Purpose Prize

Marc Freedman Portrait

The Latest from CoGenerate

Lasting Impact

Lasting Impact

CoGenerate Co-CEO Marc Freedman’s most recent book, How to Live Forever, was published by Hachette/Public Affairs in 2018, generating a lot of great attention. And it’s not over yet! Every week, the New York Times Sunday Opinion section includes a print-only feature...

Check Out Our Signature Event On Cogenerational Activism!

Check Out Our Signature Event On Cogenerational Activism!

On May 22, more than 1,100 people registered to learn more about the important cogenerational work our 2023 Innovation Fellows are doing. These 15 leaders are bringing generations together to solve problems and bridge divides. And each one has a unique and inspiring...

Got a Digital Illustration that Shows Generations Working Together?

Got a Digital Illustration that Shows Generations Working Together?

CoGenerate recently teamed up with Fine Acts, a global creative studio for social impact, to launch an open call for illustrations showing generations working together for change.  We’re looking for illustrations that show older and younger people coming together to...

*

Phillip Jackson

The Black Star Project
Purpose Prize Fellow 2011

Jackson brings quality academic opportunities to black youths through tutoring and mentoring programs that engage parents and the community.

Raised by his grandmother in Chicago’s public housing, Phillip Jackson spent most of his childhood learning to hustle on 43rd St., moving through 11 Chicago public schools and dropping out of college. That was until a young philosophy professor mentored him, helping him turn his life around.

Graduating from college with honors, Jackson spent the next 25 years climbing the corporate ladder, rising to senior vice president of operations at Chicago’s oldest bookstore chain. In 1995 he left the company to become a top official in Chicago’s public schools. He soon became acutely aware of the racial academic achievement gap; in Chicago and nationwide, black and Latino students have far lower graduation rates than their white and Asian counterparts.

Jackson founded and financed The Black Star Project in 1996 to address the issue. The nonprofit offers a range of programs aimed at helping African-American students get a high-quality education. It provides one-on-one private tutoring for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Destination College Workshops provide critical information on the process of college admission and financial aid.

The Black Star Project’s signature program is the Student Motivation and Mentoring Program, bringing professionals from the business, construction, medicine, engineering and communications fields to discuss what it takes to follow in their footsteps. Since its inception, the program has reached more than 225,000 students in 220 schools.

Jackson strongly believes that parental actions and community support are key to student success. Another range of programs engages parents, among them Parent University, Fathers Club, Journey to Womanhood and the League of Black Parents. Jackson also coordinated the Million Father March, which encourages fathers to take their children to school on their first day. In 2011, more than a million fathers in 767 cities participated in the Million Father March.