host posted on January 25, 2012 00:28
Senator Joyce Elliott to lead efforts promoting long-term investment in academic reform
Little Rock, AR (Jan. 24, 2012) —The Black Male Achievement Symposium will be held to focus efforts on making the academic achievement of black males a state priority. The first of the two-day symposium will be held Friday, January 27, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, located at 501 West 9th Street in Little Rock. The event is being hosted by Senator Joyce Elliott, the UAMS Center for Diversity Affairs, and the Women’s Council on African American Affairs, Inc. (WCAAA), and will also include a public reception from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the close of the day’s event. The reception will be held at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, located at One Chamber Plaza in Little Rock.
“The problems and solutions around the critical state of African American male achievement and related issues like poverty, health, criminal justice and lack of opportunity are neither black, nor poor, nor simple; so solutions will require aggressive, intentional intervention,” said event host, Senator Joyce Elliott. “The health, vibrancy and success of Arkansas’s schools, communities and economy depend on the attention, commitment and action from all of us.”
Day one of the event will include a presentation and panel discussion led by Dr. John Jackson, President and CEO of the Schott Foundation-whose mission is to develop and strengthen a broad-based movement to achieve fully resourced, high quality public education. The symposium will also feature a special screening of Beyond the Bricks, a groundbreaking documentary that promotes solutions to the consistently low performance of African American boys in the public school system.
Day two of the symposium will be held at the L.A. Davis Student Union on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), on Saturday, January 28, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday’s symposium will feature a presentation and panel discussion led by Dr. Ivory Toldson, a senior research analyst with the Congressional Black Caucus.
Although the event is free, registration is required, and is open until Monday, January 23, 2012. On-site registration is available, however, pre-registration is recommended as seating is limited. To register, or for more information on this event, please contact Joyce Raynor at 501.372.3800, or via email at joyce.raynor@sbcglobal.net.
About the Women’s Council on African American Affairs, Inc.
The Women’s Council on African American Affairs, Inc. was created in 1999 as a 501(c) (3), educational nonprofit organization. Its mission is to promote and nurture individuals in areas of education, leadership development, and community and economic development—with a special emphasis on healthcare issues. Since its founding, the Council has expanded and continues to add key programs to its outreach. WCAAA has maintained and expanded its ties to both business and civic organizations, while keeping strong ties within the grassroots and faith-based communities. For more than a decade the Council has been integrating community-based programs into diverse populations across an eight-county area—Pulaski, Lonoke, Saline, Faulkner, Prairie, Garland, Clark, and Jefferson Counties.
Subtitle: Action from all of us