School Choice Is The Black Choice Initiative Coming to Birmingham And Selma
JOURNALIST ROLAND S. MARTIN BRINGS HIS #SCHOOLCHOICEISTHEBLACKCHOICE INITIATIVE TO BIRMINGHAM & SELMA ON AUGUST 24TH & 25TH
New York, NY, August 17, 2017 – Award-winning TV Host, Journalist and Author Roland Martin will host two #SchoolChoiceistheBlackChoice town halls this week in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama.
On Thursday, Bethel Baptist Church Pratt City, 1708 Spencer Ave. Birmingham, AL 35214, will host Martin’s town hall, which will feature prominent leaders in the local and national education, religious sectors, and parents who are supporters of charter schools and school choice.
On Friday, it will be hosted at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, 1548 Dr. F D Reese St., Selma, AL 36703.
School Choice Is The Black Choice is a national initiative launched in 2016 by Roland Martin and his wife, the Rev. Dr. Jacquie Hood Martin. Both of them committed themselves to sounding the alarm about the urgent need for awareness, options, and opportunity for Black children. The initiative stresses the importance of Black parents fully embracing all aspects of education, and advocate for what works best for their children. The school choice/education reform movement is in need of Black voices, specifically when it comes to mobilizing and organizing African Americans to make their voices heard about the education of their children.
“Alabama passed charter schools two years ago, and so far, the state has been slow to embrace school choice. I was contacted by numerous pastors in Alabama who expressed a desire for me to come to the state to rally supporters on the issue and work with local leaders on launching charter schools,” Martin said. “I want success for Black children, whether it’s traditional public schools; public charter schools; magnet programs; home school; online; or private schools. All I care about is success; not the delivery system. Black parents have made it clear they are in support of charters and vouchers, and I’m willing to stand with them and make it happen.”
In a 2015 poll commissioned by Roland S. Martin for TV One, 72 percent of African-American parents polled favored public charter schools; 74 percent of those polled showed interest in enrolling their children in charter schools; and 79 percent are in favor of school vouchers. The poll was conducted by Brilliant Corners Research and Strategies, led by Cornell Belcher, one of President Barack Obama’s top pollsters during both of his presidential campaigns.
For more information on School Choice is the Black Choice, please visit http://schoolchoiceistheblackchoice.org.
ABOUT ROLAND S. MARTIN
Roland S. Martin is host of TV One’s “News One Now” and the Senior News Analyst on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show. Martin frequently appears as a guest on ABC This Week with George Stephanopoulos; MSNBC; and other national networks. He spent six years as a political contributor for CNN.
Named by Ebony Magazine four times as one of the 150 Most Influential African Americans in the United States, Roland S. Martin has received numerous accolades for his work as a TV Host, Journalist, Author and Political Commentator. In 2017, Roland S. Martin won his third NAACP Image Award for the first-ever “Best Host” category. Overall, Roland has won more than 30 professional awards for journalistic excellence from a variety of media organizations, including the Radio Television News Directors Association; the National Association of Black Journalists; the National Association of Minorities in Cable, and the National Associated Press-Managing Editors Conference, among others.
More than 100 organizations have recognized Roland for his brilliant journalistic career and commitment to the advancement of African Americans. In August 2017, he was selected as one of the recipients of the Hank Aaron Champions for Justice Award, presented by the Hall of Famer and the Atlanta Braves. As an author, he’s published several books, and has five honorary degrees from universities nationwide.
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