The Black Parent Initiative (BPI) was established in 2006 to help families achieve financial, educational and spiritual success. BPI’s co-founders Johnell Bell and Charles McGee founded the organization based on a large body of educational research that demonstrates the importance of parental and family engagement in attaining educational success for children.
The original premise was to engage Black parents and caregivers using historically predominate Black churches as the organizing place, driven by Black families’ absence from conversations around education reform. Through a series of focus groups, informational interviews, research, and trial and error BPI’s approach has evolved to its current state.
Our programs are based on a large body of research that shows children are more likely to succeed when supported by stable, engaged adults. Historical, economic and racial factors keep a disproportionately large percentage of Black youth from being raised in this type of environment.
