February 28, 2022

Representative Antonio F. D. Cabral (D-New Bedford) has nominated Dr. Ricardo Rosa for the 2022 Black Excellence on the Hill Award, and Dr. Rosa, of New Bedford, is among the Black leaders across Massachusetts who will be honored tonight at an event organized by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus.

The 2022 Black Excellence on the Hill event is an annual event hosted by the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus to commemorate Black Community leaders and trailblazers that are moving the needle forward in cities and towns across the state.

Dr. Ricardo Rosa, a Cape Verdean immigrant and resident of New Bedford, is the co-founder of the New Bedford Coalition to Save Our Schools (NBCSOS). The NBCSOS is a grassroots educational justice organization committed to racial and economic justice. The NBCSOS has been very effective in organizing the community, protecting public resources, and advocating for responsive and quality public schools. 

Dr. Rosa is a former Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where he mentored many doctoral students who now serve as leaders in institutions throughout S.E. Massachusetts, the state, and nationally. He has authored two books and several articles. He serves on the Board of Citizens for Public Schools, and the steering committee for a national organization called Uniting to Save Our Schools. He currently serves as the Director of the Center for Education Policy & Practice at the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Aside from his academic accomplishments, Dr. Rosa opened up a martial arts school at the age of seventeen in Brockton and continues to train students in the martial arts at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater New Bedford. He has won numerous martial arts competitions at the regional, national and International levels – including the Battle of Atlanta, the New England Open, The Top Ten Nationals, and the U.S. Open. Many of his students have also won these prestigious tournaments. One of his students qualified for the Olympic Games in 2004. 

“We are beyond grateful for Dr. Ricardo Rosa’s leadership on behalf of New Bedford’s public schools, and the children, faculty and staff who walk those halls every day,” states Rep. Antonio Cabral. “His own personal journey and life-long commitment to public education and educational equity make him well deserving of this award. He embodies the mission and values of the Black Excellence on the Hill Award, and I am proud to see his work and commitment to public education, particularly in New Bedford, be recognized statewide.”

The Massachusetts Black & Latino Legislative Caucus exists to define, highlight, & analyze those issues & concerns affecting people of color in Massachusetts.