Geoffrey Canada
Geoffrey Canada
President/CEO
Harlem Children's Zone
“Instead of helping some kids beat the odds, why don’t we just change the odds?” asks Geoff Canada, posing the question that prompted him to start the Harlem Children’s Zone. The organization targets 60 blocks of Central Harlem, providing educational, medical, and social services for children from birth to college. The objective is to create a tightly woven safety net around all the children in the neighborhood. As president and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, Geoff has set out to prove that all poor children, especially poor black children, can succeed. He believes the economy is stacked against poor people no matter how hard they work, and simultaneously, most poor parents are not adequately rearing their children. The Zone addresses both issues by funding schools and day care centers and also directly addressing the problems of poor parenting and cultural disadvantages. Geoff believes that neither approach has any chance of working without the other.
Geoff is the East Coast regional coordinator for the Black Community Crusade for Children. A third-degree black belt, he also founded the Chang Moo Kwan Martial Arts School where he teaches the principles of Tae Kwon Do as a means of instilling discipline and reducing violence. He is the recipient of the Heinz Award for advocating for children and families, the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education, and Child Magazine’s Children’s Champion Award. In 2005, US News & World Report selected Mr. Canada as one of America’s 25 Best Leaders. Geoff is the author of Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America and Reaching up for Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America. He received his bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College and a master’s from Harvard University’s School of Education.
For more on Geoffrey Canada:
Wall Street's Tremors Leave Harlem Shaken
By Timothy Williams, New York Times
October 8, 2008
Activist Aims High With Harlem Children's Zone
NPR Tell Me More
September 24, 2008
'Whatever It Takes' Tells of a Bold Plan to Save the Children of Harlem
By James F. Sweeney, Cleveland Plain Dealer
August 31, 2008
In Harlem, a Zone Apart
By Julie Bykowicz, Baltimore Sun
June 15, 2008
Austin College Tips Its Hat to Harlem Leader
By Joanna Cattanach, Dallas Morning News
March 6, 2008
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