WNYC's "In MLK's Footsteps: Education as a Civil Right" with Brian Lehrer, Touré, Jami Floyd, Toshi Reagon, NYC schoolchildren & others on Sunday, January 15 at the Brooklyn Museum
WNYC Presents
In MLK’s Footsteps: Education as a Civil Right
A discussion of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work toward education for all
Co-Hosted by WNYC’s BRIAN LEHRER and Journalist JAMI FLOYD
Guests Include Brown v. Board of Education Plaintiff JOHN A. STOKES, Cultural Critic TOURÉ, and Folk/Blues Singer-Songwriter TOSHI REAGON
Sunday, January 15, 3-5pm
At the Brooklyn Museum, Cantor Auditorium
Free and Open to the Public; Reservations Must Be Made at http://www.wnyc.org/community
(December 21, 2012 – New York, NY) – During Martin Luther King, Jr.’s time, segregated schools were a key battleground in the fight for equality. More than 50 years later, schools remain a focal point in the pursuit for a better, more fair, and just society – but the struggle has evolved from gaining access and opening closed doors to what happens behind them.
On January 15 at 3pm, WNYC’s sixth annual MLK Celebration will explore this enduring and vexing issue with IN MLK’s FOOTSTEPS: EDUCATION AS A CIVIL RIGHT, an afternoon of conversation, music and personal reflection on the unfinished business of equal education for all.
WNYC’s Peabody Award-winning host Brian Lehrer and Jami Floyd, managing editor of media blog “The Global Game” and contributor to WNYC’s political blog, “It’s a Free Country,” will lead a dynamic forum with academics, education experts, and historians – including a plaintiff involved in the historic Brown v. Board of Education case – about the evolution of the civil rights struggle around education since King’s time, and what’s left to be done in education reform.
The invigorating afternoon will feature a musical performance by folk/blues songwriter Toshi Reagon, a tap performance from the Manhattan Theatre Lab and its ninth grade chorus, and short tribute speeches to Dr. King from the Manhattan Country School eighth graders.
In MLK’s Footsteps: Education as a Civil Right is co-presented with the Brooklyn Museum in association with Schoolbook, and is sponsored by Brooklyn Community Foundation.
HOSTS
BRIAN LEHRER, Host, WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show
JAMI FLOYD, Managing Editor, “The Global Game”; Attorney and WNYC Contributor, “It’s a Free Country”
PANELISTS
TOURÉ, Journalist and Cultural Critic; Author of Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness: What It Means to Be Black Now
JOHN A. STOKES, a plaintiff covered under the Brown litigation in Brown v. Board of Education; Stokes helped lead a student strike of an all-black school because of poor building conditions
FREDERICK C. HARRIS, Director, Institute for Research in African-American Studies
CAMI ANDERSON, Superintendent, Newark Public Schools
RACHEL MORAN, Dean, University of California Los Angeles Law School
HARVARD SITKOFF, Martin Luther King, Jr. scholar
RSVP: Event is free, but RSVPs are mandatory due to limited seating.
www.wnyc.org/community
Excerpts from In MLK’s Footsteps: Education as a Civil Right will air on The Brian Lehrer Show on Monday, January 16 from 10am-noon. It will be followed by The Leonard Lopate Show from 12-2pm, which will continue its MLK tradition of showcasing some of the greatest gospel records made during King’s lifetime. For one hour, Leonard Lopate will present the voices of Mahalia Jackson, Marion Williams, Sam Cooke and other stars from the golden age of gospel, discussing their importance and influence on American popular music. Both shows air weekdays on WNYC 93.9 FM, WNYC AM 820, and via live webstream at www.wnyc.org.
New York Public Radio is New York's premier public radio franchise, comprising WNYC, WQXR, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, and New Jersey Public Radio, as well as www.wnyc.org, www.wqxr.org, www.thegreenespace.org and www.njpublicradio.org. As America's most listened-to AM/FM news and talk public radio stations, reaching 1.1 million listeners every week, WNYC extends New York City's cultural riches to the entire country on-air and online, and presents the best national offerings from networks National Public Radio, Public Radio International, American Public Media, and the British Broadcasting Company. WNYC 93.9 FM broadcasts a wide range of daily news, talk, cultural and music programming, while WNYC AM 820 maintains a stronger focus on breaking news and international news reporting. WQXR 105.9 FM is New York City's sole 24-hour classical music station, presenting new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, among other New York City venues, immersing listeners in the city's rich musical life. New Jersey Public Radio extends New York Public Radio’s news, talk and cultural programming more deeply into New Jersey. In addition to its audio content, WNYC and WQXR produce content for live, radio and web audiences from The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, the station's street-level multipurpose, multiplatform broadcast studio and performance space. For more information about New York Public Radio, visit www.nypublicradio.org.
Brooklyn Museum, housed in a 560,000 square-foot, Beaux-Arts building, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the country. Its world-renowned permanent collections range from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to contemporary art, and represent a wide range of cultures. Only a 30-minute subway ride from midtown Manhattan, the museum is part of a complex of nineteenth-century parks and gardens that also includes Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Prospect Park Zoo. For more information, visit www.brooklynmuseum.org.
SchoolBook, a partnership between The New York Times and WNYC, is a comprehensive resource for news, data and conversation about New York City schools. Schoolbook features fresh content daily, with coverage from The New York Times and WNYC reporters; user-friendly, interactive tools to help parents and others analyze schools; and platforms for community engagement and discussion. For more information, visit http://www.schoolbook.org.
Brooklyn Community Foundation’s mission is to improve the lives of people in Brooklyn by strengthening communities through local giving, grantmaking and community service. The first and only one of its kind in Brooklyn, the Community Foundation was founded in 2009 to support the borough's most effective nonprofits in five Field of Interest Funds: Arts for All, Caring Neighbors, Community Development, Education and Youth Achievement, and Green Communities. Due to legacy support from Independence Community Bank, 100% of all tax deductible donations to the Brooklyn Community Foundation go directly back to the community. Learn more at: www.BrooklynCommunityFoundation.org; follow at www.Twitter.com/DoGoodBklyn; and like at www.Facebook.com/DoGoodBklyn.
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