The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network hosted its Education Summit 2014 at New York University this week, sparking the conversation on the education gap in America.
Sponsored by Education for a Better American, the two-day summit, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday, brought out several high-profile figures in civil rights, education and the faith community.
Starting Wednesday morning, topics of the day included standardized testing, diversity in learning and inequalities in education. Panelists included Randi Weingarten, president of the America Federation of Teachers; Dr. Lenora Fulani; and Dr. Pedro Noguera.
Thursday’s topics included preparing young learners before they enroll in school, the school-to-prison pipeline and pathways to higher education. Speakers included Dr. Michael Eric Dyson; Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union; and Dr. Marcus Bright.
“Rev. Sharpton, more than anything else, is committed to substance,” said Michael Hardy, general counsel to NAN. “On some level, our work over the last 10 years has been to ensure that education is the civil rights issue of the 21st century—the equality and achievement of closing the gaps for children, particularly Black and Brown children, who are being deprived in terms of the resources that are available to them in the public schools.”
NAN Executive Director Janaye Ingram said the purpose of the summit was to also bring together the community and leaders in education to discuss solutions about disparities in education.
“Part of why this forum was designed [is] because we know a lot of times the conversations are being had and there’s no opportunity for the community, for parents, for concerned individuals to have these types of conversations,” Ingram said. “We wanted to create this forum so that we do have an opportunity to ask questions and dialogue and engage with the thought leaders in education.”
The summit was part of Sharpton’s 60th birthday celebration. After Thursday’s session, a gospel celebration was held at First Corinthian Baptist Church.