About Us

OUR FOUNDERS

NBHE was founded by Eric and Joyce Burges in July 2000.  They home educated their five children and all of them graduated from their home school.

The beginning of this organization was in the hearts and minds of the 15 or more families who gathered at a park in Bethesda, Maryland.  It was a sunny day as these families came together to share how they wanted to move homeschooling forward in the black community.  The enthusiasm and excitement shown at this gathering was contagious, and it sparked the idea to host conferences that would represent the abilities, talents, and gifts that were in the existing homeschooling families.  This group of innovative families knew that they wanted to preserve the legacy of their fore fathers, their faith and courage to stand for what was right.  This belief led to the first meeting of nearly 30 families at what was then the Radisson Hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in July 2001.  The founders recommended the name National Black Home Educators Resource Association, a mission statement, and the Board of Directors of the organization. (We have since shortened our name to the National Black Home Educators – NBHE – but you will notice that some of our resources still carry the old name).  NBHE is affiliated with HSLDA – The Home School Legal Defense Association.

Since its beginning, NBHE has grown to become the premiere national organization for Black homeschooling families in this country.  NBHE has prompted the start of several support groups around the country with National Representatives in nearly 26 cities.  NBHE’s presence in America has now spread internationally. NBHE has been showcased on several national media outlets and in numerous publications.  Its annual conference is a one- of- a- kind event because it features the extraordinary creative talents of ordinary Black homeschool families.  NBHE continues to grow and advance its vision.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Joyce Burges

CEO & Co-Founder

"Parents are homeschooling because they desire to educate, empower, and influence their children to be productive, and they wish to nurture the children they want to spend time with as adults."

Vernon Coleman

Board Member & Webmaster

Eric Burges

president & co-founder

Eric was the president of CHEF of Louisiana, the State homeschool organization in Louisiana, for three years. He now serves as President of NBHE.

Kisha Howard

Board Member

Elizabeth Smith

Board Member

"Relationships are the most important thing. Homeschooling is more about parenting than education. Your children need to see in you what you want to see in them. School is never out."

Anthony & Carmela Wright

Board Members

"Many parents today are choosing to homeschool their kids for many different reasons. As a parent of 9 kids, we have chosen to homeschool our kids through high school into college because we care about their character. It takes sacrifice, commitment, and community. It has been a great experiment for our family that has so far produced outstanding results."

OUR VISION

The National Black Home Educators is an organization that seeks to serve each and every family across the United States.  The motto of NBHE is Empowering Parents to Educate Children for Excellence.

The goal of this organization is ultimately to see strong families with healthy parent child relationships.  NBHE also desires to see every child provided with the excellent education they deserve.  We believe that every child deserves a world class education.  This organization believes that these two goals can be achieved simultaneously through parent directed education.

Studies show that parental involvement in education not only boosts the child’s interest in education, but strengthens the tie between parent and child.  NBHE was created first of all to inspire parents with the idea that they can empower their children for excellence, and secondly to give them the tools to do so.  NBHE continually provides free information and training resources to parents.

NBHE is a grassroots organization that functions on the basis of parents volunteering to help other parents.  NBHE touches the lives of families across the nation through its wonderful support basis. We welcome you to join the team as an empowered parent to impact the lives of your children and the children of our nation!

The Burges family was featured in several periodicals such as Newsweek Magazine (Oct. 98) and the Boston Globe (Aug. 22, 2000). The family also appeared in The Crisis Magazine, a NAACP national publication as well as Africana Internet Publication (Jan. 2001) and other local and national magazines and newspaper. Recently, Joyce and her son, Eric, Jr. were guests on BET Tonight, national broadcast hosted by Queen Latifah on August 15, 200l. They were also featured in Essence Magazine (Sept. 2002), Jet Magazine (Sept. 2003).

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