Mayor William Bell was host at an Education Roundtable discussion as part of the City’s Empowerment Week Commemoration. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan brought his fifth annual back-to-school bus tour to Alabama and Tennessee on Tuesday, Sept. 9, where he visited Birmingham, Huntsville and Chattanooga. Duncan discussed President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative in Birmingham. Mayor William Bell is co-chair of the White House initiative.
“We hope to have a meaningful discussion with these Birmingham City Students to really get their input and feedback on what we can do to continue to improve our school system. Education is a key to empowerment and is a critical next generation Civil Rights issue. It is an honor to have both Secretaries in place for this event. It was at Phillips High School on September 9, 1957 that Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth attempted to desegregate the City’s Public Schools. It is only fitting that on this same day that we now return here to discuss educating the next generation of leader,” said Mayor Bell.
At 9:10 a.m. CT, Duncan participated with U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, Birmingham Mayor William Bell, young men and women from local high schools and community members in a My Brother’s Keeper Roundtable Discussion at John Herbert Phillips Academy in Birmingham, Alabama. Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education moderated the discussion.
