The 74 and award-winning journalist Roland S. Martin will host their second education town hall event in their national tour, “Is School Choice the Black Choice?” on February 22nd, 2019 from 6-8pm at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center on Morehouse College’s campus.
The event will feature a dynamic panel discussion moderated by Martin and comprised of a variety of educators, advocates and opponents of educational reform who will discuss the controversial issue of the school choice movement within the Black community. Among those on the panel:
Local Partners include Better Outcomes for Our Kids (BOOK), EdConnect, Genesis Innovation Academy, GeorgiaCAN, Georgia Charter School Association, Ivy Preparatory Academy, State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia, Teach for America- Metro Atlanta, and the Urban League of Greater Atlanta. National partners include: American Federation for Children, EdChoice, ExcelinEd, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, United Negro College Fund, and the Walton Family Foundation
This event series will bring Roland Martin and The 74 to African-American communities in 10 cities across the country over the next two years. In each city, working in close partnership with local education reform, faith and civic groups, Roland Martin and The 74 will host a live event to discuss high-quality school options for black families with an expected ~400 parents and community leaders in attendance.
The goal of each event is to stimulate more genuine, fact-based conversation about the tough education issues impacting communities of color. They will also debunk myths about school choice and empower participants with resources to take the necessary steps to create change within their respective communities. Additionally, each event will be livestreamed to ensure the widest possible reach. Their first joint effort launched in Indianapolis, Indiana in December 2018.
Brandon Gipson and Nigerian-born Oladipupo (Ola) Johnson both graduated from Georgia Tech in Spring 2018, with degrees in computer science and mechanical engineering, respectively. For both, it was community connections that helped lead them to Tech; the community they found here sustained them and was central to their college experience. But for Gipson, who came from a majority minority high school in Virginia, at times it was alienating.
Gipson was feeling what numbers show: Though Georgia Tech awards more engineering degrees to women and underrepresented minorities than any other university in the United States, black men comprise less than 5 percent of the resident student population.
To support black men at Tech, the school offers the African American Male Initiative, a University System of Georgia-funded initiative that provides academic resources, mentoring, and leadership training to enhance enrollment, retention, graduation and career placement.
The program began in 2011 with approximately 30 participants. Today, it counts 150 and has served more than 680 students since its inception. AAMI is based out of Tech’s OMED Educational Services, which is part of Institute Diversity…
This article originally appeared in the Atlanta Tribune. Read the full story here.
ATLANTA—Several hundred students from historically Black colleges and universities across the nation gathered at Emory University over the weekend to hear from experienced lawyers and current law school students about attending law school. Now in its 5th year, the annual National HBCU Pre-Law Summit & Law Expo was created “to address the unique challenges and concerns that HBCU students and graduates have as they prepare to apply to law school,” says Evangeline Mitchell, the Summit’s founder. “Don’t be confused about all of the melanin in the room,” Adria Kimbrough, the Pre-Law advisor at Dillard University told the participants who gathered to hear her speak. “The practice of law continues to be the least diverse profession. It’s important that you all are here and it’s important that you affirm one another.”
Kimbrough—who attended Talladega College before earning a law degree from the University of Cincinnati—was one of 14 Black students in her law school class. Since leaving law school, Kimbrough (who is the wife of Dillard’s President Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough) has held a number of high-profile jobs practicing law in private and university settings with a particular focus on labor and employment. “Success is not always a straight shot,” she said. “There are twists and turns along the way. ”Still, she told the students that if they had the determination and passion for the law, they should persevere. “Somebody is waiting for you to offer them culturally relevant representation,” she said.
Her message resonated with Bryant Williams, 20, a junior at Alabama State University. He arrived at the Summit looking for guidance as he prepares to take the LSAT and begins the process of applying to schools.“This has been a great event,” said Williams, who has dreams of becoming a criminal defense lawyer. “I’ve gotten a lot of information and the speakers all broke down the admissions process. I feel better prepared.”
The impact of the Summit was felt by others, too. “I’ve been to a lot of law school conferences but this one is different because it’s proof that African-Americans are succeeding in the field of law,” said Donte Johnson, 21, a senior at North Carolina A&T University who attended the Summit for the second year. When he graduates in May, Johnson is going to work for two years and then he will begin the application process. Xavier Donaldson, a partner at Donaldson & Chilliest in New York encouraged the students attending the Summit to take the application process seriously.
“Please take a [LSAT] class and a practice test,” said Donaldson, adding that the LSAT and high grades remain the most important criteria for law schools. “It’s not about how smart you are but how well you prepare.”
By Kristen Baily
