Aide to Governor Shapiro supports racial segregation in Pennsylvania schools

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has an education advisor in his cabinet who supports racial segregation in the classroom. He is Sharif El-Mekki, an activist behind a foundation that raised about $20 million to meet its goals of racial segregation in schools, according to a report from The Free Press.

According to information provided by the media outlet, El-Mekki runs a foundation, the Center for Black Educator Development (CBED), with fundraising campaign that projects a model of education for African-Americans designed to create "a world where ... all black students are taught by high-quality, same-race teachers," and where "all teachers demonstrate high levels of expertise in anti-racist mentality."

The foundation, founded by El-Mekki, has since its inception been dedicated to training African-American teachers to educate students in an activism and commitment to "education that is liberating from the racism inherent in America's institutions, including our schools." In 2023, there were about 1,700 educators who went through the foundation's courses, according to TFP.

The education policies promoted from El-Mekki's CBED were the subject of study in a report by the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values. That report asserts that the policy agenda of El-Mekki and his foundation is "quite dangerous and divisive," despite being presented in a positive light.

El-Mekki is "introducing segregation under a different and more socially and politically acceptable name," said the report's editor, Mika Hackner. As TFP's research notes, El-Mekki belonged to the Black Panthers in his youth and comes from a background with ties to the activist group.

During his youth, his parents moved to Iran, where they were residing for a time. At that time, the family converted to Islam. In several public speeches, Shariff El-Mekki has gone so far as to praise the Iranian education system.

As of 2022, El-Mekki joined the advisory team of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. He was a member of the state government's Advisory Committee on Education and the Workforce.

20 million large organizations

El-Mekki's CBED managed to total assets worth $19.5 million. Behind these gains are large progressive organizations that have supported the foundation and its values. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated more than $1.4 million between 2020 and 2021. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation in turn donated more than $1.1 million in 2022, according to public tax filings viewed by TFP.

Other donors include NBC Universal, Nike, the Bezos Family Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania School of Education. Most recently, the organization closed a series of contracts with the Philadelphia School District worth over $500,000 to host summer educational programs.