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WHEREAS, the fundamental goal of the NAACP's education advocacy agenda is to provide all students access to quality education, a goal that is accomplished through policy development, training, collaboration, negotiation, legislation, litigation and agitation; and,
WHEREAS, May 17, 2011 marked the 57th anniversary of the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision, which ended the inequitable "separate but equal" school accommodations based on race, with the NAACP at the forefront of the litigation that also spearheaded the path to the Supreme Court for the Honorable Thurgood Marshall; and,
WHEREAS, in the spirit of Brown versus the Board of Education, the Education Committee of the Pittsburgh Unit of the NAACP continues to educate people regarding the importance of developing an educational system that is void of segregated learning environments; and,
WHEREAS, members of the Education Committee have presented monthly for the last three years at public hearings hosted by the Pittsburgh Public School District to address relevant concerns impacting African American Students, such as the African American History Course, the East End Plan, restructuring of the Pittsburgh School District, re-segregation as a result of school closings, the closing of Schenley High School, the Alternative Program known as Community Educational Partners, and changes at Westinghouse High School; and,
WHEREAS, the executive committee of the Pittsburgh Unit of the NAACP, in conjunction with key members, recently presented its 57th Human Rights Dinner at the Omni William Penn Hotel featuring Dr. John Jackson of the Schott Foundation for Public Education; and,
WHEREAS, the executive committee of the NAACP continues to recruit and inform individuals young and old regarding the importance and relevance of belonging to the oldest, largest and most visible civil rights organization in America;
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend the Education Committee of the Pittsburgh Unit of the NAACP's recognition of education as a civil right that impacts virtually every aspect of our society and our ability as a nation to compete globally in the world;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh, in the spirit of the recent anniversary for the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, does hereby honor the efforts that fight to provide an equitable education experience to people from all backgrounds.