  per year and more Employment Opportunities Working with Boats, Ships, Tourism, Fishing, Harbors, Loading Docks, Transportation, Cruise Liners  Join us on  Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at The Black Star Project,  6:30 pm to 7:30 pm 3509 South King Drive   Chicago, Illinois    With a presentation by  Captain Mark Stevenson   Last Chance to Register for One of the Best Fatherhood Galas in America Tuesday, November 18, 2014 New York City, New York Click Here to Register Attend a  Community Organizing Training  facilitated by  Midwest Academy  at  The Black Star Project 3509 South King Drive Chicago, Illinois Saturday, December 6, 2014 - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Sunday, December 7, 2014 - 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm Agenda includes: Understanding Relations of Power in Organizing  Turning Problems into Issues  Effective Strategy Development Please call 773.285.9600 for more information or to RSVP for this free training. The Economic Benefits of Closing Educational Achievement Gaps: $2.3 Trillion  Closing racial and ethnic achievement gaps-by raising incomes and increasing the size of the economy-would also have significant positive impacts on federal, state, and local tax revenues.  By Robert Lynch and Patrick Oakford                         November 10, 2014 Our nation is currently experiencing growing levels of income and wealth inequality, which are contributing to longstanding racial and ethnic gaps in education outcomes and other areas. These large gaps, in combination with the significant demographic changes already underway, are threatening the economic future of our country.  Thus, closing racial and ethnic gaps is not only key to fulfilling the potential of people of color; it is also crucial to the well-being of our nation.  Gaps in academic achievement are a function of a host of factors, such as income and wealth inequality, access to child care and preschool programs, nutrition, physical and emotional health, environmental factors, community and family structures, differences in the quality of instruction and school, and educational attainment.  This suggests there are a wide range of public policies that could help narrow educational achievement gaps; this report demonstrates that there are enormous payoffs to closing the gaps through public policies. It also outlines effective public policy strategies to achieve this goal, though their details are left to future research. If the United States were able to close the educational achievement gaps between native-born white children and black and Hispanic children, the U.S. economy would be 5.8 percent-or nearly $2.3 trillion-larger in 2050. The cumulative increase in GDP from 2014 to 2050 would amount to $20.4 trillion, or an average of $551 billion per year. Thus, even very large public investments that close achievement gaps would pay for themselves in the form of economic growth by 2050. Closing racial and ethnic achievement gaps-by raising incomes and increasing the size of the economy-would also have significant positive impacts on federal, state, and local tax revenues.  Therefore, government investments in closing educational achievement gaps that cost less than an average of $198 billion annually over the next 37 years would pay for themselves even in strictly budgetary terms. To put this figure in perspective, consider that the annual cost to implement the Obama administration's high-quality, universal pre-K program averages $7.5 billion per year over the first 10 years. These potential economic gains illustrate in stark terms the massive waste of human talent and opportunity that we risk if achievement gaps are not closed. They also suggest the magnitude of the public investments the nation should be willing to make now and in the decades to come to close achievement gaps. Even from a very narrow budgetary perspective, the tax revenue gains this study forecasts suggest that investments to close racial and ethnic achievement gaps could amply pay for themselves in the long run. Click Here to Read Full Story Now Hiring!!! School Bus Drivers in all areas! Join  The Black Star Project Wednesday, December 3, 2014  6:30 pm to 7:30 pm 3509 South King Drive Chicago, Illinois  to learn about becoming a school bus driver with Illinois Central School Bus Company You must be safety minded, have a clean driving record and background, be 21 years old, and pass D.O.T. physical and drug test.  Please call 773.285.9600 for more information or to RSVP.