With public schools — long the backbone of American excellence — under assault by vouchers, charter schools and possibly even new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Chicago’s Chance the Rapper gave $1 million to the Chicago Public Schools Foundation. Chance, just 22, was in school far more recently than most of the people charged with making critical decisions about education for America’s students. He hails from West 79th Street in Chicago.
[Chance the Rapper’s 3 Baseball Hat — What’s the Deal?]
Chicago’s public school system faces budget deficits that could potentially cut short the school year for kids already facing an uphill battle to learn. Chance the Rapper characterized his gift as a “call to action.” Chance is working with the organization Social Work, which he co-founded. Fellow Chicago native Michelle Obama was quick to shout out Chance with the tweet below. If you want to get a good feel for Chance the Rapper’s vision, sense of humor, and all around cool, check out his appearance on Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me.
Thanks @chancetherapper for giving back to the Chicago community, which gave us so much. You are an example of the power of arts education.
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) March 6, 2017
