jonetta rose barras: Marco Clark and Richard Wright Charter School

Marco Clark, the founder and chief executive officer of Richard Wright Public Charter School for Journalism and Media Arts, and I are laughing. We are remembering a story I’m happy to retell, especially around people who don’t know the full history of the school’s beginning.

Today is one of those days: A group of small-business owners and nonprofit managers has gathered to get an introduction to the Capitol Hill school, whose student population is pulled largely — though not exclusively — from wards 7 and 8. Over a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage burritos and fruit, they listen as seniors Davon Harris and Imani Romney share their experiences.

Imani presents a film featuring herself and other Richard Wright students who staged an anti-gun-violence student walkout and rally in solidarity with the students at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida; one of the highlights is Imani reading her original poem. “I Am An American.”

“I feel like Richard Wright is one of the best-kept secrets,” says Imani, noting that she has two older siblings who attended the school.

Davon reminisces about seeing the bright blue building for the first time as he was entering the eighth grade. “I thought, I’m going to school in a castle,” he chuckled. “I’ve gotten to do amazing things. I did not know I would become a film director.”

Then, the business leaders at the roundtable are treated to a screening of the film Black Girl Fly, written, acted and directed by Richard Wright students. I am extremely impressed by its quality, its contents and its message, which celebrates blackness at a time in society where racism and the fight against colorism seems to have returned with a Jim Crow ferocity.

No, this isn’t a film review. This isn’t a commercial. Rather, it’s a salute. Each year, I recognize a civic leader and a DC government manager I think have made significant contributions to the city. Next month, I’ll honor the public official.

This column is a celebration of Clark, one of the city’s top-notch but underappreciated education pioneers.

Truth be told, I never thought there would be a Richard Wright School. That gets me back to the reason Clark and I are laughing.

When I first met him at the Walter Washington Convention Center nearly a decade ago, he was recruiting youth who might be interested in enrolling in his school, which had not yet opened. I was reporting on DC’s nascent charter movement. I felt that, not unlike traditional public schools, they needed close scrutiny, particularly since they were receiving taxpayers’ money with far less government oversight than DCPS.

I strolled up to Clark’s table and asked about the school. When he explained the concept, I was excited about the possibility of African-American students learning how to shape and tell stories that mattered to them, whether they were doing so with words or in film. So often, important narratives written by others about people of color lack authenticity, historical reference or cultural depth and insight.

Still, I told Clark: “I don’t know. I just don’t know if you can make it.”

He didn’t lambaste my skepticism. Rather, he dismissed it with a smile, saying, “I think we can do it.”

Not only did he succeed in opening the school, but the bespectacled and always impeccably dressed Clark has been making miracles every day at 770 M St. SE.  

I have seen Richard Wright students and their dedication to their education up close and personal. Last year, I helped lead a college-essay-writing preparation class. This year, I participated on a panel that listened to seniors presenting and defending their research papers.

It’s true. Richard Wright is only a tier-2 school. If you know anything about the rating system used by the board that oversees the network of independent charter schools in DC, you know that means Richard Wright still has work to do. However, its menu of academic programs is well-structured and rigorous. The school has earned full Middle States accreditation. It offers a Latin-based college preparatory curriculum along with its journalism and media arts program. Further, it has developed partnerships with notable organizations and professionals, including Jayne O’Donnell, a USA Today health reporter. Clark also launched “Man the Block,” a system that uses community volunteers to enhance the safety of children on their way to and from school. That program has been adopted by dozens of schools in DC and around the country.

Despite the socioeconomic issues that sometimes dominate students’ lives, Richard Wright Public Charter School is a story of transformation. Its students have participated in the public square on a national and local level; recent activities have included testifying before the DC Council’s Committee on Education and visiting civil rights giants like U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. “Richard Wright definitely changed me into the best I could be,” says Davon.

What’s the secret of taking children whom some have dismissed as lost causes and turning them into “blossoming trees”? It centers on setting high standards and expectations and believing they can meet them, says Clark. “There are no weapons, here. No guns. No knives. You aren’t greeted at the door with metal detectors.”

Clark doesn’t boast; in fact, he often turns the spotlight away from himself to his staff and administrators. Michelle Santos-Graves, who helped design and develop the journalism program, says, however, that nothing would have happened without “Dr. Clark, who has cultivated a culture that resonates with our students. The organization wouldn’t be what it is without him.”

There’s no question about that.

jonetta rose barras is a DC-based freelance writer and host of The Barras Report television show. She can be reached at thebarrasreport@gmail.com.