About Us
Richard Nixon Executive Order 11458
Pursuant to President Richard Nixon Executive Order 11458—Prescribing Arrangements
for Developing and Coordinating a National Program For Minority Business Enterprise, March 05, 1969, The Minority Enterprise Career Schools (D/b/a MECS Academy) fka FES
(Free Enterprise Sports) ACADEMY was founded in September 1983 as a vehicle to promote and enrich the advancement of Brooklyn's Minority Youth through sports and education.
SPORTS IS BUSINESS.
Revenue in the U.S. Sports Market is projected to reach US$52.77 billion in 2025.
MECS Academy program is designed to direct qualified high school students towards
exciting careers in Sport Management (13-1011.00), Sport Marketing (11-2021.00),
Sport Communications (27-3011), Stadium and Arena Management (11-3013.00).
RICHARD NIXON
37th President of the United States: 1969–1974
Executive Order 11458—Prescribing
Arrangements for Developing and Coordinating a
National Program For Minority Business Enterprise
March 05, 1969
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States,
it is ordered as follows:
SECTION 1. Functions of the Secretary of Commerce. (a) The Secretary of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as “the Secretary”) shall
(1) Coordinate as consistent with law the plans, programs, and operations of
the Federal Government which affect or may contribute to the establishment, preservation and strengthening of minority business enterprise.
(2) Promote the mobilization of activities and resources of State and local governments, businesses and trade associations, universities, foundations, professional organizations and volunteer and other groups towards the growth
of minority business enterprises … Read the entire executive order
Our History
Moorish American League (MAL)
The Moorish American League (MAL) was organized in 1967 as a vehicle to promote and enrich the development of minority youths through sports and education.
To accomplish this goal, MAL sponsored two basic programs. The first program was the organization and administration of a summer and winter basketball league for minority youths.
Awarding scholarships to deserving minority youths was the second part of the MAL program. In September, 1971, MAL awarded eight one year scholarships to young men with athletic abilities, but who lacked the academic qualification for admissions to institutions of higher education. These students were sent to Laurinburg Institute, a four-year self-supporting prep school accredited by the State of North Carolina’s State Department of Education.
1971 MAL Summer Sports Academy Scholarship Program Award Recipients. Standing second from the left is Glenn Williams who went on to play for St. John’s University and the NBA Milwaukee Bucks.
Executive President & Principal Sammie E. McDuffie & Headmaster Frank H. McDuffie of Laurinburg Institute with MAL graduate, James Sparrow, in 1983
Arnold Graham was one of the two students from the original eight sent to Laurinburg Institute by MAL and was later enrolled in the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The 6' 1" Graham, a guard for the UMES Hawks (1973 MEAC Champions), also served as Vice President of MAL and Director of its summer league.
In 1881, Booker T. Washington became the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, an institute for black higher education. Washington called for Black progress through education and entrepreneurship. In 1904, Emmanuel and Tinny McDuffie answered Washington’s call and walked more than 400 miles to North Carolina to start Laurinburg Normal & Industrial Institute. Renamed the Laurinburg Institute and later headed by McDuffie’s son, “Coach” Frank H. McDuffie, the institute is dedicated to the total development of youth, providing an informal, academic, and recreational program in a campus environment and has an enviable basketball record, producing such basketball greats as Sam Jones (Boston Celtics), Jimmy Walker (Houston Rockets), and Charlie Scott (Phoenix Suns). Also, John Birks “Dizzy Gillespie” won a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. “Dizzy” became an American jazz trumpeter virtuoso and improviser, bandleader, composer, educator and singer.
Free Enterprise Sports (FES)
FES SPORTS ACADEMY, an outgrowth of its predecessors the Moorish American League (MAL) and Laurinburg Institute, was founded on September 23, 1983 by Joseph Jeffries-EL, as a new school program designed to direct qualified secondary students towards exciting workforce careers in Sport Management, Sport Marketing, Sport Communications, Stadium and Arena Management.
The sports and recreation industries are booming and with a flourishing industry comes a demand for well-educated leaders to fill a variety of roles including media relations, advertising and sales promotion, marketing, financial management, facilities planning and administration. Rising above the competition and gaining access to this competitive industry requires a superb academic background and substantial practical experience.
Further enhancing the impact of the sports programs operated under the sponsorship of FES Sports Academy were the unique qualifications possessed by the notable alumni who played professional and summer league basketball for FES All Star Pro-Am Basketball Team in the Rucker Pro-Am Basketball Summer League in Harlem; Sonny Hill Pro-Am Summer Basketball League in Philadelphia; and Georgetown University Pro-Am Summer Basketball League in Washington, D.C. These well-known figures from the world of college and professional sports regularly participated in and contributed to the Basketball and Boxing programs sponsored under the patronage of FES Sports Academy. Individuals such as those indicated above are well known and admired by youth throughout the global community.
FES Alumni at the 2002 Reunion
Partnerships
License to Use Curriculum. Subject to the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use, Hillsdale hereby grants to User a non-exclusive, non-transferrable, revocable license to use and access the Curriculum exclusively for the User’s use in connection with: (a) the User’s instruction of primary and secondary school students; or (b) the User’s personal education and enrichment; in each instance for the Term of this Agreement (the “License”). This License does not confer any commercial rights or license to the User. User is expressly prohibited from monetizing, selling, leasing, renting, trading, licensing, sublicensing, or otherwise commercializing the License or Curriculum addressed under these Terms of Use.
Minority Enterprise Career Schools (MECS)—Certiport Authorized Testing Center’s (CATC) career planning and preparation for career and college-ready certification courses validates entry-level knowledge and skills, with industry-recognized credentials necessary for an employability profile demonstrating readiness for
entry-level employment.
MECS Academy f//k/a FES (Free Enterprise Sports) Academy, was recognized nationally by The National Center for Research in Vocational Education,
located at The Ohio State University, as experts in Vocational Education administration and research. (See Slideshow below)
MECS Founder Joseph Jeffries-EL’s Credentials
Elected 3-Terms as Member of Community School Board
District No. 23, Brooklyn
The Ohio State University
Appointed as a Member to the National Center for
Research in Vocational Education Advisory Committee
Mr. Joseph Jeffries-EL, executive director, FES Sports Academy, Brooklyn, New York,
was sworn in as 1 of 12 new members appointed to the
National Center for Research in Vocational Education’s Advisory Committee.
Dr. Robert M. Worthington, Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education, officiated at the ceremony on September 23, 1985 at the National Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Read the entire press release
The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) traces its origins back to
March 5, 1969, when President Richard M. Nixon established it as the Office of Minority Business Enterprise. Through this action, President Nixon acknowledged the significant contributions of minority business enterprises to the nation's economy and overall welfare, thus establishing a federal agency exclusively dedicated to supporting minority business enterprises.
Contact Us
Admissions Specialist
Text: (347) 517-2911
Email: info@mecsacademy.org
