John B. King Jr. to become acting U.S. Secretary of Education

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is stepping down from his post in December, he announced Friday. President Barack Obama has already tapped John King Jr., former New York State education commissioner, to take Duncan's place.

King will serve in an acting capacity, meaning he was able to forgo a formal nomination process in the Senate.

King most famously served as the New York State education commissioner from 2011 until 2014. Last year, he moved over to the Department of Education, where he's currently a senior official.

Here are a few points of information about John King:

As Commissioner in New York King was a fierce supporter of the Common Core. He is also a strong advocate of diversity in the classroom, and also has experience in the classroom as a teacher. King was a 1995 Truman Scholar and received the James Madison Memorial Fellowship for secondary-level teaching of American history, American government, and social studies.

Black "Genius Grant" winners

The MacArthur Fellows Program awards unrestricted fellowships (also known as the Genius Grants) to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction. The MacArthur Fellowship is a "no strings attached" award in support of people, not projects. Each fellowship comes with a stipend of $625,000 to the recipient. Of this years 24 winners three were black. Learn more about 2015 MacArthur Fellows, Patrick Awuah, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Latoya Ruby Frazier.

Education Entrepreneur Patrick Awuah, 2015 MacArthur Fellow

Patrick Awuah is an education entrepreneur creating a new model for higher education in Africa that combines training in ethical leadership, a liberal arts tradition, and skills for contemporary African needs and opportunities. Read more: Patrick Awuah

Journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2015 MacArthur Fellow

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a journalist interpreting complex and challenging issues around race and racism through the lens of personal experience and nuanced historical analysis. Read more: Ta-Nehisi Coates

LaToya Ruby Frazier, 2015 MacArthur Fellow

LaToya Ruby Frazier is a Photographer and Video Artist capturing the consequences of postindustrial decline for marginalized communities and illustrating how photography can promote dialogue about historical change and social responsibility. Read more: Latoya Ruby Frazier

Tuskegee Airman Eugene Jackson, 92, dies

A Portland native who belonged to a groundbreaking World War II fighter squadron that helped lead the way toward desegregation of the U.S. military has died.

Eugene B. Jackson, 92, of North Marshfield, Massachusetts, died Sept. 20, according to his close friend and attorney, Paul Kaufman.

Jackson, who was born in Portland and graduated from Portland High School in 1941, served with the Tuskegee Air Squadron during World War II.

Jackson, who maintained the radio and communication equipment on the aircraft flown by the African-American pilots, received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 along with other Tuskegee Airmen.

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New Documentary: The Church House Sexuality in the Black Church

"The Church House: Sexuality in the Black Church" is a documentary directed and produced by D. Channsin Berry.

The Church House features interviews with ministers, preachers, bishops, church members and former church members. Topics covered include, sexism, homosexuality, and abuse of power. Berry points out that historically many black leaders in America came out of the church and aims to show that in order for African Americans to become stronger, ‘we need our black church back’. “As a place of refuge, a place of the real word of God we can regain our power spiritually, physically, mentally and financially,” states Berry.

Here is the current screening schedule for "The Church House":

Monday, September 28th at 6:30 p.m., Rutgers University, The Paul Robeson Campus Center, 350 MLK Blvd, Newark, NJ

Sunday, October 4th at 5:00 p.m., International Black Film Festival Nashville, Meharry Medical College/Cal Turner Family Event Center/Auditorium 2nd. Flr.

More dates to be announced as confirmed. The Black Church Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/The-Church-House-186851908136720/timeline/

Watch the first trailer for the documentary: The Church House Sexuality in the Black Church.

How one principal is trying to get more black men into the classroom

Educators and policy wonks of many stripes pretty much agree that U.S. classrooms need more minority teachers.

But how to make that happen?

One Philadelphia principal is trying to do his part by launching a new organization that aims to bring together Philly’s black male educators and provide them with professional support to thrive in their jobs. The group, called The Fellowship, also wants to become a hub for the recruitment and retention of black men in education.

Black men account for just two percent of the nation’s teaching workforce.

“We want to be able to affect policy as well as practice,” said Sharif El-Mekki, the principal of Mastery Charter School’s Shoemaker campus in southwest Philadelphia, not far from where El-Mekki grew up.

Read more: How one principal is trying to get more black men into the classroom