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Black Educators, Others Reimagine Future of Education

DEFENDER NETWORK — We’re able to create a knowledge base for the students that takes the student experience from being a fixed schedule, fixed curricular experience to something more like a streaming or a Netflix experience. – John Peavy III

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

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By Aswad Walker | Houston Defender | Word In Black

[This post contains video, click to play]

This post was originally published on Defender Network

(WIB) – John Peavy III was seemingly destined to reimagine education.

His mother, Gail Revis, spent 35 years leading guidance counselors for HISD. His grandmother taught Spanish and served as an assistant principal. His grandfather pioneered the School of Liberal Arts at Texas Southern. Peavy grew up surrounded by conversations about both the promise and pain of educating Black children.

Now, as founder of Radiant 7 Ventures, Peavy is pairing those lessons with cutting-edge artificial intelligence to re-engineer how students learn.

Netflix-GPT University

Peavy’s vision sounds like something out of science fiction — a “Netflix-style” education model where learning is personalized, flexible and available on demand.

John Peavy and company are working on cutting-edge apps to tailor educational lesson plans to individual needs. Credit: Aswad Walker.

“From that experience, I knew it was not just about the hard numbers in terms of grades and scores, but you have to treat students holistically,” said Peavy. “So, I’ve founded Radiant 7 Ventures, and we’ve partnered with AI enterprise software companies that allow us to create applications that enhance the student experience, enhance the faculty and staff experience and also lower administrative costs for schools, both at higher ed and K through 12.”

“One of the primary things in terms of enhancing the student experience is that we’re able to create a knowledge base for the students that takes the student experience from being a fixed schedule, fixed curricular experience to something more like a streaming or a Netflix experience where you get personalized learning that’s adapted to the students’ learning styles, their learning gaps,” he explained. “They don’t have to be at school at 8 a.m. to get math. They can get math if they want and they can seamlessly go from math to Spanish and back to history based on what they need at that moment.”

We’re able to create a knowledge base for the students that takes the student experience from being a fixed schedule, fixed curricular experience to something more like a streaming or a Netflix experience. – John Peavy III

The interface is designed like ChatGPT.

“So, the ability to use an interface like ChatGPT, talk to it, get answers, have the answers prompt you for questions to make sure that you are actually learning the materials, makes it very easy to digest,” Peavy added.

Hyper-Personalized Lessons

Peavy said the apps his company is producing go beyond standard curricula and take student life experiences, including past traumas, into consideration.

“We know that different students have different learning styles. We also know there are certain social determinants that drive students’ ability to learn. So, we can’t just teach the curricula,” stated Peavy. “We also have to address those learning styles and those social determinants. If we know there’s a food inequity situation, plus they’re a visual learner, then that’s a certain type of curricular material that the student needs. That becomes true personalization.”

World as Classroom

Peavy is not alone in reimagining education for Black students.

Tori Cofield, a 37-year veteran educator, advocates for culture and creativity to meet current educational challenges. Credit: Toricofield.com.

Tori Cofield, a 37-year veteran educator, has opened three charter schools in Houston, Memphis and Detroit, specializing in school turnaround.

“We have to be creative. There’s always a way,” said Cofield. “Right now, Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church is working with Cullen Middle School. My husband (Rev. Dr. D.Z. Cofield) has this Cullen Initiative that is working to help that school rise. We have a boatload of kids who come to the church. Trump can’t tell us what to do at the church. We are taking the opportunity to teach those lessons our kids need.”

Cofield encourages schools to partner with local community agencies.

“Get in touch with places like the Emancipation Park Conservancy. Tell the students, ‘I’ll meet you at the museum on Saturday.’ Kids will show up if they love their teachers,” she said. “Mike Miles, Donald Trump cannot stop you from meeting kids to talk about our story.”

Centering Agency

HSPVA alum and Harvard professor Dr. Lumumba Seegars emphasizes reframing how Black history is taught.

Dr. Lumumba Seegars believes Black students will be more empowered and therefore more successful if Black history is taught from the perspective of Black agency. Credit: Harvard University.

“It’s imperative that Black youth are educated on history and understand the history of Black agency in our own struggle for liberation, and not think of our trajectory as something that was just given to us over time,” Seegars said. “Black people have always been the central authors of our own stories here, and understanding that is imperative for understanding our own sense of self-efficacy and collective imagination for who we can be.”

Book Boom

Educator and author Marsita Jordan sees a literacy crisis.

Marsita Jordan calls for an all-out book blitz to increase literacy and improve educational outcomes. Courtesy Marsita Jordan.

“We are living in the State of an Education Emergency,” Jordan said. “If Black parents, mentors, administrators, pastors, community leaders, politicians, etc., do not step up and take ownership of the education of our Black children, this state of emergency will soon be catastrophic. It is a call for aggressive literary tactics.”

Jordan calls for home and community-based solutions.

“Libraries, no matter how big or small, home or mobile, books have to become a norm in our homes and communities,” shared Jordan. “Reading development and literacy centers need to be mobilized and fueled by volunteers to provide intervention, remediation and tutoring. These centers can be established as makeshifts in local community centers, barbershops, salons, churches and pop-up locations.”

Culture Is Queen

Cofield also insists school culture is key.

“They call me the culture queen because when I go in, the first thing I do is look and see what does the school culture look like? What feels good about being here? Why would a kid want to be here?” shared Cofield. “Many people say, ‘Well, the students need to acclimate to what I want them to be.’ No, that’s not going to get them. You have to realize where they’re coming from.

“If you don’t understand the community and the kids, you can’t be successful with them.”

Cofield says being ignorant about the school neighbor’s culture can have negative impacts.

“Some teachers put down (degrade) working in Burger King and McDonald’s,” said Cofield. “Some of these kids, that’s where their parents work. So right out the gate, you’re saying to them they’re not important. We have to be mindful of that character culture piece if we want success.”

Fight Hostile Policies

Activist Tammie Lang Campbell views future educational success through a different lens.

Tammie Lang Campbell urges parents to push back against AI surveillance technology as a way to clear a path for a more positive educational future for Black students. Courtesy Tammie Lang Campbell.

“Many parents don’t realize that so-called ‘AI safety tools’ in schools — from facial recognition to vape detectors — are not neutral,” Campbell explained. “These systems often misidentify students and disproportionately punish Black children. What’s sold as safety is, in reality, pushing too many of our kids closer to the school-to-prison pipeline, and that should alarm every Black family.

“When schools invest millions in surveillance but struggle to hire counselors or retain teachers, it sends a very clear message: Discipline is being valued more than development. Black parents should be deeply concerned that resources are being diverted from what truly helps our children thrive — caring educators, counselors and supportive learning environments.”

What You Can Do

Advocate for personalized learning tools that consider social and cultural factors.

Support community-based education initiatives like church programs, museums and after-school enrichment.
Push for Black history and culture to remain central in learning spaces.
Invest in literacy at home and community hubs through book drives, home libraries and tutoring programs.
Challenge harmful school surveillance policies and push for funds to go toward counselors and teachers instead.
Help build strong school cultures by engaging with parents, teachers and local leaders.

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LIVE from the NMA Convention Raheem DeVaughn Says The Time Is Now: Let’s End HIV in Our Communities #2

Set against the backdrop of the NMA conference, Executive Officers from the National Medical Association, Grammy Award Winning Artist and Advocate Raheem DeVaughn, and Gilead Sciences experts, are holding today an important conversation on HIV prevention and health equity. Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event […]

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event is designed to uplift voices, explore barriers to access, and increase awareness and key updates about PrEP, a proven prevention method that remains underutilized among Black women. This timely gathering will feature voices from across health, media, and advocacy as we break stigma and center equity in HIV prevention.

Additional stats and information to know:

● Black women continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV, with Black women representing more than 50% of new HIV diagnoses among women in the U.S. in 2022, despite comprising just 13% of women in the U.S.

● Women made up only 8% of PrEP users despite representing 19% of all new HIV diagnoses in 2022.

● Gilead Sciences is increasing awareness and addressing stigma by encouraging regular HIV testing and having judgment-free conversations with your healthcare provider about prevention options, including oral PrEP and long-acting injectable PrEP options.

● PrEP is an HIV prevention medication that has been available since 2012.

● Only 1 in 3 people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed a form of PrEP in 2022.

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TRUMP: “Washington, D.C. is Safe”

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — President Trump, who typically travels with a full contingent of high-level protection, insinuated that he finally felt safe enough to go to dinner in the District of Columbia. “My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years,” said the nation’s 47th president.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By Apriil Ryan
BlackPressUSA Washington Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent

“Washington, D.C. is safe,” President Trump declared from the Oval Office today. Those words came while Trump was hosting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the question-and-answer session, which primarily focused on a peace deal in the Russian-Ukrainian war, Trump explained, “You did that in four days.” He was speaking of how fast the National Guard quelled the violence in what was once called Chocolate City.

The President deployed the National Guard to D.C. a week ago, to a city with reduced crime rates over the previous year. Violent crime dropped by 26%, marking the lowest level in 30 years. Homicides also fell by 11%.

President Trump, who typically travels with a full contingent of high-level protection, insinuated that he finally felt safe enough to go to dinner in the District of Columbia. “My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years,” said the nation’s 47th president.

Trump reinforced his claim about the newly acquired safety in D.C. by relaying that a friend’s son is attending dinner in D.C., something he would not have done last year.

After the president finished his comments, a reporter/commentator in the room with close connections to Marjorie Taylor Greene jumped into the high-level conversation to affirm the president’s comments, saying, “I walked around yesterday with MTG. If you can walk around D.C. with MTG and not be attacked, this city is safe.”

That reporter was the same person who chastised President Zelenskyy months ago during his first Oval Office meeting with Trump for not wearing a business suit. Zelenskyy, a wartime President, has been clad in less formal attire to reflect the country’s current war stance against Russia.

Without any sourcing, President Trump also said, “People that haven’t gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C., in two years are going out to dinner, and the restaurants the last two days have been busier than they’ve been in a long time.”

The increase in policing in Washington, D.C. is because a 19-year-old former Doge employee was carjacked in the early hours of the morning recently.

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Rising Energy Costs Weigh Heaviest on Black Households

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — For many African American families, the cost of keeping the lights on and homes heated or cooled is not just a monthly bill — it’s a crushing financial burden.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

For many African American families, the cost of keeping the lights on and homes heated or cooled is not just a monthly bill — it’s a crushing financial burden.

A new national study from Binghamton University and California State University, San Bernardino, finds that Black households spend a far larger share of their income on energy compared to white households, even when income levels are the same. “We often say that African Americans suffer more, but we often blame it just on income. And the reality is, there is something more there,” study author George Homsy, associate professor at Binghamton University, wrote. “It’s not just because they tend to be poor. There is something that’s putting them at a disadvantage. I think what happened is it happens to be where they live.” The study, published in Energy Research & Social Science, analyzed 65,000 census tracts across the United States. It found that while the average American household spends about 3.2% of income on energy bills, households in the majority African American census tracts spend an average of 5.1%.

Homsy and researcher Ki Eun Kang point to the age and condition of housing stock, along with lower homeownership rates, as key drivers. Their research concludes that “energy burden is not simply a matter of income or energy cost but also race, which might be driven by place.” Older, less energy-efficient housing and high rental rates in Black communities mean residents often cannot make upgrades like improved insulation or new appliances, locking families into higher bills.

Tradeoffs and Health Risks

The consequences go beyond money. Families forced to spend 10% or more of their income on energy — what experts classify as “unmanageable” — may cut back on food, medicine, or other essentials. More than 12 million U.S. households report leaving their homes at unsafe temperatures to reduce costs, while millions more fall behind on utility bills. The health effects are severe. High energy burdens increase risks of asthma, depression, poor sleep, pneumonia, and even premature death. The issue is especially acute for African Americans, who are disproportionately exposed to housing and environmental conditions that amplify these risks.

Washington, D.C.: A Case Study

In Washington, D.C., the problem is particularly stark. A recent analysis by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) shows that SNAP-eligible households spend more than 20% of their income on energy bills. Across the metro area, nearly two-thirds of low-income households devote over 6% of their income to energy, and 40% face what researchers call a “severe financial strain,” paying more than 10%. Pepco, the District’s primary electricity provider, has implemented three consecutive annual rate hikes, pushing the average household bill to $114 per month as of January 2025. Shutoffs have followed — nearly 12,000 customers lost service in 2024, with disconnections doubling after a summer rate hike. Washington Gas has also sought a 12% rate increase and pushed a controversial $215 million pipeline replacement project, rebranded as “District SAFE.” The plan could ultimately cost D.C. households an additional $45,000 each over several decades, or nearly $1,000 annually added to bills.

Historical Roots

Researchers argue that these inequities are not accidental but rooted in history. The ScienceDirect study reveals that African American communities living in formerly redlined neighborhoods continue to face disadvantages today — from poor housing quality to higher climate risks. Homsy says policymakers must make targeted efforts. “It is harder to get to rental units where a lot of poor people live,” he noted. “We need to work harder to get into these communities of color.”