Black Homeschooling Is On A Steady Rise Since The Pandemic Started

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An increasing amount of Black parents are doing what they can to take their children’s education into their own hands.

Following the rise of at-home learning and homeschooling in 2020, some still utilize alternative schooling methods three years into the pandemic as their family’s primary options.

The latest data provided by the Census Bureau — published in March 2021 — notes that in spring 2020 only around 3% of Black families were homeschooling.

By that fall, the number rose to 16.1% — above the national average of 11.1% of families who homeschooled during that time.

LaNissir James, a mother of seven, recently spoke about why her family continues to choose homeschooling.

“Particularly when it comes down to Black history, I’m able to not be so bothered about what the textbooks teach and don’t teach,” James told WSB-TV in an article published on August 21. “I’m able to really organically help them understand a little bit about their history and their why.”

“They find out about how successful they can be, or even how they can fix some things that are broken. From their experience in public school [and] private school, I think [homeschooling’s] going to do nothing but rise,” she continued.

The National Black Home Educators’ website notes it is “a member-supported grassroots organization” that empowers “parents to educate children for excellence.”

Its co-founder, Joyce Burges, told WSB-TV that the rise in Black homeschooling has caused her team “to create learning materials and supplemental materials.”

“Especially these young parents with their home businesses — they want to transfer that to the children, building that legacy. And you just can’t have that in a normal classroom,” Burges added.