Eagle Academy

A nice related article about Eagle Academy:

·         NY HEARD & SCENE

·         JUNE 11, 2010

Hip-Hop Mogul Bolsters Schools for Boys

By BARBARA MARTINEZ

http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704312104575298970611803204.html

Russell Simmons opened his 7,300-square-foot home to donors this week to support all-boys schools in tough neighborhoods.

A Wednesday night fund-raiser at his lower Manhattan penthouse netted more than $250,000 for the Eagle Academy Foundation, which supports three New York City schools for boys, nearly all of whom are black or Latino.

Russell Simmons

Gov. David Paterson talked up the hip-hop music mogul turned clothing purveyor, saying "not only does Russell give, but he gives in ways that the recipients never know." Mr. Simmons sat next to the podium that Gov. Paterson was using, hardly pausing from tapping on his BlackBerry.

In the room, watched by a Shepard Fairey painting of Barack Obama, were more than 100 business leaders and politicians.

"Our kids are suffering," said Mr. Simmons to the crowd packed around his Buddhist statues and African wooden sculptures. "It's important to nurture Eagle and support its growth." They responded with $256,000 in donations.

Of the two Eagle Academy schools currently operating, 85% of its high school seniors will graduate this year. In New York City, the graduation rate is 50% for black and Latino males. A third school will open in Queens in September, where 750 boys applied for 100 sixth-grade slots.

Eagle Academy is led by attorney David C. Banks, who was one of the founders in 2004 of the first all-boys' public high schools in New York City in more than 30 years. The school was set up as a partnership between the city and the organization One Hundred Black Men Inc., a group of business, political and community leaders.

"God has prepared me for this," Mr. Banks said to the potential funders. "I'm doing what I was born to do." The question, he asked, was: "Do we believe that saving the lives of African-American and Latino kids is critical to our nation?" He then introduced six Eagle Academy students or graduates, dapper in their suits and ties for all to behold success plucked from mean streets.

"I'm a supporter," said Allen Houston, a former National Basketball Association star who attended. "I've donated here and there" to the foundation, he said. Mr. Houston said he'd like for his own son to attend an Eagle Academy school, which he said "blew me away" when he visited.

Models Chanel Iman and Heidy Allende arrived after all of the speeches, but just in time for the food from Acquolina Catering—like fried tofu with cilantro sauce and Portobello burger and chocolate mousse—all vegan, of course, reflecting Mr. Russell's dietary lifestyle.