By A.V. Benford | OBSERVER Staff Writer
On June 16, on the campus of Cosumnes River College, 18 graduating seniors decked in Fortune School colors — navy blue robes, stoles of orange or African fabric, with white honor cords, and multicolor braided necklaces — gathered with their family and community to celebrate.
The celebration was well-earned as these 18 seniors are the inaugural graduating class of Rex and Margaret Fortune Early College High School, a public charter school aimed at closing Sacramento’s African American achievement gap. The school, which also offers college credit, is a manifestation of Dr. Margaret Fortune’s dream more than a decade ago. She has been laying the foundation ever since, opening seven other campuses in Sacramento to serve hard-to-reach students.
Held outdoors one day after California’s COVID reopening date, gleeful graduates walked in waving and unmasked and then, in an abundance of caution, quickly masked upon sitting. While all of the graduates were receiving their high school diplomas, four students, Sierra Hollinsworth, Ajia Walker, Kaia Minor and Nailah Dubois also received Associates degrees from Cosumnes River College.
With the crown of her head bejeweled in gold under her graduation cap, Minor, the school Salutatorian, outlined the arduous process of earning not one but two Associates degrees during her time at the school.
Using the metaphor of the rose that grew from concrete, Minor talked about taking college classes from her freshman year onward. She spoke of not having any upperclassmen to guide them as she and her classmates were the pioneers of this dual enrollment program. She spoke of finishing high school at home because of a “murderous sickness” known as COVID-19 that made her wonder “not just what was next, but who was next.” Minor, who speaks with a distinctly affable confidence, jokes that she now has her own ”back in my day we had it tough” story for her one-day grandkids. She is explicit in her thankfulness for CEO Fortune, “because without her, this pathway of greatness would not have existed.” She plans on attending the Academy of Art in the fall to major in animation.
On the occasion of the inaugural graduation of Rex and Margaret Fortune Early College High School class, Dr. Fortune — who has repeatedly stated that the reason she started a charter network was so that she didn’t have to be a “maverick” to “get things done” — took the “prerogative” of being the commencement speaker.
She started by offering platitudes to the graduates, telling them that their “extended community is here to witness because you are important.” She let the graduates know that in proper superhero form, “You are our origin story.” That, in this double pandemic of racism and COVID, they are to “operate in self-determination” and “take the path less traveled by.” She explained that 85% of their graduating class earned college credit in this inaugural experiment, and 20% earned college degrees. That their “younger brothers and sisters will make this kind of excellence a well-worn path.” Dr. Fortune admonished her graduates to “remember the story of Jeremiah” and to “not say I’m too young.” She reminded them that Jeremiah went everywhere that God sent him and was bold in saying exactly what God commanded.
Ten years ago Margaret Fortune verbalized a plan to open 10 schools in 10 years, one every year, naming each for a local, living African American community icon. To date, she has opened nine schools (one in San Bernardino). Always passionate about the cause of school choice, after many argumentative panels and while giving heartfelt speeches at brutal board meetings, rarely has this CEO had to stop and compose herself. But on this day, with his mother sitting in the audience, Margaret Fortune stopped and took a few deep breaths before announcing the name of the 10th school: Stephon A. Clark. Named for the victim of police violence gunned down in his grandmother’s Sacramento backyard, Dr. Fortune promised Clark’s mother that “with the founding of this school in his honor we will say his name every day.”
The program opened with a broad smile greeting from graduate Nnamdi Hudson. The evening quickly flowed into the school song, often referred to as the Black National Anthem, James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Detrick Edward, a music instructor with Fortune, with his broad chest, smooth bald head, and soaring baritone, led those gathered through multiple verses of the familiar tune. While swelling with conspiratorial pride, he beamed at the graduates and told everyone to sing along to his favorite part: the rumbling “Sing a song, full of the faith that the present has brought us.”
Dr. Tecoy Porter Sr. of Genesis Church, currently a candidate for State Senate, gave the invocation. Dr. Porter requested “blessings” on the scholars gathered, that they are imbued with “strength, courage, and fortitude — the grace to make a difference for the good.” Dr. Porter also prayed that the scholars be able to make a significant contribution to the general welfare [of society].
A Fortune scholar since the third grade, Nailah DuBose exudes the confidence of a young woman on a clear and present mission. She is a member of the drumline, the daughter of Fortune School’s musical director, and the first Valedictorian of the Rex and Margaret Fortune Early College High School. As she stood on stage listing her accomplishments — $800,000 in scholarships and counting, twenty-one college acceptances, author of two books, launched a business with her sister during the pandemic, full ride to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall, advocate for equitable education — it is easy to see how this well-heeled and nurtured acorn grew into a Fortune tree. As she credits CEO Fortune as the school’s matriarch, it is Nailah who this afternoon reveals the depth of Margaret Fortune’s true powers: “She taught me that public speaking and advocacy isn’t just something I can do, it is who I am.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: A.V. Benford is a Report For America Corp Member and an Education Reporter for Cap Radio News and The Sacramento Observer. Support for this Sacramento OBSERVER article was provided to Word In Black (WIB) by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. WIB is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media that includes print and digital partners.
Support for this Sacramento OBSERVER article was provided to Word In Black (WIB) by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. WIB is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media that includes print and digital partners.
Support for this Sacramento OBSERVER article was provided to Word In Black (WIB) by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. WIB is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media that includes print and digital partners.