Being the Change I Wish to See

I am ecstatic to report that the Catherine Ferguson Academy for Young Women of Detroit has been snatched from the jaws of defeat!

A charter company the school worked with in the past took on the school and plans to keep it as it is, but provide more funding and assistance to improve and expand the mission of the school.

The planned protest turned into a celebration.

Rachel Maddow interviews Ms. G. Asenath Andrews, principal of CFA (9 min):

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Ms. Andrews will continue as principal of the charter school.

I couldn’t be happier to tell you this news. The good guys won against all odds. We as a country won because these young mothers will continue on the path to graduation, college, and life success.

This school is vital in breaking the generational poverty cycle. These young women come to CFA in abject poverty. When they leave, they have taken the hand up and worked their way to college.

If I ever win the lottery or become wealthy, I plan to get involved with CFA and bring a school to south Louisiana. I’ve got to learn how to start a non-profit foundation, and I’ll call it the Catherine Ferguson Academy Foundation.

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The Catherine Ferguson Academy for Girls in Detroit, which I wrote about in April here, is scheduled to close next Friday, June 17, 2011. A big rally will be held next Thursday, June 16 at the school.

We must stop this! I need your to spread the word far and wide, and contact any celebrities you know for help.

Contact the ACLU Michigan chapter to petition them to file a stay in court to prevent the school closure.

ACLU of Michigan
Executive Director: Kary Moss, Esq.
2966 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201
Phone: (313) 578-6800 Fax: (313) 578-6811
Email: aclu@aclumich.org
Web: http://www.aclumich.org

In my opinion, closing this special needs school is a direct violation of these students’ civil rights. The federal government requires all public school districts provide for the special needs of all their students. These students have special needs.

Tell everyone you know about this and call or write to the emergency manager in Detroit who is closing the school here:

Roy S. Roberts
Emergency Manager
14th Floor, Fisher Building
3011 West Grand Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48202
United States Phone: (313) 870-3772
Fax: (313) 870-3726

Call the Detroit Public school system here:

Phone: (313) 240-4DPS or (313) 240-4377

Rachel Maddow covered this story last night on her show. The interview with Principal Andrews is gut-wrenching. We the people must act now to stop this closure.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you have ideas on actions people can take, please post them on this Maddow Blog post. This post is being used as a resource and activism page to help CFA stay open. (You must get a Newsvine account to post).

If you don’t have a Newsvine account or don’t want to post to The Maddow Blog yourself, please leave your comments here and let me know if you want them reposted to the Maddow Blog. I am happy to do this for you; I’ll do anything I can to help these students.

Technorati Tags: Asenath Andrews, Catherine Ferguson Academy, civil rights, high school graduation

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