It’s been a very long time since I last wrote. Aside from getting ill, Tatyana and I traveled all of last week. This week, I’ll be filling you in on all of the events!
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March 8, 2010: With the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama serving as the backdrop, US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, unveiled the Department of Education’s plan to ensure that every American receives an equal, accessible and quality education, and Tatyana and I were invited!
From left: Tatyana Ali, Rose Sanders, Sec. of Education Arne Duncan, State Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, State Superintendent of Education Joseph Morton, Rev. F.D. Reese and State Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma
For those of you who don’t know, 45 years ago peaceful civil rights protesters were beaten as they marched the Edmund Pettus Bridge towards Montgomery for the right to vote. The incident called, “Bloody Sunday”, led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Secretary of Education used the anniversary to link AN EQUAL EDUCATION AS A CIVIL RIGHT.
Bloody Sunday, 1965
“The struggle for equal opportunity in our nation’s schools and universities is not at an end,” said Secretary Duncan. “We will work with schools and enforce laws to ensure that all children, no matter what their race, gender, disability, or native origin, have a fair chance at a good future.” With more than a quarter of all students dropping out before graduation day—and in many urban communities, we’re losing half or more of students of color—something needs to be done to change the way we think about who matters.
The Department of Education asked Tatyana to join the Secretary in his efforts. Tatyana and I traveled to Selma for this momentous event. Tatyana sang the national anthem. She also spoke to the crowd about how education changed her life and afforded her the opportunities that she otherwise would not have received.
Sec. of Education Arne Duncan and Tatyana
A very moving afternoon, we were honored to be at the same bridge where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. walked. To call education equality a civil right makes perfect sense. Every person in this country deserves a quality and equal education regardless of race, religion, special needs or socioeconomic status. Period. In the coming weeks and months, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will be issuing a series of guidance letters to school districts and post-secondary institutions that will address issues of fairness and equity to ensure that all students have equal access to educational opportunities, including a college-prep curriculum, advanced courses, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) classes. The Department will also enforce laws to make certain that all children have a fair chance at a good future.
Other speakers included: Moriah Wilson (Miss Selma Jubilee 2010 and Senior at Selma High School), Mayor George Patrick Evans (Mayor Selma Alabama), Senator Hank Sanders (Alabama Senate Education Committee), US Representative Artur Davis (AL -7th), D’Wan Lewis (Senior at Keith High School, Dallas County Schools), Rose Sanders (Founder, Bridge Crossing Jubilee), Faya Ora Rose Touré (National Voting Rights Museum), Sam Walker (National Voting Rights Museum)
After the event, we toured the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute.
Tatyana at the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute
Then, we chatted with the Secretary of Education’s aides–including the fabulous René Spellman–and Secret Service while I coughed and sneezed incessantly throughout.
Tatyana, René Spellman, Anastasia
On our way to Montgomery, Tatyana and I were gifted these commemorative pins:
Learn more here: http://www.ed.gov/
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