
The Black Alliance for Educational Options is shutting down for good at the end of the year, the group announced on its website Wednesday.
Founded by school choice pioneer Howard Fuller, BAEO is the only group at the national level focused exclusively on expanding school choice for low-income and working class African-American families—both through charter schools and school vouchers.

But the school choice advocacy world has become increasingly crowded in the 18 years since BAEO’s founding, said Fuller who sits on the group’s board, and that’s meant more competition for visibility and funding.
“Some organizations, and ours is one of them, have a shelf-life,” he said. “And we just reached a point where we had done great work but didn’t see the ability to continue to do that work going forward.”
The writing has been on the wall. A year and a half ago, BAEO started shedding some of its state chapters and launched a national competition to reimagine and redesign the organization. But that fizzled out, said Fuller, when the effort didn’t yield ideas that were “transformative” enough.
Aside from helping pass charter school laws in Alabama and Mississippi, and voucher laws in Louisiana and the District of Columbia, Fuller said BAEO’s impact is seen in the pipeline of African-American talent it helped develop in the world of education reform advocacy.
“Our legacy isn’t in a specific law, but it was changing the conversation about the value of options, and most importantly the value of having black people have a major role in this conversation,” he said.
I asked Fuller why close BAEO now, at a time when high profile groups advocating for African-American issues and civil rights, such as the NAACP and the Movement for Black Lives, are becoming increasingly vocal in their criticism of school choice, in particular charter schools.
Both groups called for an all-out ban on new charter schools opening up last summer, and BAEO has played an important role in countering the message from the NAACP and the Movement for Black Lives.
“It’s very difficult, there’s never a good time for an organization to step aside,” Fuller said. “I think the efforts to push back against the NAACP and others are really going to be more effective when it’s done at the local level.”
Many school choice advocates took to Twitter to express their sadness at the news.
Sad to see @BAEO go, but I am proud of their work & grateful to @HowardLFuller 4 bringing me to the family of freedom fighters 4 kids... https://t.co/YQyWUZALO6
— Kevin P. Chavous (@kevinpchavous) October 25, 2017
Sad to see @ntlBAEO fold but its legacy lives as your ideas @ diversity & community are now in our org DNAs @HowardLFuller @dmmcgriff https://t.co/Zl2x1cLYyA
— Nina Rees (@Ninacharters) October 25, 2017
I know. I grew up in the movement with BAEO as my anchor.
— Nina Rees (@Ninacharters) October 25, 2017
. @ntlBAEO work has impacted literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives. BAEO’s legacy exist in the lives of those children. https://t.co/y11xZ6yqtJ
— Matt Frendewey (@mattfrendewey) October 25, 2017
Given the current political climate, it’s a crappy time to be losing an org like BAEO that’s been fighting for black parents & students. https://t.co/kvKEcTfooe
— Ashley Inman (@ashleyemilia) October 25, 2017
BAEO was a game changer in LA esp @SMedlock and @HowardLFuller. Best of luck to the former and current talented dedicated people in this org
— Brigitte Nieland (@LABInieland) October 25, 2017
BAEO | Black Alliance for Educational Options ends operations on Dec 31, 2017.
Big KUDOS for a Job well done! https://t.co/drc6MGC2Wf— George Parker (@GParkerDC) October 25, 2017
Big legacy. Big loss. @HowardLFuller
— Peter Cunningham (@PCunningham57) October 25, 2017
Related stories:
- Q&A: Black Charter School Founder Says NAACP’s Stance Is Out of Touch
- Why Has Charter School Popularity Suddenly Dropped Off?
- In State With Robust Private-School Vouchers, Many Families Don’t Know They Exist
Photo: Duncan E. Kirkwood, state director of the Alabama chapter of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, talks to local media after a town hall event in support of charter schools on Oct. 14, 2014 in Montgomery, Ala. Photo by Tamika Moore for Education Week.