Black nonprofit gets support from Black Leaders Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Across the country, Black men represent just 2% of all teachers, despite people of color making up the majority of students in the American educational system.

Enter Black Male Educators Alliance (BMEA). Michael Payne, Jr, is the Director of Teaching and Learning - and a teacher by trade. He's primarily focused on bringing more Black men into the classroom.

"I get to inspire someone, I get to help someone find their passion (and) their dreams. Then when they get older, they tell you 'hey, you made an impact on my life.' So that's worth gold to me," he said.

"How do we recruit more Black men into education and then how do we develop them into really culturally responsive educators?" he said. "It's important for Black boys to see academic excellence from Black men as well so they can see it in themselves."

The non-profit was formed in 2017 and has mentorship programs with students, fellowships for teachers and principals, and an overall effort to improve education.

"If we improve education, then people will have a better connection to education and then they will want to become teachers, especially our Black students," Payne said.

The project is exciting but it's not easy. Like any non-profit, they rely on grants and foundations and donations to make it happen.

This week, they got a surprise Christmas gift from another non-profit: Black Leaders Detroit.

"We wanted to present BMEA with a grant to go toward supporting the amazing work that you all are doing," said founder Dwan Dandridge. "At Black Leaders Detroit, that's what we do."

Dandridge is the CEO of Black Leaders Detroit, they offer no interest loans to Black-owned businesses that often lack access to capital. They also help Black-led nonprofits get grants and,for the last couple of weeks, they've embarked on a gift giving campaign. It's their 12 days of Christmas, to deliver grants to local Black-led enterprises.

On Wednesday, they were able to give BMEA a $5,000 check.

"Listen, the kids in our mentoring program are going to love this," Payne said.

Dandridge is hoping the gift of giving will grow. They're seeking a million people to give just $1 each week to make a difference. Since 2019, Black Leaders Detroit has distributed more than $1 million to Black entrepreneurs.

"I like to think that I have the best job in the world. I get to pull up on Black entrepreneurs with a big check and surprise them," Dandridge said.

To learn more and support Black Leaders Detroit, check out their site at www.blackleadersdetroit.org.

Black Male Educators Allicance can be found here.