Our mission is to document and preserve Black heritage, culture, and scholarship and use it to encourage, empower, and uplift current and future generations through scholarly engagement, art, and artistic expression, while cultivating critical thought.

Our Education Division develops and oversees the programs that make up the Kids to College Project.  These programs involve identifying the underserved students that are capable of securing a postsecondary education through use of our services, and increasing the number of colleges willing to accept the students coming through our programs.

 

Traditionally held on the second Saturday of March each year, the College Round-Up event The Black Heritage Museum & Cultural Center will not be presenting the College Round-Up at its usual time in 2016.

 

The Black Heritage Museum & Cultural Center will be creating a new name, assigning new dates, and holding the event in additional locations. We are currently considering adding events in Atlanta, the D.C. Metro area, in addition to our traditional Tarboro location. Please see our Press Release and look for updates. We may be holding a naming survey in 2016 for the 2017 events.

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The College Round-Up was founded in 2002 by Robert Whitehead and his family and became a part of the Black Heritage Museum & Cultural Center in 2005 when it was developed into a multifaceted education program serving thousands each year. 

 

Bob and his family saw the problems students faced when they had to deal with unresponsive guidance counselors and school administrators, or realized that they had reached their senior year in high school and were not prepared to embark on a college career or one in the workforce for that matter. They had been ignored by the system that is in place to assist them. They had been overlooked and marginalized.  Bob reached out to his networks of friends and colleagues in higher education and made the case for them to help students who really needed a hand. His efforts evolved into what we have today.

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Since becoming a part of the Black Heritage Museum & Cultural Center in 2005, the College Round-Up, has continued to help children get into college who have been marginalized by our current educational, economic, and societal systems. We have helped well over 2,000 students fulfill their dream of a college education so far.

 

For a glimpse of what goes on at the College Round-Up event make some time to watch the PBS video that is linked here.  At the very end of Episode 1 of the PBS documentary 180 Days: A Year Inside an American High School, you see how children are helped by our program.  It really is at the very end of the documentary, but we are there having an impact. View video is here.

 

Under this project we also provide workshops that help prepare high school students and high school dropouts for college. We are confident that our efforts will have positive effects on the high school dropout rates that most of our communities face.

 

Community outreach and developing community partners are key components of our Kids to College Project.  To this end, we meet often with school superintendents, guidance counselors, community leaders, parents, students, and teachers for input and to share our perspectives on meeting the needs of our young.

 

For ways to support us as we build, please take a look at our Donor Levels page. Thank you so much for visiting our website!