Martin Luther King, Jr. shared his dream and changed the world.

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus and ignited the civil rights movement.

Barrack Obama rode his “change” vision to the highest office in the world, the president of the United States.

Other African-Americans, throughout their history, have forced change when and where it was needed, regardless of the circumstances or the personal sacrifice or even how hopeless their situation seemed to the rest of the world.

They did not back away from their determination that all Americans, regardless of race and background have equal access to education. They argued that education is pivotal in all aspects of life.

Nearly 50 years after the Civil Rights Act, African-Americans have made huge gains in most areas. But in the area of educational achievement, a gap persists and threatens to undermine advances in other areas.

That gap must be addressed by all, parents, students, educators and community leaders, to ensure that African-Americans can live up to the promise of America. Now is the time to close the achievement gap at FCC.

Here at Fresno City College, the achievement gap is real. In all areas of academic attainment – grade point average, retention rate and successful completion rate – African-Americans are less likely to completely their classes successfully. Period.

According to the State Center Community College’s Institutional Research website, in the spring of 2012, the average grade point average of African-American students was 1.98. The retention rate was 85.72 percent and the successful completion rate was 55.90 percent.

The White/non-Hispanic group had an average GPA of 2.72, a retention rate of 90.36 percent and a successful course completion rate of 75.23 percent in the same semester. Hispanics had a GPA of 2.21, a retention rate of 89.79 percent and a successful completion rate of 64.67 percent.

These statistics, placed side by side, are like night and day. African-American students enrolled at Fresno City College have the lowest statistics among the reported ethnicities.

What is going on? What is the suppressing the performance of African-American students? More importantly, why is this allowed to persist year after year?

The Institutional Research site has statistics going back to the fall of 2005. Every semester, records show the same pattern, African-American students at the bottom. If anything, the achievement gap is not narrowing, it has widened somewhat.

The leaders at SCCCD and FCC must first recognize this is a critical issue that must be addressed immediately. They must be able to work with students as well as community leaders to find resolutions.

A sustainable solution must first recognize some of the underlying factors that may be impeding academic success of blacks. These may include socio-economic factors such as poverty, unemployment or under employment, poor housing and lack of opportunities. These can impact a student’s ability to learn.

Educators must evaluate the early education of African-Americans, long before they are college bound, to ascertain that young men and women are given necessary background and preparation to tackle advanced learning. The college should make sure that there are adequate programs in place to remediate students as well as support them through their college career.

Thirdly, the college needs to recommit to mentoring programs for at-risk college students. There are successful programs throughout the nation that they can emulate. Young African-Americans who choose to enroll at FCC must feel the college will go the extra mile to support them.

In this Black History month, change must begin with the new generations of African-American children, students and parents.

Hard work and perseverance must continue to be a priority. Adversity needs to become inspiration and treated like an obstacle

This community can strive for greater success among its numbers. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had to overcome incredible odds to remind the nation of the promise of being an American. Rosa Parks sat down for what she believed in, showing her oppressors the strength in her resolve to be treated with respect. Barack Obama continues to strive, in spite of unprecedented distractors, to leave his mark.

African-American students must rededicate themselves to the cause of their ancestors and persevere, not just for themselves but for their communities. Otherwise the sacrifices of those who preceded them might be in vain.