The Education Congressman Wants a New Job

Congressman Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia, has represented Pennsylvania’s Second Congressional District for the past 12 years. In his 12 years on Capitol Hill, Fattah has championed education reform and established a wide range of programs to increase access to higher education for blacks and low-income students.

Fattah is famed as the brainchild of the federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). Assisting millions of children, GEAR UP has become the largest pre-college awareness program in this nation’s history and has contributed nearly $2 billion toward the educational advancement of low-income students. Congressman Fattah also was instrumental in the creation of the CORE Philly Scholarship program which gives up to $3,000 to any high school graduate in the city who attends a state-operated university in Pennsylvania.

Fattah has now announced his candidacy for mayor of Philadelphia and has placed education reform at the top of his agenda should he be elected. This is extremely important for African Americans. There are currently more than 200,000 students enrolled in public and charter schools in the city. Nearly two thirds of all students in the city’s schools are black.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.