Dr. Ben Carson was raised by a single mother with a third grade education. He grew up in an impoverished section of Detroit and attended Detroit public schools. Against all odds, Carson went on to graduate from Yale and the University of Michigan Medical School, and eventually became a world-renowned pediatric neurologist and the chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University Medical School.
In 1994, the retired pediatric neurologist and his wife Candy founded the Carson Scholars Fund.
When retired world-renowned Johns Hopkins Pediatric Neurosurgeon Benjamin S. Carson, M.D. and his wife, Candy, read a research study about education in the United States, they were alarmed by the findings. The study showed that our nation’s students ranked #21 out of 22 countries; next to the bottom of the list in science and math. Furthermore, the Carsons observed that many school display cases were filled with large trophies paying tribute to their sports teams’ achievements, while honor students only received a pin or certificate.
Dr. and Mrs. Carson felt compelled to take action. They believed that if children could be taught early to excel, they would stay motivated and have a higher chance of educational success later in life. The Carson Scholars Fund was built on these principles.
Carson Scholarships are awarded to students in grades 4-11 who exemplify academic excellence and humanitarian qualities. Winners receive a $1,000 scholarship to be invested toward their college education, along with a recognition package, and an invitation to attend an awards banquet. Carson Scholars become role models and leaders at their schools.
Here’s a short clip explaining the Carson Scholars Fund:
In March 2017, Dr. Carson resigned his positions with the Fund in order to serve as the nation’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
One of his first orders of business as President Trump’s HUD secretary was to announce that Detroit would be a test subject for a new incentive by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide a one-stop shop for people looking for federal services.
“When I think of places that I want to see succeed, Detroit is right at the top of that list,” he said. –MLive
Now, the Detroit School Board is attempting to remove the name of Dr. Ben Carson, one of the most successful and philanthropic products of the Detroit public school system from a high school that was named after him.
The Detroit school board voted last week, to begin the process for renaming several buildings in the district, including the Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine.
The panel this year approved a new policy to commemorate, name and rename school facilities.
Under the measure, the board can opt to change a school’s name to honor “individuals who have made a significant contribution to the enhancement of education,” according to the district. The board also can select another name under circumstances that include when a building is newly built or redesigned, where the name no longer reflects the current student population or “the community of the geographic area where the school is located requests a name change that more closely aligns with the history of the locality, or information newly discovered about the current name of the school is negative in nature.”
Citing those guidelines, the recommendation Tuesday involved four buildings — the Dr. Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine, Harms Elementary School, Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men and Detroit School of the Arts. -Detroit News
A conservative black activist group is fighting back against the “purely political” decision to rename the Carson school, by the all-black school board.
An effort to rename a school honoring Dr. Ben Carson is “purely political” and ignores the accomplishments and charitable acts of the Detroit native who is the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, according to a Washington, D.C., black activist group.
Project 21, an initiative of the National Center for Public Policy Research, issued a statement on Friday criticizing a decision this week by the Detroit Board of Education to begin the process for renaming several buildings in the district, including the Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine.
“This is another misguided effort by liberals to erase history,” Project 21 member Gregory Parker said. “The Detroit school board had no problem with the name of the school before Dr. Carson became active in politics. Now that he does not conform to the ideal liberal plantation image of a black man, and he plays a prominent role in the Trump Administration, he offends their hypersensitive, self-righteous and morally corrupt sensibilities.” –Detroit News
Here’s a short clip from the Carson Scholarship website, highlighting the critical importance of a good education.
Political power before the kids…it’s the Democrat Party way.
